UKH

Hi

I'm looking to get a scrambling rope but the ropes they sell for this purpose all say not for climbing? Does this mean you couldn't lower yourself from a tricky situation for is it because of the shock loading on the rope from a fall?

Also I'm confused with the sizes. Some are. Around 10mm and others 8mm, obviously 10mm would be easier to handle but will weigh more.

Not looking to spend a fortune but want to stay safe.

Thank you

To be certain you would need to check the manufacturers guidelines for the rope you have in mind as they may all differ slightly.

For scrambling, thicker is better as it will be easier to handle and often will be harder wearing. Having used many ropes over the years from most manufacturers, I've found that for scrambling, a budget rope wears best although there will often be a slight weight penalty for this. Something like this: https://www.needlesports.com/Catalogue/Climbing/Rock-Trad-Climbing/Ropes/Cl...

Hi Neil

You're probably looking at walking ropes which are designed for use in an emergency. For roped grade 2-3 scrambles you probably want a fully rated climbing rope, the symbol for this type of rope is a number 1 inside a circle. A 9-10mm 40 or 50m dry treated rope would probably be best.

Oof a 10.5, is it 1984?! 😂

Thank you Alex 

Ha ha, yeh I know it's a bit fat!

Main downside to a fatter rope is weight. As a scrambling rope will typically be shorter in length than a climbing rope, the weight saving isn't so noticeable.

A couple of nice advantages to the fat rope are:

1) Will usually be harder wearing.

2) It generates a greater amount of friction, thus easier to control. This is a particularly useful trait for a scrambling rope as it's more likely to see action on direct belays around spikes of rock.

I have 4 short ropes that are about 10.5mm that I occasionally use for scrambling and I can literally hammer them with abuse and they take it really well. I've also 3 x 9.1mm climbing ropes that see occasional scrambling action and these need very careful handling on direct belays. The level of control is acceptable, but the rate of wear & tear is not and these are really expensive ropes.

Jez, you must have loads of experience with different rope types and diameters. What's your go-to scrambling rope?

Nonsense man! strong legs (along with sturdy boots and a stout heart) are key to scrambling. That'll help develop his legs

Trouble is I’ve been skipping leg day since 1981 😂

In reply to Mark Eddy:

I actually use 9.1mm Jokers with the caveat that being N Wales based our rock isn’t normally that aggressive on ropes. I find they last well and are nice to handle.

I don’t disagree with anything you’ve said about chunky ropes lasting etc I’m just not a fan!

Thank you to everyone for their input, much appreciated. 

I get your point, but I’m not sure I completely buy this argument. In practice, don’t you just slighly continue the wrap on the spike of rock until you get the desired amount of friction? You’d only have to have very slightly more length of rope in contact with rock  to compensate for skininess/slickness of rope.

Personally, I would tend to carry a longish lightweight sling and lightweight locker for this sort of scenario - meaning I could use a skinnier (and probably a little shorter) rope.