Never used a rope? Does it degenerate?

[Stefan]

If I have never used a rope I got as a gift 5 years ago, would you think it is still good? Do these thing degenerate on their own like drugs? I have always tossed ropes becuase of their use, so I am unfamiliar what happens to a rope over time when it is not used. (The rope is kept in a usually dark closet with no moisture problems.)

[kitten]

Is it still in the plastic wrap or collecting dust?

[fern]

it is highly unsafe. please ship it to me for proper disposal.

[Sphinx]

Ropes DO lose elasticity and strength with time. Some rope people tested a 20 year old rope and it didn't pass the UIAA test, though it looked brand new, never used.

[fleblebleb]

Wasn't it a 10 year old, never used rope, and held one fall but then broke? Urban myth? Or not?

 

Fern, I have leftovers of several rolls of cloth tape, you could probably string together the pieces and get a decent length cloth tape rope, should I ship this stuff to you?

[Attitude]

Sphinx said:

Ropes DO lose elasticity and strength with time.

Just like the elastic in your panties.

[iain]

here's a question: has there EVER been a documented accident in SPORT climbing that can be attributed to rope failure?

[iain]

I'd use your 5 year old rope w/o hesitation. All disclaimers apply to this post!

[fern]

you can ship me whatever you like, I'm sure I'll find a

use for it

 

in particular I could find a use for an unused climbing

rope that is newer than the one I currently use and have

been using for several years. If you think that's sketchy

well good for you, you don't have to climb with me then.

 

it's not hard to search the internet for rope strength studies

and form your own conclusions about whether or not you think

things are within your personal safety margins.

[Lambone]

Poster: iain

Subject: Re: Never used a rope? Does it degenerate?

 

here's a question: has there EVER been a documented accident in SPORT climbing that can be attributed to rope failure?

 

No, perhaps not. But biners have broken. Quite recently in fact. Rope stretch potentialy has more to do with this then biner strength.

[iain]

As far as I can tell, there has not been such a case, which is quite telling of how much tensile strength is available in ropes. Tension over an edge seems to be the leading factor which produces rope failure, based on accidents involving rope breakage. Even new ropes seem to fail this way. I guess the point is that an unused dynamic kernmantle rope would seem to be safe, even after many years of storage. This is all a subjective observation on my part, and I am not claiming to be in the right here.

[fleblebleb]

fern said:

you can ship me whatever you like, I'm sure I'll find a

use for it

 

in particular I could find a use for an unused climbing

rope that is newer than the one I currently use and have

been using for several years. If you think that's sketchy

well good for you, you don't have to climb with me then.

 

it's not hard to search the internet for rope strength studies

and form your own conclusions about whether or not you think

things are within your personal safety margins.

 

Fair enough. I got my 11 mil in '97 and I still use it occasionally, so I shouldn't say much. Don't remember making any climbing plans with you though. Maybe if we do then we can use my new rope.

[Beck]

start climbing on the damn thing NOW, don't wait another five years.... some industry rope manufacturers reccommend replacing a rope, even unused, after five years, but that's not an appropiate dirtbag climbers option. Something to do with offgassing of the nylon and a reduction in the elasticity/ higher impact force to pro & climber correllation.

my reccommendation? climb on, climb now, and climb hard on the rope, and then retire it according to your feel for the hand and catch of it. How did a rope go five years without getting climbed on , anyway?

[allthumbs]

If you guys want to sell old rope, PM me. They work great for my boat ropes and hauling logs and shit. thanks, trask

[Stefan]

Beck said:

How did a rope go five years without getting climbed on , anyway?

 

I already had purchased two new ropes just before I got this unused one as a gift.....and the unused one I got as a gift was not a size I was comfortable taking with me at the times I was going out...(8.5mmX60m)

[hakioawa]

There is a good post on fish products web site about this very issue. Check out http://www.fishproducts.com/tech/techweenie.html go to the "Rope Stuff" section and search for " Rope Life". There is some good data from the Black diamond testing lab.

 

 

 

In a nut shell the test engineers conclusion is:

My Conclusions and Recommendations. Rope strength does not appear to

decrease with time. I don't trust old ropes because I do not know how the

elastic properties change with time. This needs further research. Chris.

Chris Harmston

Quality Assurance Manager/Materials Engineer BS. ME.

Black Diamond Equipment Ltd.

2084 East 3900 South, SLC, UT 84124 phone: 801-278-5552

 

So what I take away from that is that is your gear is good (e.g. 1/2" bolts in good granite) or you are talking about low fall factor scenarios (e.g. TR) the rope is plenty strong. Climb all you want.

 

[rbw1966]

Lambone said:

Poster: iain

Subject: Re: Never used a rope? Does it degenerate?

 

here's a question: has there EVER been a documented accident in SPORT climbing that can be attributed to rope failure?

 

No, perhaps not. But biners have broken. Quite recently in fact. Rope stretch potentialy has more to do with this then biner strength.

 

Its my understanding that biner failure is most commonly attributed to crossloading rather than any rope considerations.

[catbirdseat]

If the rope was stored in a closet in Seattle for 5 years I would use it. If it were stored in a closet in Los Angeles or Houston for 5 years, I would not. Why? LA and Houston are smoggy and there is a lot of ozone in the air which attacks almost all plastics. Seattle's air is comparitively clean.