Kernmantle Rope - Use As Climbing Rope

Use As Climbing Rope

The nylon ropes that were used in yachts for hauling were tested and found useful in climbing and caving, and are now the modern standard. Although there are occasional innovations, the type of rope used today is similar in construction, strength, and durability across manufacturers. There are several major manufacturers, including Pigeon Mountain Industries (PMI) which is popular with cavers, Mammut, Sterling, Beal, Edelweiss, Blue Water, Roca, Tendon and Maxim. Overall there is a huge variety of climbing ropes available for different kinds of uses; for instance there are well over hundred different dynamic single ropes (the most popular rope system in climbing). Kernmantle ropes are still used in sailing and other sports, but the technical requirements are usually not as rigorous as in climbing since those applications are not as safety critical. Smaller kernmantle ropes are commonly called accessory cord; they are often used to make prusik knots and loops or attaching accessories such as chalk bags.

One or more of the rope characteristics (strength, durability, and flexibility) are often altered somewhat, depending upon the ultimate use of the rope, at the expense of the other properties. For example, rope used in caving is generally exposed to more abrasion than other forms of recreation, so the mantle is woven more tightly than rope used in climbing or rappelling. However, the resulting rope is cumbersome and difficult to tie knots in.

Kernmantle construction may be used with both static and dynamic ropes. Static ropes are designed to allow relatively little stretch, which is most useful for hauling, rappelling, and other applications. Dynamic rope is used to belay climbers, and is designed to stretch under heavy load to absorb the shock of a fallen climber. Dynamic ropes manufactured for climbing are tested by the UIAA. A test of "single"-standard involves tying an 80 kg (176 pound) weight to the end of a length of rope. This weight is then dropped 5 meters (16½ feet) on 2.7 meters (9 feet) of rope, with the rope running over a rounded surface simulating that of a standard carabiner. This process is repeated until the rope breaks. For "double"-ropes the weight is 55 kg and for twin ropes two strands are being used. In addition to number of drops impact force is also measured. It is a common misunderstanding to think that the number of drop test falls (as conducted by the UIAA) is the number of real-life climbing falls a rope can sustain before it becomes unsafe. Actually, the drop test falls are of extreme severity and it is not often that a real-life climbing fall generates a comparable force. This adds a margin of safety for the climbers who use such ropes.