Weight Comparison * Rope Bag Fit * Choosing a Diameter * How Long? * Sheath Slippage * Country of Origin * Warranty
Weight Comparison
Model | Rated Strength | Weight grams/meter | Weight lbs/100 feet | Weight lbs/200 feet |
8.0mm Canyon Rope | 4100 lbF | 50.0 g/m | 3.34 lbs/100ft | 6.68 lbs/200ft |
8.3mm Canyon Fire | 4100 lbF | 57.3 g/m | 3.85 lbs/100ft | 7.70 lbs/200ft |
9.2mm Canyonero Rope | 5000 lbF | 63.5 g/m | 4.27 lbs/100ft | 8.54 lbs/200ft |
6.0mm Canyon Pull Cord | 2200 lbF | 30.2 g/m | 2.03 lbs/100ft | 4.06 lbs/200ft |
Rope Bag Fit
Model | Rope Bag for 120 feet | Rope Bag for 200 feet | Rope Bag for 300 feet |
8.0mm Canyon Rope | Bagarino/Bagette 1 | Small Silo | Medium Silo |
8.3mm Canyon Fire | Bagarino | Small Silo | Medium Silo |
9.2mm Canyonero Rope | Bagarino | Medium Silo | Mystery Pack |
6.0mm Canyon Pull Cord | Pot Shot? | Bagette 1 | Bagarino |
Choosing a Diameter
There are many factors to take into consideration when selecting a canyon rope diameter for YOU, with perhaps the most important being personal taste. I suggest choosing one size as your "standard rope", so you and the people you canyon with can dial in how to set up your rappel rope and device for optimal friction in each situation.
The 8.0mm Canyon Rope and 8.3mm Canyon Fire Rope provide very close to the same amount of friction; while the 9.2mm Canyonero provides quite a bit more. While slightly bigger, the Canyon Fire is also slightly softer, and the two properties cancel each other out. In discussions of diameter, the 8.0 and 8.3 will both be called "8 mil".
The most important factors in choosing a rappel rope size for you:
- Your Weight - big people need a bigger canyoning rope. Partly because you will need 'more friction', but mainly because your weight is the driving force behind the rope rubbing against edges and getting dinged up (that's a technical term). The higher your weight, the more you tend to tear up the rope. Careful, experienced 200 lb canyoneers in non-flowing canyons can probably get good life out of an 8.0mm canyon rope. But most canyoneers pushing 200 lbs will be much happier with the 9.2mm rope. Include the weight of your regular canyoneering partners in your calculations.
- The Tools You Use - each rappel device on the market will work best with a limited range of diameters. Figure of Eights are good for 'fat ropes', but not so good for skinny ropes. The Pirana and ATC-XP work better with small diameter cords. Largely, it is a matter of what you are used to, and what you have training and practice using. Match the tool to the rope, or the rope to the tool, but make sure they match.
- The Canyons on Your Hitlist - Canyons come in a lot of different flavors. Wet flowing canyons are tougher on ropes, so choose a larger diameter rappel rope for that. Canyons far from the road encourage choosing lighter ropes. Canyons in Ouray combine flowing water with sharp rock, so the 9.2mm Canyonero would be the Ouray tool of choice.
- Experience Level - Certainly, more skilled people tend to avoid swinging side to side on rappel, and other things that
tear up ropes. If you take beginners out a lot, you will want to tend toward a fatter rope.
- Personal Taste - Perhaps the most important factor - what do you like?
How Long is My Rope?
Here at Imlay Canyon Gear, we cut every pre-cut length ourselves. We buy spools that are 610 feet long, then pull the ropes out in my back yard, cut to length and coil, carefully finish the ends, bag and tag. Each 100 foot length is cut to be 101 to 102 feet. When cutting three 200-foot lengths, the last length tends to be 2 to 4 feet longer, or 204 to 208 feet. Our MINIMUM length to send the rope out is the actual stated length, but very few will be less than 1% longer than stated - when new.
As canyon rope is used, it tends to get shorter. Because of the tight weave, I think our ropes shrink less than most - but there is no standardized test for rappel rope shrinkage, and the amount of shrinkage will vary wildly with the details of usage. So I make no specific claim, other than that your rope will shrink, and every now and then you should check to see how long it is.
Sheath Slippage
Modern climbing and canyon rope is made in a "Kern-mantle" form: A Kern or Core covered by a woven sheath or mantle. With a few exceptions, the core and sheath are not bound together except by friction. When we rappel, we Squeegee the sheath down the core, and the sheath CAN slide down the core. This is called "Sheath Slippage".
Is this a problem? Not usually, but... it is important to be aware of it. The obvious result is that you can end up with a section of sheath at the end of the rope with no core inside. This section is NOT ROPE and has no strength, and should be cut off immediately and the end re-melted.
Imlay Ropes have less tendency for the sheath slipping than many other ropes, I think because of the tight weave. It helps that the core and sheath are the same, meltable material (polyester). When we finish the end of your pre-cut length of rope, we weld the core and the sheath together, which is harder to do when the core and sheath materials do not melt together well.
You can create situations that will increase sheath slippage. For instance, taking your new rope out and having a bunch of people all rappel in the same direction on the same section of rope -- which might sound kinda normal, but will create considerable sheath slippage.
PREPARING YOUR CANYON ROPE - If you are concerned about sheath slippage, you can prepare your rope by pre-shrinking the sheath onto the core. Soak your rope in water, then hang it up to dry. Repeat a couple of times. By shrinking the sheath slightly onto the core, sheath slippage can be reduced substantially.
Country of Origin
Imlay Ropes are made in Canada, using fibers made in Korea.
Warranty
WARRANTY: Imlay Canyon Gear products are warrantied to be free from defects in materials in workmanship. We also warrant that canyoneering will beat the crap out of you and your gear. If you have a problem with one of our products, please talk to us and we'll see what we can do.