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