Characteristics of climbing ropes and climbing ropes

Many characteristics that we need to consider when choosing a rope can be found on the label of the rope. The following will introduce the characteristics of climbing ropes and climbing ropes from five aspects: length, diameter and mass, impact force, elongation and number of falls before failure.

Characteristics of climbing ropes and climbing ropes

Rope length

Climbing use: typical rope length

All-round use: 50 to 60 meters.

Sports climbing: 60 to 80 meters.

Climbing, walking and flying LADA: 25 to 35 meters.

A shorter rope carries less weight, but it means that you have to climb more slopes on a longer route. The modern trend is to use longer ropes, especially sports rock climbing. Now, many sports routes need 70-meter-long ropes to land safely without re-fastening the seat belt. Always check whether your rope is long enough. When tying, lowering or descending, tie a knot at the end just in case.

Diameter and mass

Choosing the appropriate diameter is to balance the light-weight steel wire rope with the long service life.

Generally speaking, the rope with larger diameter has a longer service life. When using manual braking devices, they are usually easier to catch falling objects, so thick ropes are a good choice for novice bodyguards.

Diameter itself is not the best indicator to measure the degree of rope wear, because some ropes are denser than others. If two ropes have the same diameter, but one rope is heavier (per meter), it means that the heavier rope has more material in the rope body and is likely to be more wear-resistant. Thin and light ropes tend to wear out faster, so they are usually only used under light weight, such as mountain climbing or hard sports routes.

When measured at home, the unit mass of the rope will be higher than expected. This is not because the manufacturer is cheating you; This is because of the measurement method of mass per meter.

In order to get this number, the rope is measured and cut when it is loaded with a fixed amount. This helps to make consistent tests, but it does underestimate the total weight of the rope used.

impact force

This is the force transmitted to the climber through the rope when preventing the fall. The impact force of the rope represents the degree to which the rope absorbs the falling energy. The figures quoted are from the standard drop test, which is a very serious drop. The low impact rope will provide a softer grip, or in other words, the climber will slow down.

Gradually decline. This is more comfortable for the falling climber, and reduces the load on the slide and anchor, which means that the edge protection is unlikely to fail.

If you use traditional gears or ice screws, or if you just want to use them for as long as possible, you’d better choose a rope with less impact. The impact force of all ropes will increase with the accumulation of use and falling.

However, wire ropes with lower impact force tend to stretch more easily, that is, they have greater elongation. When you fall, you will actually fall further because of stretching. Further falling may increase your chances of hitting something when you fall. Besides, climbing a very elastic rope is a hard job.

The impact force quoted by single rope and half rope is not easy to compare, because they are all tested with different masses.

extensibility

If the rope has a high elongation, it will be very elastic.

If you are top rope or ascending, low elongation is useful. Wire ropes with low elongation often have high impact force.

Number of drops before failure

In the EN dynamic rope (power rope) standard, the rope sample is repeatedly dropped until it fails. According to the results of these tests, the manufacturer must state the number of falls that he will guarantee the rope to withstand. This will be written in the information provided with the rope.

Each drop test is roughly equivalent to an extremely serious drop. This number is not the number of falls before you have to put down the rope. The figures quoted by single rope and half rope are not easy to compare, because they are not tested with the same quality. Ropes that can withstand more falls tend to last longer.