climbing rope weight

1. most manufacturers cut the ropes a few metres longer … mammut does this … have you measure the EXACT length of the rope?

Due to the manufacturing process every «Kernmantle» rope shrinks from use. Depending upon weather (heat, moisture), environment (dust, sand) and type of usage (lead rope, top rope), it’s possible for a rope to shrink by 5-10%. In order to guarantee the advertised rope length we cut our ropes 2,5% longer than indicated.

2. the 8 oz is irrelevant for the security of the extra length … in fact its pretty period irrelevant unless you are doing the gnarliest alpine or hardest sport climbs … thinner ropes are MUCH less durable

3. theres ALWAYS been inconsistencies in weight, diameter, length of the ropes between manufacturers …

dont get fixated on the weight of thin ropes …. i see many people buy and blow them out in a short while … climbing ropes arent like BPL, they get USED hard

;)

yes, I understand all that…

but for me, the durability of the rope is a low priority as I will only use it a few times…

the priority for me is the weight of my pack to get in to the peak… if I can't carry all the climbing gear along with my backpacking gear that there will be no climb…

thanks for your reply

bill

Edit: nm

no, I did not measure it yet.

wanted to get feedback before removing the wrapping…

figured there would be some chance of returning it if it was unopened AND over weight… even though they say no returns on ropes it could be a case of false advertising… at least in my mind.

I once bought a BD rope many years ago that was advertised as weighing 6 lb..
I opened it but it felt heavy. I weight it and it was 9 lb !!!!!!

I took it back to BD store and they refused to take it back. But after arguing with the manager for awhile and claiming false advertising he relented and refunded my money.

This mammut at 8oz over (after estimating a deduction for packaging weight) is not that gross of a discrepancy, but it is especially bothersome as this Serenity model is marketed as being the lightest single rated rope!!!

thanks,

bill

well if you havent unwrapped it and havent measured out … how do you know its really over?

not that it really matters … plenty of people have been climbing stuff with crazy approaches with thicker ropes for years … and i aint talking about 11mm, but in the 9.2-9.5mm range ;)

yes, it is a conundrum: unwrap it and it is not returnable; don't unwrap it an you can't tell if there are a few extra meters to explain the extra 8oz or not…

as for what weight other people have or will carry in the past, that is irrelevant to me… I am trying to keep MY weight down… really don't car about other people's weight…

thanks,

bill

Lucky you. I once bought a New England rope that was advertised as 60m and it came out as 60yds (that's a 20ft difference for those wondering). That was before the desert air shrunk it another 5 feet.

If you can't climb a peak because your rope weighs an extra pound or so and that prevents you from carrying enough protection…well maybe you aren't physically fit enough to climb the peak safely in the first place? Or maybe you just aren't smart enough to just make your climbing partner carry the rope ;)

All teasing aside, it does suck when gear comes out over spec and I understand your reasoning for not opening the packaging yet, but it's still unreasonable to judge a product through guestimation. Packaging can be deceptively heavy and a rope being extra long (2.5% as Eric pointed out) would also add ~3oz of weight. So that leaves 5oz that could be easily accounted for by heavier packaging than your estimate, a rope longer than 102.5%*60m, or simple variations in your local environments humidity levels that will cause a rope to gain or lose weight. That ignores standard manufacturing variations as well (maybe their nylon thread batch was microscopically thicker than normal but enough to add weight).

For a 52g/meter rope @ 60m you're looking at 110oz (113oz if you go with the 2.5% over cut). I'm assuming you estimated weight of rope as 110g when it should have been 113. So in that case (110+8) / (113) gives you a 4% overweight factor, which is within the realm of manufacturer variability.

Open it up and enjoy your climb!

it is a conundrum: unwrap it and it is not returnable;

you do know that most retailers will destroy a rope that is returned, or any other safety climbing gear … even unopened

im not saying dont return that stuff if theres a good reason … but places like REI destroy returned climbing safety-related good … so its not the best karma just to return climbing gear

well it's not the best karma for a manufacturer to advertise a rope as being the lightest in it's class and then send them out heavier than advertised…

it would be a good lesson for them to eat a few ropes and learn the penalty for false advertising…

and that lesson, if learned, would be good karma for all the rope consumers… me thinks…

bill

Aren't the new serenities 8.7mm versus 8.9mm for the older models? Maybe the specs were for the 8.7 but they shipped an 8.9? Just a possibility.

well it's not the best karma for a manufacturer to advertise a rope as being the lightest in it's class and then send them out heavier than advertised…

and that lesson, if learned, would be good karma for all the rope consumers… me thinks…

oh come on now … you DONT EVEN KNOW the true length of the rope or the weight without the packaging …

and even if you did … look at the calculations Dustin did … itll come to a 4% gap at most … which is VERY normal on gear

thats what i hate about BPL … people going off about a 5 oz (considering the extra 2.5% mammut says they tack on in length) on a 113 oz rope

have you tried contacting mammut about it ?????

for all the judgmental comments…

which, buy the way, only server your own egos and do not answer my original question…

so… I will no longer read responses to this post…

bye..

8oz on a rope is nothing to worry about.