Buying Rope

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Buying Rope

Postby jeffkruse » Mar 11, 2013 11:00 am

I just ordered 50 feet of rope from Karstsports but when I got it it only measured 47' 8". This, along with it taking over two weeks for me to receive my order kind of makes we not want to use them again. Am I being too picky?

When you order rope, is the length measured loaded or unloaded?
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Re: Buying Rope

Postby UnderGroundEarth » Mar 11, 2013 12:53 pm

I have ordered from Karst Sports in the past and have always been happy with their service. Most recently, I ordered a pair of Dirty Dave's Knee Pads from them, because they offer free shipping on orders over $50. It only took about a week for the order to arrive.

When you order rope they do not measure it weighted. It typically is measured thru a counter that measures out the footage. Maybe they had a short on hand and thought it was 50 feet. If the missing $2 worth of rope means that much, you should just give them a call and tell them what you measured it out as and see how they handle the situation before you decide if you want to order from them again. Also, is the 2.4 missing feet really going to make a difference in what you are rigging.
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Re: Buying Rope

Postby Extremeophile » Mar 11, 2013 2:18 pm

I have also been very happy with Karst Sports, though I haven't ordered rope from them. If it's general purpose recreational use rope I wouldn't get too uptight over 5%. With fixed rigging, when replacing a rope where I know the precise length of the existing rope, I generally add 5% to allow for unusual shrinkage, variation in rigging, etc., but I wouldn't want to use up all of that 5% in a measurement error. Kelly is right that they are most likely using a rope counter:
http://www.amazon.com/Wellington-BRM25-Rope-Measurer/dp/B000G9TXWG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363029274&sr=8-1&keywords=rope+counter
My local retailer uses these for rope, cord, and even webbing. I've always been a little suspicious of their accuracy. If these are in widespread use, and given that cut ropes are often used for replacement rigging where length is important, then I think I'd consider anything worse than 1% error to be unacceptable. At least one reviewer gave it 1-star due to accuracy concerns.
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Re: Buying Rope

Postby driggs » Mar 11, 2013 4:01 pm

jeffkruse wrote:I just ordered 50 feet of rope from Karstsports but when I got it it only measured 47' 8". This, along with it taking over two weeks for me to receive my order kind of makes we not want to use them again.


I'm located very near KarstSports, and when I order online my packages are delivered the very next business day. If it took you two weeks for your order to arrive, I suspect it's an issue with shipping to Puerto Rico (assuming your CaveChat profile location is correct). Perhaps if you email them before your next order, letting them know that there was a delay in delivering it to Puerto Rico, they may have an idea for more direct shipping to you.
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Re: Buying Rope

Postby wyandottecaver » Mar 11, 2013 5:46 pm

You should also be aware that ropes shrink some with initial washing so you might end up losing a bit more....some do this as a best practice to "set" the fibers. If it was me I would certainly call them and see if they would credit me towards another purchase. I would also be sure and talk to someone next time and make clear you needed at least 50ft :)
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Re: Buying Rope

Postby jeffkruse » Mar 12, 2013 8:08 am

I guess I am just use to ordering things and having them shipped the same or the next day. They didn’t ship my order for close to two weeks. None of the items I selected were on back order according the web site. It takes an extra day or two to get things in PR. I know it's only a couple of dollars of rope, it's more the point.
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Re: Buying Rope

Postby NZcaver » Mar 20, 2013 1:33 am

jeffkruse wrote:I guess I am just use to ordering things and having them shipped the same or the next day. They didn’t ship my order for close to two weeks. None of the items I selected were on back order according the web site. It takes an extra day or two to get things in PR. I know it's only a couple of dollars of rope, it's more the point.

I seem to recall a previous topic where a caver had a major issue with very slow shipping and poor service from this vendor (and you actually replied to that topic). I assume most(?) cavers have no issues placing orders with them, so perhaps this is just one of those small lapses that statistically occur from time to time. Did you try calling and speaking with the owner directly?
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