Rope Lengths

[2065toyota]

I was bored last night so pulled some of my ropes out of my bags just out of my curiosity and also safety. I took them out of the bags and laid them out:

300' fairly new - didn't measure
200' brand new - didn't measure
220' old - now 196'
110' old - now 94'
120' old - now 108'
70' old - now 61'

Pull cords:
220' old - now 204'
120' old - now 116'

Just goes to show that it may be a good idea to check your ropes to see what they have become over time after some wetting and drying periods

[Eric Holden]

Good Advice, my 200ft was 187 last I measured and my 80 was 72.

[Walden]

Interesting, I didn’t know that ropes shrank that much. I’ve never actually measured mine. Although, how much does the rope stretch back when it’s loaded. Do you get the full length back, or only a percentage? Anyone ever tested this?

[2065toyota]

Never done an actual test but I think it is a pretty low percentage of stretch

[canyonexplorer]

Looks like approximately a 10% rope shrinkage over time.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

[ratagonia]

Interesting, I didn’t know that ropes shrank that much. I’ve never actually measured mine. Although, how much does the rope stretch back when it’s loaded. Do you get the full length back, or only a percentage? Anyone ever tested this?

Nope.

They shrink for real.

Tom

[2065toyota]

This thread was started as a reminder partially since we encountered a solo person in Spry that his rope was 10' short on one of the raps. Everyone should measure their ropes or at least keep in mind that they are probably shorter than they think

[jman]

Thanks for the reminder!

[Iceaxe]

Yeah, it's a real shocker when you discover ropes shrink while in a canyon. Thanks for the reminder.

Tap'n on my Galaxy G3

[nkanarik]

Are these static ropes?

[ratagonia]

Are these static ropes?

Yes.

Tom

[Iceaxe]

Are these static ropes?

It doesn't matter as both static and dynamic ropes shrink.

[dougr]

Holy frick, thanks for the heads up.

[elenius]

Wow, what type of ropes were those?
The only one I've measured was my 240' 9.2 canyonero, which only shrank to 237' after quite a bit of use... not a whole lot. Unfortunately I never measured it when it was new. It's possible that Tom cut some extra, in which case it would have shrunk more.

[Iceaxe]

It's possible that Tom cut some extra, in which case it would have shrunk more.

The ropes I've got from Tom are usually cut a little long. In my experience 5 to 10 percent shrinkage is typical. I'm really careful about measuring and marking my ropes as I use them to measure rappels for the beta I post. I don't think I've ever had a dynamic or static rope that was well used that did not shrink at least 5% (10' in a 200' rope).

[ratagonia]

Wow, what type of ropes were those?
The only one I've measured was my 240' 9.2 canyonero, which only shrank to 237' after quite a bit of use... not a whole lot. Unfortunately I never measured it when it was new. It's possible that Tom cut some extra, in which case it would have shrunk more.

When we cut ropes, we cut about 2' extra per hundred feet. But it varies, quite a bit.

The ropes also vary quite a bit. While it is fairly scientific to make them, it is also somewhat an art. So batch to batch they come out a little different.

Tom

[qedcook]

Yeah, my old 80' is also about 72' now.

[IntrepidTraveler]

Iceaxe, what do you use to mark your ropes? I've always been hesitant to mark my ropes with anything. Possibly a holdover from my climbing days and urban wisdom, er. legend..

[SRG]

Damn, never knew that ropes shrink like this, wow. Thanks for the heads up.

[Bootboy]

When we cut ropes, we cut about 2' extra per hundred feet. But it varies, quite a bit.

The ropes also vary quite a bit. While it is fairly scientific to make them, it is also somewhat an art. So batch to batch they come out a little different.

Tom

Do you find that different rope constructions and or materials effect the amount of, ahem... Shrinkage?


LNT

[Iceaxe]

Iceaxe, what do you use to mark your ropes? I've always been hesitant to mark my ropes with anything. Possibly a holdover from my climbing days and urban wisdom, er. legend..

Scare tactics so you will buy the expensive rope markers.

I just use a large Sharpie. I mark a section of rope about 6" long all the way around the rope. If you don't mark a large section it becomes almost impossible to see after a dozen canyons. I've marked literally hundreds of canyon and climbing ropes this way and never seen an issue. My ropes usually have 3 marks which sections the rope into quarters.


Tap'n on my Galaxy G3

[ratagonia]

Do you find that different rope constructions and or materials effect the amount of, ahem... Shrinkage?


LNT

Yes.

















The problem is, there is no 'standard' test for rope shrinkage, so it is very hard to quantify, thus it comes down to anecdotal evidence.

And, as we all know, the plural of anecdote is not data.

So I THINK that my polyester, hard-woven ropes shrink less than other models, but still...

One should expect 10% shrinkage over time. What time? Uh, well, one canyon to 40 canyons, somewhere in there. And it might shrink more.

Conclusion: measure your ropes from time to time. I remember pulling out a 300 foot rope from my closet for a Heaps trip, and deciding to measure it just to be sure... 275 feet, or, just long enough to be BIG BIG trouble. Good thing I checked.

The rap in Waterholes Canyon is an especially evil one, as it is 302 feet. If your rope is a few feet short, you could have a bad day.

Tom

[ratagonia]

Icescrew, what do you use to mark your ropes? I've always been hesitant to mark my ropes with anything. Possibly a holdover from my climbing days and urban wisdom, er. legend..

Scare tactics so you will buy the expensive rope markers.

Unlike The Axe, I prefer to use methods where marking the rope is irrelevant. Why do you need to mark the middle of the rope? Two accidents recently because people used a method that involved marking the middle of their rope - that did not work. Hospital.

Tom aka The Screw

:moses:

[Iceaxe]

Unlike The Axe, I prefer to use methods where marking the rope is irrelevant. Why do you need to mark the middle of the rope?

I mark my rope in quarters, which makes it extremely easy to measure the length of a rappel accurately..... which is probably why the rappel length's in my beta has historically been more accurate then Tom's.

:bootyshake:

[ratagonia]

I mark my rope in quarters, which makes it extremely easy to measure the length of a rappel accurately..... which is probably why the rappel length's in my beta has historically been more accurate then Tom's.

:bootyshake:


:boxing:

[qedcook]

Do you find that different rope constructions and or materials effect the amount of, ahem... Shrinkage?

Usually I roll my eyes at your posts. I've got to hand it to you on this one. Hilarious! :lol8:

[ststephen]

:popcorn: ...and I wouldn't expect to get to use that icon on a thread titled "Rope Lengths".