Rope Lifespan

[TimL]

I have a rope that I bought for wall climbing, Mammut Supersafe 10.2, thats seen a little use, but not tons. I doubt I'll be going up on any big walls in the next six months and the cord is already a year old. So I'm thinking of turnig it into a sport climbing rope since I need a new one right now. But before I do that, I was wondering how long should I keep the rope, without really using it, before I should retire it. Thanks for any and all info.

[bwrts]

Depends...

 

Did you keep the rope in your closet or in the back window of your car?

 

If the rope still looks like new, then the life expectancy of the cord should not be an issue for you.

 

By keeping the rope in the nice dry cool place like a closet, it is being preserved just fine.

 

Also, I suppose it depends on what "type of little use" your rope was subjected to...small falls and draggin it around in the dirt are going to wear it out. Does the cord still look like a 10.2 or is it pushing 10.8ish diameter...

 

Also, examine the rope for any "weird spots."

 

btw- Hows the weather in Spain?

Quite blustery here in Bellingham, today.

 

cheers.

[TimL]

The rope stays in a nice cold closet. Ropes been used several times on small walls, but nothing big and really has no damage. I'm thinking of saving it for walls, bit someone told me that nylon breaks down over time so I thought I might just put it to use versus letting it sit in the closet. Use is not the issue, it how long it can sit around.

 

Weather here in Spain is great right now. Not to hot, not to cold. Although it has been really rainy ever since we got back from the States in October. It'll soon be time to head down to the Costa Blanca and Andalucia/El Chorro for some beautiful winter climber before the ice starts to form in the Pyrenes.

[bwrts]

yeah, i agree it is better to use your ropes then let them sit around in the closet. I think that the break down of nylon wouldn't be an issue in one years time...but then how long did the cord sit on the shelf prior to purchase?

 

How ever long the rope sat and its age, the one fact that remains true and should tell you what to do with the rope.......

use it or lose it.

[bigwalling]

I have a super safe that I bought like maybe 5 years ago. It has gotten a bit shorter but still seems like the bomb. I was lucky to only get core shots on the end. It has been up 4 wall routes and used on lots of other climbing I've done. I will take it up my next wall as it is the longest and I am cheap. Fuck in the old days they used shitty ass ropes, so till it core shoots in the middle I'm down to party with it.

[pink]

don't people sit around campfires and talk about this shit anymore.

[G-spotter]

cc.com is the campfire

[EWolfe]

Frayed to answer

[David Trippett]

a frayed knot.

[JosephH]

Well, I bought a SuperSafe as part of an ebay sale of five ropes and a Climb Moab haul bag about two and half years ago. The seller, who was from PA, had them listed as "not for climbing". I emailed him and asked what the deal was and how many lead falls the ropes had seen (and the Supersafe in particular). He said no lead falls, but the ropes were three years old and had to be retired. Basically hardly anyone bid on them because of the way he had it listed and I won it at $250 and turned around and sold the haul bag for $80 bucks bringing the five ropes in at $170 all of them in great shape. There was a 50m, a set of double 60's, a 60m, and the Supersafe which I was mainly after.

 

Over the last two years since, it took an easy dozen good lead falls (two over sharp edges), put up a couple of routes, and it was mercilessly beaten to death replacing anchors and rapping with solid loads on top of my weight. It got machine washed about a dozen times over the course of that work to the point it lost its middle marks which were replaced with a Sharpie pattern. It finally just got retired by a new Supersafe, though I'd still lead on it in a pinch but, hey, enough is enough. Short version, your's is completely shot - but I'd give you $50 for it to help you out with a new rope...

 

P.S. Oh, and Supersafes have teflon coated sheathes and cores so they never really "fuzz out" or end up looking "10.8ish"; at least mine didn't...

[bwrts]

Well then...

How would do you know when to retire if the rope does not show wear?? 10.2 forever?

Inquiring mind would like to know.

[ivan]

i've never really understood why people worry about this kinda crap - have you ever heard of a climbing accident where the rope blew (unless it was cut over an edge or had something obviously wrong w/ it)?

 

if it's faded, if it's funky - then it's done. unless you're rich, in which case you actually give a crap about extending your earthly existence and can afford to buy a seperate rope for each day of the week (to match your high-tech rei-day-of-the-week underoos)

[JosephH]

In the case of just the Supersafes, I'm pretty much with bigwalling, you can basically go until they are core shot in the middle; they'll take an incredible amount of abuse. I started climbing on goldline and have seen a lot of funk rope go by over the years. Some ropes out there today I wouldn't use more than a year and others, like the Suresafe and some Yates big wall ropes, that I'd basically use until they are either visually core shot or have a substantially deformed core when examined by feel. A UAII study showed that ropes basically lose sharp edge resistance over time, not basic strength. So from my perspective there is no simple answer other than "what you're comfortable with".

 

Some older folk were duct taping the fuzz balls down on yellow "MSR Knot Special" solid-weave ropes (all sheath, no core) back in the '70s and would only retire them when the amount of duct tape made pulling the rope through the biners on lead too much of a pain in the ass. Folks with such a background probably have a different perspective on how long a rope lasts compared to today's climbers and tend to wait until ropes are physically damaged. I stop short of that standard if I know I've treated one badly or it does "fuzz up". Then again, I only climb on Mammut Supersafe and Eternity ropes - the Eternity is basically a 10mm version of the Supersafe that comes in a bi-color, when not back ordered, where the Supersafe for some reason does not. They are, as my teen daughter used to say, bomb (though I don't think she does anymore).

