Cavechat.org

You've already had some good replies on rope source. I'd second checking out the Imlay canyon rope, or Canyons and Crags sells "canyonator" that's ~8.8 mm tough and relatively inexpensive. I own some and have been very happy so far -very static, good sheath, rides decently, and handles well enough. Think it is still well under a buck a foot.
Thing I personally don't like about the BW canyon ropes is they are nylon core poly sheath so there's more stretch and I personally prefer less bounce. Canyon Pro is the exception and I'd love to get some but it's $$$$.

PMI 9mm sport is probably one of the cheapest options and it performs very well.

For a no-bounce, tough, lightweight, skinny rope the BW Canyon Pro is hard to beat. It has a spectra core and poly sheath. It is however one of the most expensive ropes out there (as Kelly mentioned).

I have some 9mm New England KMIII MAX with a twill weave that has been very good. However, there have been problems with the durability of other KMIII ropes (I do not know if they were MAX or twill weave) in Lech and other places. So I'm not sure I would recommend KMIII generally, but mine has performed quite well.

I would say PMI Sport in 9mm is a safe bet. (I have a lot of that too)

Thanks again for all the replies. I've been doing more research today and I believe PMI 9mm Sport with the Max-Wear sheath is probably the best bet. It's quite light (53g/m versus 63.5g/m for the Inlay Canyonero) and according to PMI, very tough. It's also the least expensive which is never bad. I pretty much ruled out the Canyon and Crags Canyonator right away. I can't match up his names and sizes with what Bluewater has on their website. It just doesn't give me a warm fuzzy.

Mike

(Deleted)

Bluewater Canyon pro 8mm is available on amazon.com and from mountaingear.com. Just be aware that they might be advertising it as canyon pro ds when its actually canyon pro. remember also that when rappelling on skinny ropes, if you use your glove to slow yourself down, any friction is spread out over a smaller area and leads to faster heating (ouch!)

Thanks for that tip. The Bluewater is pricy stuff! I actually just received my 100' PMI 9mm yesterday and it looks good. We'll most likely be using it this weekend and I'm looking forward to seeing how it works. It's not that much heavier or bulkier than the 50' length of 11mm Pit Rope we used to carry with us.

I can already tell you I'm very glad I already have and use a braking carabiner with my Stop! This stuff is going to be FAST.

Mike

OpenTrackRacer wrote:This stuff is going to be FAST.

Don't forget to soak it and let it dry before you use it.

Interesting. I'd never heard about doing that and PMI doesn't mention anything. Our current 11mm Pit Rope (200' and 300') was put right into use and since we're leaving tomorrow it looks like the same thing will happen to the new 9mm rope.

I can't say we've noticed anything funky with the rope.

Mike

A lubricant is added to the fibers to make the manufacturing process a little slicker. It's not a huge deal, but it can make the first couple of rides a little faster than normal. It will wash away with a good soaking, however. The soaking will also shrink the rope about 5-10% and thus setting the permanent length. Manufacturers usually cut lengths of rope a little bit long to account for this shrinkage. But, it is usually not enough. I wouldn't be surprised if your 100' rope ends up being 95' after the soak.

Soaking? You mean you're supposed to wash your rope???



Mike

Yeah, but only when it's brand new!

We used a brand-new 11mm PMI Max-Wear right off the spool at Whitesides... it was FAST. Let the soaking begin...

-Dean