PRODUCT NEWS: QC LAB: Twisty Ropes - the How, Why and Risks

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 UKC Gear 01 May 2019
Twisty Rope Not Sweet The dreaded twisty rope is the bane of every climber's existence. Not only is it super annoying to have a rope kinked to all hell while trying to … well, do anything, from tying in, to seconding a pitch, but the more inquisitive among us—like our in-house gear guru Kolin Powick—wondered if there were actual risks involved if say, you fell while the rope was a pig-tailed mess bunched up at your harness. Well don't freak out just yet, because in this QC Lab, KP and the QC Lab crew attempt to untwist the myths and risks behind the dreaded "twisty" climbing rope.

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 john arran 01 May 2019
In reply to UKC Gear:

Not convinced about #2. I always thought it was the orientation of the rings in a 2-ring setup that was the culprit, rather than their relative heights, the worst case orientation being when both rings are in the same plane and tending to lie flat against the wall.

 Rick Graham 01 May 2019
In reply to john arran:

I agree, John.

Its the angle the rope travels over a ring or edge  that matters, as in diagonally across  causing the twists , not the angle in the rope itself.

In reply to Rick Graham:

I agree too. In fact I reckon the 'bad' set up illustrated in #2 would not twist the rope much at all, possibly even less than the upper one because, whilst it says form a 'V', it has actually formed a 'V' in the photo.

I generally find the twisting caused by two anchor points at the same level to be worse than that caused by one higher one and one angled back-up below it. This is assuming the orientation of the rings is flexible enough. Without that, as John says, you are heading for big trouble.

I'd also add another cause of twisting not mentioned...

Lowering with the rope held to the side of the belay device which adds an angle between plane of the rope in and out, and the device. Just try it and you can see the twists being created.

Solution - line it all up in the same plane.

(Does this need illustrating since it is difficult to describe?)

Alan

 jimtitt 01 May 2019
In reply to john arran:

> Not convinced about #2. I always thought it was the orientation of the rings in a 2-ring setup that was the culprit, rather than their relative heights, the worst case orientation being when both rings are in the same plane and tending to lie flat against the wall.


This is so, a correctly made and installed vertical offset setup shouldnt twist the rope at all. The one pictured needs more vertical and less horizontal offset.

However since that particular brand of hangers and rings are popular in the USA it's not suprising they get twists, the ring should hang from the hanger so doesn't (or barely) touches the rock  and the hanger should be designed so the ring has a clear lower point to rest in under load (it should be semi-circular) not a horizontal slot which makes the ring twist when it slides to the end.

 Howard J 01 May 2019
In reply to UKC Gear:

The problem caused by uncoiling a new rope has been around for many years, but I wonder how many climbers are aware of the special method for unwinding a new rope?  I certainly wasn't, until a couple of years ago when it occurred to look on the internet before unwrapping a new rope, and hardly anyone I know had heard of it.  Yes, it 's there in the safety leaflet, buried amongst all the bumf in a dozen languages, but who looks at those before unwrapping a new rope?  It would help if the rope manufacturers could make this much more conspicuous, and find a better way of coiling ropes at the factory.

 Tom F Harding 01 May 2019
In reply to UKC Gear:

Literally just uncoiled a new rope, it was wound the old skool way. The middle was impossible to free so I had no option but to just drop the coils and pull it through.. urgh


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