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Twin Ropes


DanielHarro

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If you are considering twins for ice, why not climb with doubles? Weight difference is minimal and you gain the advantage of lower impact forces on your gear by using doubles. This can be an important safety consideration- you still don't want to fall, but if you do you definitely don't want to rip your gear out. Plus less rope drag is nice for alpine routes since you don't have to clip both strands. I have been using Beal 8.1mm Ice Lines since 1998 (not the same set hellno3d.gif) and have been a big fan of those. I also like the Mammut 8.0 doubles that some friends have. But if twins are what you have your mind set on, then the choice should be simple since there are fewer options from which to select than single or double ropes.

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Beal 8.1 (what ever they call them now) can be clipped as double or twin and have the lowest impact forces on the market.

 

 

I think you are talking about the PMI verglass that I have, they are certified as double or twin.

 

Nope... I am talking about my Beals. Sounds like PMI offers it to.

 

FYI: why having the option to go either double or twin is good is in teams of 2 clip them as double to have the absolute lowest impact forces possible with the rope and in teams of 3 clip as twins so that if either partner falls they are clipped through all the pieces so they don't fall as far, etc etc.

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I picked up a pair of PMI Verglas recently, and have been happy with them. Wish I'd known about the Beals though - nothing online I've seen says anything about them being certified as doubles and twins. I guess the packaging / docs that come with them show the dual ratings ?

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The ice line is pretty damn thin at 8.1mm. Be careful on the double rope raps when ice climbing with this. It felt a little out of control w/standard device when soaking wet near the end of a rap a few times with a small pack on. Maybe throw in an extra biner on the device or get something like the reversino.

 

It is also a little spooky seeing that diameter of cord over an edge. The rope itself is plenty strong for clean falls, but beware the falls in broken rock. Ropes of this diameter demand a little more care over edges.

 

Put in my vote for the Mammut Genesis 8.5mm half'rs for all applications, ice or rock. They are a touch heavier obviously.

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i went and sunk the extra money into a reversino last year to solve the slipperiness issue on icy raps, as a bonus it is lighter than a regular reverso or atc.

 

i think the point about watching the thin ropes getting cut on rappel is well taken, but it's deceptive when you talk about leading. even double 8s have 16mm of total thickness (or if you prefer cross sectional area, a total of 100 sq. mm vs 50 sq mm for a 10.5 mm single), distributed in two different locations, so they're still much safer in situations where cutting the rope is likely. not that you don't have to watch out for edges, just that you should ALWAYS watch out for edges, even (especially?) with that single fatter rope that intuitively feels like it would be safer.

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