UKH

I’m looking to buy an 80m sports rope. Has anyone got any advice or recommendations? A lot of the time it will be for holiday use(Spain etc) so I guess weight could be any issue. I’m not sure what thickness of rope to go for...I’m a bit freaked out by really skinny ropes! I definitely want something that handles well. Any ideas?

For a budget rope, Decathlon Simond ropes are fine. If you can spend a bit more, then there is a wide, sometimes bewildering, variety of ropes. I have an 80m Mammut 9.5 Infinifty Dry and find that a good compromise between skinny and light and slightly heavier but still with good handling and a good all round workhorse.

Hope that helps.

TJB.

Thanks for that. Someone else recommended the Mammut rope tome as well.

Hi Peter, I've got one of those too, light, durable, long lasting and effective.

You're welcome.  I haven't come across the Tome, but I don't think it's available anymore as it isn't on the Mammut website.

It's a fine and detailed reference manual but it will never be on the NY Times bestseller list.

Cheers Kev. It’s about time I replaced my old rope + these routes are getting longer so 80m would be helpful

Skinny ropes are the way to go. You should get used to it after a couple of sessions. I’ve been impressed by the Sterling Nano 9.0 Incredibly durable and handles really well. Pricey though. 

How much is the weight an issue?

If you need a properly light rope, Simond and Millet have the cheapest ~9mm tripple rated ropes. But bargains can be had on other ropes as well. 

The tripple rated ones won’t last long though. 

I’ve already written this like a week ago on some other rope thread. And here’s the summary. 

Instead of getting a spendy jack of all trades. Get cheapo work horse ropes (60/70m for stuff home and 80mm sport rope for Spain etc). This means that you’ll get numerous years from your Spain rope, and then replace the home rope every few years. At least in my case, this has worked out cheaper, but we do wear out the home rope in a season or perhaps two If we mainly boulder. 

My option (still going strong, After 3 years) was Mammut Zopa 9.7mm BergFreunde edition (so AlpineTrek webshop).

Though you specified it’d be used for holidays in Spain and such, how often do you holiday?

I’d consider getting a 90 meter or even a 100 meter rope if you often find yourself on the continent climbing 40 meter routes often.

Once you’ve cut an 80 meter rope a couple of times you can kiss goodbye to those 40 meter routes without staple bolts, mid height lower offs or saying goodbye to your own gear.

I’ve got a 90 meter Edelweiss Performance which after a slick first few belays seems awesome.

http://www.edelweiss-ropes.com/performance-9-2mm.html

It doesn’t see any use in the U.K though. 

It’s also bright pink, which was a key selling point.