UKH

Has anyone bought an "indoor rope"? For example https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/indoor-climbing-rope-10-mm-x-45-m-colour-blue...

I want a new sport climbing rope - I have a lovely, solid, reassuringly 10.5 mm Roca. But it's 60 mtrs and with that, plus 10.5 being about as fat as ropes get nowadays, packed into its ropebag, it isn't compact. And it's really rare at the crags where I sport climb that you need 60 mtrs of rope. So I want a 50 mtr 10ish mm rope for local sessions, and then keep the Roca for when I go to bigger crags and so on.

The Simond one linked above (they actually state it's made by Cousin) is a  reasonable price. I can live with 45 mtrs as well, even more compact but still long enough for many local venues. But I've never had an "indoor" rope before. I can't see how you can make a rope that is safe for indoor leading but dangerous for outdoor leading - it just tested as a climbing rope afterall. So beyond it having no dry treatment, what makes ropes like these "indoors" beyond the label Decathlon puts on them?

Alternatively, anyone one else seen 50 mtr single ropes being sold at a good price? Rock and Run don't have any currently that are perfect for what I want. Go Outdoors are doing an Edelweiss for 60 quid that sounded great - but a quick google of the model and I found via a UKC thread a few years back a Mountain Project thread where a surprising number of people all seemed to have damaged the sheaves on theirs quite easily. Maybe just coincidence, but maybe why GO are selling them off cheap!

Hi Toby. It's just a no frills rope. I have the 35m version and use it for the wall and shorter outdoor sport venues. Saves me lugging a 70 into a 12m crag. It's done better than many more expensive ropes I've had.

It's also amazing how many sport venues only need a 35.

Don't tell anyone, but these Decathlon ropes have a very good reputation just check the "Strings" thread on the other channel...

Cheers

Tom

I bought one as a spur-of-the-moment purchase while buying bike parts. 

Very happy with it, despite it being much thicker than I would normally use.  Good with my old ATC and reverso, but I've never found anything beyond 9.6 to be usable on my early-model gri-gri.  Too much tendency to catch when paying out.

I assumed the 'indoor-ness' of it to be down to it not being treated, and nothing more. 

Thanks Tom, that's basically my thinking. I'm pretty careful at making sure the other end of the rope is tied into my rope bag or has a big knot in it even using a 60 mtr rope, but at most of the places I climb in the Peak, there just aren't many 25 mtr or longer pitches. Although I can recommend the really fun Sheffield Tape Archive (6a+) for anyone climbing mid grades in the Peak who wants to get their money's worth out of all 60 mtrs of their rope! It's about 28 mtr high so there isn't much left when you lower off.

Thanks. Is your Grigri the original one - the design from the 90s? It's funny I've always been a bit careful about using mine with ropes that are much below 10 mm because I'm sure that's the minimum diameter printed on mine. I thought the Grigri 2s were designed fundamentally to work with narrower ropes?

Your trips to Decathlon sound rather too like mine! I popped in on Thursday to buy a luminous yellow bike helmet (winter commuting/urban riding duties: one has to be able to justify such purchases to one's partner when said partner asks "and how is it different to the two other bike helmets you already have", even more so when you answer: "it's three other ones actually.") and came away with also some very reasonably priced, lightweight furry lined mittens which will be perfect winter climbing emergency back-ups after I rather stupidly dropped my last pair of similar Decathlon mittens down the two pitches and into the mists on Ben Nevis a couple winters back!

Hi Mate,

I got an 40m Edelrid Python in march for indoor use and some short straight grit trad. Love the rope and would definitely buy again. Think I payed about £65 at the time.

Have also used a pair of Simond half ropes for the last 18 months or so which have been amazing and great value.

hope that helps

I believe mine is the original.  Probably a vintage of somewhere between 2005-2010. I still found it tended to catch (on paying out) on a worn 9.6, which was certainly below the lower limit. Though if memory serves me correctly there were two bands of lower limits for the original grigri while, as you say, the grigri 2 I think goes down to 8 point-something.

I'm a newcomer to Decathalon, and following a bike theft I have just bought one of their fold-up alternatives - absolutely brilliant. While resembled a down-at-heel warehouse, they stock some great stuff. It's like Lidl in terms of some of the extra items one can come away with.

I use a 50mtr Beal Karma I bought from Gooutdoors, every so often they have a sale on Beal ropes there so you can get a good price. It's a nice rope. Not currently on offer online but it was last week when I went in to my local store (Chesterfield). I used to have a Simond rope from Decathlon and honestly I didn't really like the way it handled. IMO the Beal is a better rope for the money if you can get it on sale.

I got a 60m and chopped it in half for indoors, sold the other half to a friend for the same purpose. It was a 10.5 and find people can't use a grigri, most of our lot don't so not an issue, I've also had a bit of trouble with people using normal bug devices not being able to pay out. I solved this by giving them my belay device to belay me on.

I've had those for our Scout wall before, as the unusual 25m length of the shortest one is spot-on for this.  They are fine, but very much a budget product in terms of handling, though they did last fairly well before requiring replacement.  The one thing I'd say is that while certified as single ropes they don't feel quite as, well, "bouncy", as many others, so you might get slightly hard catches using them for lead.

"Indoor" would I expect just refer to the lack of any kind of water-repellent treatment.  We used them outdoors!

Yeah I always have an indoor rope on the go, it's just easier than lugging around my 70m sport rope, and saves wear on it. 

Like you say, it's just climbing rope but cut to a shorter length....