Sterling 12.5mm WorkPro.

@rico did you pick a new climbing line yet? I have a tree coming up that, if I choose to accept it, I will want to run a rope between 2 trees over the top of a third tree that has a decayed area in the main trunk that I dont want to climb past. My idea is to use 1/2 inch htp to create an overhead tie in point so I can safely rig down the compromised tree. The two trees I want to run the overhead rope between are at least 300 ft apart. I figure htp will give me the least sag, therefore need the least tension. So if you got the 1/2 inch htp, I am wondering what you think of it. I might be ordering a 600' spool.
Sorry guys but a new 12.5-13 mm climbing line is gonna have to wait, as I just blew my wad on 1200 feet of rigging lines. The Marlow Vega has turned out to be a wonderful rope for my needs and is playing extremely well with the HH2, Wrench, Runner, and Hitch Climber setup. Gonna roll with it for awhile.
 
Sorry guys but a new 12.5-13 mm climbing line is gonna have to wait, as I just blew my wad on 1200 feet of rigging lines. The Marlow Vega has turned out to be a wonderful rope for my needs and is playing extremely well with the HH2, Wrench, Runner, and Hitch Climber setup. Gonna roll with it for awhile.

The Vega... Is that the same cordage i always see mumford on? If so, it seems like a good low stretch cordage.. something like 1.x @ 10%?
 
I just picked up 600ft of htp 12.5 mm for a special tree job I'm doing at the end of the month. I need it to run a high line between two trees that are about 300 ft apart so I can safely climb a compromised tree in between them. Once that is done, I am planning on cutting a 200ft piece to climb on. Hopefully it plays nicer with the wrench then the 13mm km3. View attachment 62840
I bought 12.5mm HTP to use with the Akimbo since it was on the approved list.
I hated it as a climbing line.
Stiff as heck and and a chore to redirect and knot.
After hanging on it for a while in the tree it shrinks a little in diameter in the area your climbing device passes over while descending on it.
That part of the rope gets stiffer than a wire cable, more like a stick of hard wood.
You can hold it in your hand unweighted and the freaking rope will stand up on it's own.
If you want a stiff static rope then HTP is for you.

HTP is now limited to my 5:1 MA rigg or as a side line rope.
 
I bought 12.5mm HTP to use with the Akimbo since it was on the approved list.
I hated it as a climbing line.
Stiff as heck and and a chore to redirect and knot.
After hanging on it for a while in the tree it shrinks a little in diameter in the area your climbing device passes over while descending on it.
That part of the rope gets stiffer than a wire cable, more like a stick of hard wood.
You can hold it in your hand unweighted and the freaking rope will stand up on it's own.
If you want a stiff static rope then HTP is for you.

HTP is now limited to my 5:1 MA rigg or as a side line rope.
I assume 11mm htp would act the same way. I have never climbed on either. I am surprised also that 12.5 htp is approved for the akimbo because as far as I know it is not approved as an arborist work positioning rope. 1891a is the arborist cert right? I didn't see that anywhere. I think it is way too static at higher loads, so almost no shock absorption. Which probably means it wouldn't be approved in a comp either, but thats of secondary concern. The akimbo isn't certified for anything either, so there is that. Just playing with it in my garage I can see what you mean. It's a stiff line for sure. And still too much friction on the wrench, but a little better than the 13mm km3. At least just pulling on it in my garage. As long as it will hold an alpine butterfly and a follow through figure 8 loop I can use it. I definitly would not like trying to throw it, as in up to a higher tip. It will be fun to play with and worst case senerio, I will have a dedicated zip line rope.
 
I assume 11mm htp would act the same way. I have never climbed on either. I am surprised also that 12.5 htp is approved for the akimbo because as far as I know it is not approved as an arborist work positioning rope. 1891a is the arborist cert right? I didn't see that anywhere. I think it is way too static at higher loads, so almost no shock absorption. Which probably means it wouldn't be approved in a comp either, but thats of secondary concern. The akimbo isn't certified for anything either, so there is that. Just playing with it in my garage I can see what you mean. It's a stiff line for sure. And still too much friction on the wrench, but a little better than the 13mm km3. At least just pulling on it in my garage. As long as it will hold an alpine butterfly and a follow through figure 8 loop I can use it. I definitly would not like trying to throw it, as in up to a higher tip. It will be fun to play with and worst case senerio, I will have a dedicated zip line rope.
I believe EN 1891A is just the general norm for static ropes. Some of the more popular lines in the states are also not approved if I remember correctly. They don't need to be either, as it is a EU norm.
 
The Vega... Is that the same cordage i always see mumford on? If so, it seems like a good low stretch cordage.. something like 1.x @ 10%?
Yea Richard seems to be using it these days.. It feels like HTP in that it has no detectable stretch even with 300 ft out, but unlike the HTP in remains soft with a good hand when loaded. My 325 ft hank milked like a mutherfucker but once it settle in it has been a killer.
 
I have a few small climbs on 170' of Kernmaster 12.6mm, I need to wash it and rough it up a bit. Don't like how slippy it feels in hand or how easy a hitch flys on it (8mm beeline 4 wraps, Knut H, with Hitch Hiker). Knots nice enough and grip is kinda neat in that it never turns into a cable and deforms softly in hand. Just feels kinda waxy, paired with a tight cover makes bare hand grip kinda low. I want it to work... just not feeling it yet. Nothing higher the 40' or solid, so not sure about the bounce. I won the rope in a draw, so if it doesn't work oh well. Picked up a 200' hank of Platinum 11.5mm, love it so far.
 
