Shorted on rope

Is this just a Samson thing so far?
Anyone see it on Yale, Teufelberger, Sterling or whoever else?
 
Winchman said:
JeffGu, please tell us the brand(s) of rope you're talking about.
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The 12-strand was TrueBlue.
The climb lines were Aztec, DrenaLINE, and Voyager.

Today I measured some more...
200' Samson ProMaster 3-strand (I spliced one end myself) came in at 198' so it must have been right on.
120' Yale XTC-12, sewn splices both ends, was about 16" short, but the splices account for that.
120' Atlantic Braids ForestryPro 12-strand, sewn spliced both ends, was about 9" short. Again, splices account for that.
150' KM-III MAX, with sewn splices both ends, 149'
150' Samson Arbormaster BRW 16-strand, spliced one end, 153'
200' Yale XTC-16 Eclipse, sewn eyes both ends, within 6"
150' Yale XTC-16 Fire, spliced one end, within 6"
200' Yale Aztec, spliced both ends, 199'

These are all coming in well within what you'd expect... considering that they're spliced ropes. Some appear to have been cut to advertised length, then spliced... others seemed to have been cut long to allow for the splices. If they were within 6" I didn't bother to write down the exact length.

There was also another 200' hank of Aztec, spliced both ends, that I cut in half to make two 100' ropes, and those were also within a few inches, so that one must have been right on the money, as well.

I would have measured more, but I had to leave and spend the day weedwhackin' and mowin' and releasing a couple of raccoons I live-trapped last night. They're digging up everything and pissing off the cat.
 
JeffGu said:
I would have measured more, but I had to leave and spend the day weedwhackin' and mowin' and releasing a couple of raccoons I live-trapped last night. They're digging up everything and pissing off the cat.
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Where did you release them?

The consistency of your measurements makes the mismeasurements all the more insidious.
 
I had to know, so I made more accurate measurements just now using a 100-foot steel tape with the ropes straight on flat ground. With hand tension the 150' Voyager was 151'. With the same tension the 200' Voyager was 199', and a little more got it to 200'. I doubt the tension was more than ten pounds in either case. That's just as I expected it would be, so I didn't bother to measure the Mercury.

Since it take a fair pull to move 200' of rope on the ground, I know the tension wasn't the same along the entire length. Removing that source of inaccuracy would be more trouble than it's worth.
 
colb said:
Where did you release them?
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You just want to see me on one of those Crime Daily episodes. I'm not taking the bait. Besides, maybe the mayor should just learn to lock his basement windows, eh?

Winchman said:
Removing that source of inaccuracy would be more trouble than it's worth.
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I agree. Most of these ropes are used, although not very much. I tried to stick with the ones that were new or at least didn't show any fuzzing up, swelling, or work hardening. I doubt if the measurements were terribly precise, but really... how precise do they need to be? If a new rope, fresh out of the bag, is less than five feet short I'm not likely to complain or send it back.
 
Earlier in this thread someone mentioned buying rope at the mountaineering store.

Almost universally, manufacturers of dynamic rock climbing rope sell cut lengths (usually 50, 60, or 70 meters) with an extra two full feet of rope in the hank to account for length discrepancies, and changes in length as the rope breaks in and hardens somewhat.

Amazed this is not the case for industrial products. With rock climbing rope, the big measuring challenge is rope diameter.
 
@ CjM above - Interesting you brought this up - talked on the weekend with some mountaineering types - they go way back to the days of electrical conduit as ice pro - and they agreed shorting would be ill advised if you're trying to make it to the next belay at the top of say, a 60 meter pitch (rope wouldn't be under more tension than it's own weight). Shorting rope there is a real uh-oh. They'd never heard of this in 40 yrs hangin' around on rock and ice (and neither had I till this discussion). There was another thread yesterday floating around with standards for measuring ropes, but I'll say all I want is to buy a specified length, measured with the rope at a relaxed state, not stretched to any particular tension, hand tension or not. The rest still seems bollux and blah blah to me.
Motion: Be it moved that relaxed rope is the new Consultant Debunking Unit Standard of Length Measurement and Sales . . . . .
 
Winchman said:
JeffGu, please tell us the brand(s) of rope you're talking about.

Several years ago I built this wire measuring and coiling stand for the local welding products distributor.
View attachment 68680
During discussions about the project, I remember the company rep telling me the fastest way to lose a customer was to short them on wire. Samson says their measurement standards are +5% -0%, so they obviously feel it's important, too.

I'm going to give Samson the benefit of the doubt on this until someone provides some harder evidence of their pre-packaged ropes not being as advertised.
Click to expand...
It was +0/-5% for ropes that don't contain fancy fibers.
 
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