climbing line

[billw]

how often do you change your climbing line? ive been climbing on mine for about 8 months, not everyday. the rope looks in good condition. i havent had any falls so it hasnt been shock loaded.

 

[Colin]

There is no set time limit. Many variables are involved.

 

[Happyclimbing]

I am pretty sure that most manufacturers recommend at least once a year and anytime after a big fall/shockload. If you are an aggressive climber and your rope gets frayed and beat up within a year, then I would follow that guideline. I am good to my ropes and I protect them because they protect me. I have a 150' velocity that was climbed on for one year and then became my access line. I have another that will be my access line next year and I climb on now, and then I will buy one for my new climbing line when it's time to move the current climber to the access role. Note: picks are your worst enemy and can make a one-hour-old rope useless for climbing

 

[Blinky]

I think the one year with no serious damage guideline is very safe. With a friction saver, ropes don't pick nearly as much and probably last at least half again as long. The way my luck goes though, I nick mine with a saw before they wear out from use. At $160 for a really nice new, eye-spliced rope, it's worth the confidence you'll have in the tree to replace them annually.


I've told this story before but it's worth mentioning again...

I took a 25 year old, heavily weathered, dynamic rock climbing rope (yep, 25 years), cut a six foot section and slippped off the sheath to make a couple of flashy dog collars. The core was two braided pieces, I lost one and used the other one as a chew toy for a 6 month old border collie... one VERY energetic dog.

We trashed that half of a rope core for a few months until you wouldn't know that's what it was. It still seemed really strong so I knotted it and hung on it, even bounced a bit and it never showed any sign of failing... that it held 190# at all was surprising to me.

I'm not saying use ropes for 25 years, or even 2 years, but it's worth knowing that when you retire your lifeline for age (rather than damage), you can be confident it's perfectly safe until the day you stop using it.

 

[Stumper]

I have a rope on the truck that is about to be retired after 18 months of use. I have another that is 4 years old and I'll probably keep it in service until the end of the year---it simply hasn't been used that much and has always been stored out of sunlight. Rope condition and proper storage matter much more than chronology.

 

[treesandsurf]

I would feel fine with climbing on a line that has had more than a year of service as long as it was well taken care of and there were no nicks, frays or worrying things about the line (shock loaded, used for rigging etc...) For me, coming up on two years I would think of retirement.

jp

 

[billw]

thanks for the advise. a guy i work with said that he was going to replace his rope after 6 months even tho it looked in really good condition, i think thats crazy if there is nothing wrong with it and its being replaced due to its age.

 

[scott_baker]

There have been some threads along this line....in the past.

I am also sure that there are some more middle aged lurkers out there that are chuckling about this one. I never really thought too much about how long to use my ropes. If they got cut or abused or were just worn out looking... we cut them up for odds and ends. We often used ropes for more than a year... including our rock and Mountaineering ropes...and I still do.

I have spent a large amount of time during my life relying on ropes. Our modern arborist ropes are way over engineeered...which is good. Even the manilla ropes I first used in trees were very strong with huge safety factors.

As for me I think that its the use that the rope gets that should be your measure of when to retire it not the age of the rope.

A modern rope would need to be hanging out side in direct sun for quite a long time in order to be damaged
enough to loose significant strength.

I don't think shock loading would ever be an issue with a climbing line unless you used it for lowering. If you took a whipper on a tree rope long enough to damage it...you would not be needing the rope anyway.

I don't mean to put down folks who are being cautious or are cautious by nature. Those of us doing tree work need to be focused on the task at hand and not worrying about our life lines functioning! Replace your rope if it worries you...but don't be too hasty!

 

[treesandsurf]

[ QUOTE ]


I don't think shock loading would ever be an issue with a climbing line unless you used it for lowering. If you took a whipper on a tree rope long enough to damage it...you would not be needing the rope anyway.



[/ QUOTE ]

I've heard of people shock loading their ropes from short distances. I could see it easily happening when you're standing on your TIP trying to reach the very top of the canopy.

jp

 

[Leon]

Jon, I think Scott meant that if you actually fell far enough to shock load your rope to the point that it was significantly damaged, you would probably have put enough force into your body to snap you in two. After seeing the shock loads that tree climbing lines can endure when used for rigging operations I don't worry at all about the forces that my body puts on the line.