 

Edit: Oh, I also did just replace all 16 of my Mammut 8mm Dyneema slings after two/three years. So its not like I don't think about this stuff in general. Interesting thing about those is they were all quite shrunken compared to the replacements - like an 1" for the short ones and 1.5" for the long ones (I didn't have any of the 48" jobs). Curious...

Edited November 20, 2006 by JosephH

[Alpine_Tom]

My understanding is that climbing ropes tend to loose their stretchiness over time. So, although the rope won't blow on a fall, it's more likely to blow your pro.

At least, that's what folks like Duane Raleigh say.

So, you could play it safe and buy a few screamers.

Or be like me, and climb so cautiously that you never take any serious falls...

Edited November 20, 2006 by Alpine_Tom

[Off_White]

My method is subjective and probably overly simplistic, but usually if I find myself spending any energy worrying about the piece of equipment, it's time to replace it.

[Dechristo]

My method is subjective and probably overly simplistic, but usually if I find myself spending any energy worrying about the piece of equipment, it's time to replace it.

 

= the bottomline in a sport where execution's foundational mortar is confidence

[archenemy]

My method is subjective and probably overly simplistic, but usually if I find myself spending any energy worrying about the piece of equipment, it's time to replace it.

Agreed. I also replace partners if I find myself worrying about how safe they are, shoes if I am thinking they aren't feeling right anymore, and tents when I start dreaming that I'll wake up in a puddle of mud.

I don't think that is overly simplistic, it just keeps the number of things you have to keep in mind to a minimum.

[chris]

From the Beal website, http://www.bealplanet.com/portail-2006/index.php?page=duree_vie&lang=us

 

Lifetime = Time of storage before first use + time in use.

The working life depends on the frequency and the type of use.

Abrasion, UV exposure and humidity gradually degrade the properties of the rope.

Note that with use, a rope thickens and thus loses up to 10 % length.

Storage time: In good storage conditions this product may be kept for 5 years before first use without affecting its future lifetime duration in use.

 

Lifetime:

- Intensive and daily use: 1 year.

- Weekly and intensive use: 2 years.

- Daily in-season use of average intensity: 3 years.

- Weekly in-season use of average intensity: 5 years.

- Several uses during the year of average intensity: 7 years.

- Very occasional light use: 10 years.

 

Attention: These are the nominal lifetimes indicated, a rope could be destroyed during its first use. It is the inspections which determine if the product must be scrapped more quickly.

Proper storage between uses is essential. The lifetime of the rope in use must never exceed 10 years.

 

The total maximum lifetime (storage before use + lifetime in use) is thus limited to 15 years.

 

The rope must be retired earlier:

- if it has held a major fall, approaching fall factor 2

- if inspection reveals or even indicates damage to the core

- if the sheath is very worn

- if it has been in contact with any active or dangerous chemicals

- if there is the slightest doubt about its security

[archenemy]

Funny, my Beal is the only rope I used a few times, hated with a passion due to the instant fraying problem, and immediately replaced.

I'll sell it to anyone who wants it. Crappy rope in my opinion, but some folks swear by them.

[chris]

Funny, my Beal is the only rope I used a few times, hated with a passion due to the instant fraying problem, and immediately replaced.

I'll sell it to anyone who wants it. Crappy rope in my opinion, but some folks swear by them.

I'm one of them. Not to get off topic, but the impact force means everything to me, and Beal's have the best in market.

[archenemy]

Totally on topic.

That makes sense, and it is soley a psychogical thing I have about the Beal.

[archenemy]

oops. Psychological.

I'm so messed up over it I can't even spell.

[TimL]

i've never really understood why people worry about this kinda crap - have you ever heard of a climbing accident where the rope blew (unless it was cut over an edge or had something obviously wrong w/ it)?

 

if it's faded, if it's funky - then it's done. unless you're rich, in which case you actually give a crap about extending your earthly existence and can afford to buy a seperate rope for each day of the week (to match your high-tech rei-day-of-the-week underoos)

 

Climb something were you might actually lob off and then you'll understand.

[ivan]

i've never really understood why people worry about this kinda crap - have you ever heard of a climbing accident where the rope blew (unless it was cut over an edge or had something obviously wrong w/ it)?

 

if it's faded, if it's funky - then it's done. unless you're rich, in which case you actually give a crap about extending your earthly existence and can afford to buy a seperate rope for each day of the week (to match your high-tech rei-day-of-the-week underoos)

 

Climb something were you might actually lob off and then you'll understand.

you didn't answer the question, o-jedi-master

 

i think more than a few of my unfortunate climb'n-companions can attest to me "lobbing off" onto their painful belays

 

[bwrts]

i've never really understood why people worry about this kinda crap - have you ever heard of a climbing accident where the rope blew (unless it was cut over an edge or had something obviously wrong w/ it)?

 

if it's faded, if it's funky - then it's done. unless you're rich, in which case you actually give a crap about extending your earthly existence and can afford to buy a seperate rope for each day of the week (to match your high-tech rei-day-of-the-week underoos)

 

Climb something were you might actually lob off and then you'll understand.

you didn't answer the question, o-jedi-master

 

i think more than a few of my unfortunate climb'n-companions can attest to me "lobbing off" onto their painful belays

 

climbing is dangerous. shit happens and sometimes luck just aint on your side. So, the question about retiring ropes is a valid and good one. All answers are merely humble opinions, statistics are stats and Boston is a cool town (here for the holiday)

...seriously tho I agree if it looks worked replace it...yet if it still looks good but the stretch is compromised from multiple falls or draggin around god know where, then the next fall may rattle your dentures loose so, You probably ought to replace the thing, too. I like to have multiple choices in the closet based on what were gonna attempt that day/trip.