Mick Johns

Upon further reflection, I second Chad's choice of the Beal Ice Line. I didn't read the original post carefully enough, and superimposed my own criteria a little bit. I elevated the abrasion resistance factor up to where it is in my own mind. Beyond that, the Cobra only saves about two Cadbury Bars' worth of weight, not enough to justify the added risk/expense; the Ice Line saves twice as much weight. Cheers.

I have no dog in this fight, and agree you SHOULD go with the Joker, but I'm buying a 70m Beal Cobra II for many of the same purposes you laid out in your query. The tipping point for me was the abrasion resistance advantage of the Cobra over other doubles (passes the sharp edge test), so that if push came to shove and I absolutely HAD to I could (with fluttering heart) press it into service as a single. Mountain Gear has it on sale for $167 and change, Golden Dry, which is their uber process and does more than keep the core dry. Add in the soft catch properties and this old dog figures he's got it sniffed out. I'm buying it on Tuesday for use up here in Alaska, hope this doesn't come too late to help confuse the issue further. -MJ