I have a few small climbs on 170' of Kernmaster 12.6mm, I need to wash it and rough it up a bit. Don't like how slippy it feels in hand or how easy a hitch flys on it (8mm beeline 4 wraps, Knut H, with Hitch Hiker). Knots nice enough and grip is kinda neat in that it never turns into a cable and deforms softly in hand. Just feels kinda waxy, paired with a tight cover makes bare hand grip kinda low. I want it to work... just not feeling it yet. Nothing higher the 40' or solid, so not sure about the bounce. I won the rope in a draw, so if it doesn't work oh well. Picked up a 200' hank of Platinum 11.5mm, love it so far.
Idk if I'd be all about washing it without it actually needing it.. To me, that would be like purposley reducing it's strength to get rid of an aspect that should go away with use. Teufelberger has some data on rope washing & the affects. Iirc, look into their Scrubba page.

Also, idk if anyone the has noticed this or not, but every time I'm done playing around with a cordage that has vectran in it, i notice an odd slick substance on my hands.. i don't even know how to explain it, it's different than the normal waxiness... If your beeline has vectran in it, it could be what your noticing along with that kern cover being smooth to begin with.. To me, it was especially noticable if continually bombing the same section of cordage. However, with normal use, it goes away.. It's basically something you really gotta mindfuck to realize. I doubt most would even notice.

Yea Richard seems to be using it these days.. It feels like HTP in that it has no detectable stretch even with 300 ft out, but unlike the HTP in remains soft with a good hand when loaded. My 325 ft hank milked like a mutherfucker but once it settle in it has been a killer.

Oh wow. That's pretty impressive. Thanks for the heads up on milking. I'll make sure not to terminate both ends immediately.
 
Did some climbing on 1/2 inch htp today. Decent sized oak trim, but the tree was icy, so it took a little extra time. I'd say I was on the rope about 3 hours. I ran the bulldog bone today and it handled very well. Smooth on ascent and very nice on decent. Slack tending was a little harder than with softer, smaller diameter lines, but not bad. I can see why some people don't like htp. Stiffness, work hardening and that kind of thing, but I kinda like it so far. I'll test the hh2 and rope wrench soon, but I pretty much know the wrench is going to be high on friction for decent and the hh2 is going to be great with the right hitch and cord.
 
I've been back and forth between drenaLine and HTP for the last couple weeks.. HTP is great with the HH.

Drenaline has been smooth with the Akimbo, with noticeable stretch. Haven't tried the Akimbo on HTP since breaking in the Akimbo.
 
For a thread that started about hand pains and difficulty gripping we have not mentioned rope strand counts this whole time, or how some ropes are when loaded after climbing.

The higher the strand count, the more slick the rope can be to grip. I think this is less of a problem with KMI 1/2" but I know for a fact climbing on Yale's kern, Scandere, and Drenaline are brutal after a while climbing bare handed *if you climb in a way the commits to pulling yourself around*.
Tburger Xstatic was a bit more kind to the hands, and I actually liked that rope until it was heavily used where by that point it was a bitch to knot at all and was cable stiff.

Some 32-48 strand ropes get good and skinny and a bit squared (think arbor Plex) after the same section has been running through devices and for a guy with little hands I literally HAVE to climb with gloves, it's my only relief. Which I guess from what I've read and heard, studies show hand fatigue just continuously gets worse as days go on without rest (think Monday vs Friday grip).

So I offer literally no helpful advice at all. All I can say is best of luck trying different things out, and don't dismiss the thought of using gloves if you don't already use them. And a single - hand ascender, throw one of those in there too if you can help it.
 
I've thought of following Rico's lead on the larger diameter 3-strand lanyards, thinking the bumpiness is helpful.

It's harder as a guy with big hands to climb skinny ropes. Foot ascenders are hand savers. Gloves make your hands effectively smaller as grip goes, IMO.

Wet ropes, a regular factor here, for part of the year, exacerbate the issue.

A 3.:1 is so easy to install on SRT, before pulling up a base-tie, or before a limb-walk.
 
I've thought of following Rico's lead on the larger diameter 3-strand lanyards, thinking the bumpiness is helpful.

It's harder as a guy with big hands to climb skinny ropes. Foot ascenders are hand savers. Gloves make your hands effectively smaller as grip goes, IMO.

Wet ropes, a regular factor here, for part of the year, exacerbate the issue.

A 3.:1 is so easy to install on SRT, before pulling up a base-tie, or before a limb-walk.
Nothing like a fatter 3 strand lanyard for bigger conifer removals. I'm gonna splice you up a 5/8" 3 strand lanyard and pop it in the mail for you. Do you run biners or a rope snap on your lanyards? How long would you like it?

I sure wish someone would make an all poly 16 strand 12-13 mm climbing line. Easy on the hands, low stretch, and tough as nails. I myself would buy a fucking mile of it.
 
It is one of the toughest ropes I have encountered, other than perhaps the tri-tech. the 16 strands seem to offer decent grip.
 
Not sure about the bounce, but it seems quite static to me, being a nob.
I see that Yale used to offer the same rope in 13mm also.
 
My climbing style does include a lot of pulling myself around by hand, hence my pursuit of a rope that is easy to grip, yet works well with available srt devices. I agree with the above statement about strand count affecting grip via texture, but I would like to add the weave pattern affects the grip too. Take a look at the orange km3 (13 mm) vs the black km3 max (11mm). The km3 has a 2 over 2 pattern vs the km3 max 1 over 1. Both 32 strand, much different texture. Also pictured 24 strand yale 11.7 and scandere 11.7 48 strand. I don't have a comparison picture for the 1/2 inch htp, but it is 32 strand 1 over 1, measures the same diameter as the 13mm km3. Grip is perhaps slightly better on the km3, but it is also generally a softer and more flexible rope.
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