UKH

There have been a few threads about Decathlon Simond ropes.

I recently bought a Simond 8.9mm 100m rope from Decathlon for a trip to Chulilla. Having been to Chulilla before I wanted to make the most of the 50m routes without having to do intermediate lower offs.

As we don't really need 100m ropes for climbing in the UK I didn't want to spend too much. The Simond rope was £130. The major brands were all well over £200 for that length of rope. Of course, those ropes might be better in the long term, or have better handling etc., but cost was a factor. I also wanted to give Simond a go just to see what they were like.

8.9mm!! Wow that's a bit thin I thought, I'm not falling on that, I'll let my climbing partner (son) be the guinea pig. As it happened I took the first falls following his beta (bad mistake with a strong 18 yr old) and the rope was held fine in a gri gri 2. After that any misgivings about holding the rope was forgotten. Lowering was also fine without any slippage or scary moments being lowered from 50m plus (that is a long way up!).

We used the rope for both long onsights and redpoints and even after 10 days continuous use there was no visible wear at either end. Some of the routes we did were fairly new with a lot of sharp edges, sharp holds and rough tufa and, even though the rope ran over these, it wasn't affected at all.

Handling was fine, but it is not as soft or supple as some more expensive ropes. That wasn't an issue belaying, but when feeding the rope into a rope bag it did feel a bit stiff at times. However, that characteristic may have contributed to it being harder wearing.

The only other downside I noticed was the rope seemed to get dirtier a bit quicker than other ropes I've used, though I'm not sure why that is. It was possibly picking up dirt from the gri gri, in which case I need to clean my gri gri. The advantage of looking dirty is that after a few days, the rope (lurid pink!) didn't look like some mutated caterpillar snaking it's way up the rock.

Personally I was happy with the rope and would buy one again.

TJB.

In reply to Climber_Bill:

Thanks. I was thinking about ordering one for an upcoming trip to Kalymnos. Have already fallen on one, so was fine on that score; good to hear about the durability.

In reply to Climber_Bill:

Well done for doing that. Mine was/is one of the most hard wearing ropes I've ever had - just can't destroy it. However it's stiff and not as nice to handle as a Joker, for example, and consequently doesn't pack away in a rope bag as compact as a Joker either. Contrary to yours though, it has remained remarkably clean - cleaner than the Joker! For that price it's great value!

In reply to jon:

That's interesting. It must be my gri gri which is dirty. I'll have to clean it.

TJB.

In reply to Climber_Bill: Good review - thanks for the insight after a bit of use. Not wanting to hijack the thread, but if anyone is after a brand new (still in packaging) 80m 9mm triple rates Simond rope at a bargain price, I'm selling one here: https://www.ukhillwalking.com/forums/for_sale+wanted/brand_new_simond_80m_x_9m... 

In reply to Climber_Bill:

No, I think there's more to it than that. Pretty sure the Grigri isn't to blame - Chulilla's pretty dusty, which gets into the rope and makes it abrasive. Lower off points and your quick draws are more suspect than the Grigri. Plus I'm pretty sure the construction/material of the rope has a lot to do with it too. This last point is well illustrated by the fact that my Simond and Joker get used on the same routes and the same quick draws and Grigri all the time. The Joker gets dirty and the Simond doesn't. Mystery!

In reply to jon:

Well, something must make a softer rope softer, and I would guess tightness of weave on the sheath must play a major role in that - and in how much dirt gets in.

In reply to Climber_Bill:

another vote for decathlon ropes (made by Beal someone told me?)

In reply to Climber_Bill:

Thanks for the review. I've been thinking about getting one of these, both for using as a single on long sport routes and tying into the middle and treating it as a pair of halfs for UK trad. It sounds like it will hold up as a single, but would you use it for trad?

In reply to Ned:

I'd use it for trad for sure. The only issue is both "ropes" would be the same colour. Minor point but something to consider.

I'm going to Riglos in a couple of weeks and intend to use it in twin rope style.

TJB.

In reply to Ramon Marin:

Yeah me too, my pal has one that looks identical to my pink joker!

I've used the thin 'ice-line' version ones and the thicker half-rope versions, both are good as well.

In reply to Ramon Marin:

More likely Cousin, I think. Whatever, certainly not Simond!

In reply to Climber_Bill:

I also rate the 8.9mm Simond. Its a nice rope.

I did a review of mine.

https://wp.me/p3WMas-bE

In reply to gavjwp:

I've a pair of the skinny simond 7.2mm 1/2 ropes which are great (except for the fact that when it gets cruxy and you look down at the pair of skinny shoelaces you've tied into you do wonder how thin ropes can go).  Used for alpine, trad and Scottish winter. 

Only criticism is they quite like to tangle which means more careful rope management esp when windy. They are extremely thin - the size of the tie knot is tiny, it does take some getting used to.