I have been using one of the club ropes indoors for a while (I think is one of the oldest ones the club owns) and I have a question.
How "safe" are those ropes? ... and how can one tell when it is still safe to use a rope? I am asking mainly because I am tempted to try the clip-drop technique to get a bit bolder when leading and I want to be 100% sure about the gear I am using.
(I know, I can have the same fall when leading without falling deliberately, it is just a feeling.)

another general question about buying ropes - they have Impact force rating - do I understand it correctly that smaller is better (I think it stands for a maximum (peak) force the rope will load any gear during a fall)

Cheers Petr

im sure the club ropes will be ok for the clip drop technique, they'll be more than safe enough. but i wouldn’t do it excessively on the same rope for a long time because you'll just shorten its life unnecessarily. the club does have some ropes it uses predominantly for indoor use, perhaps use one of these.

basic considerations for ropes/checks you should do periodically:
> retire after 5 years from purchase
> for a club rope used frequently, it should be retired after 2 years
> unsafe if there are notches in the sheath, or excessive furring on large sections of the rope
> consider retiring it if the core has come away from the sheath along large lengths, or the core has shrank.
> check for lumps etc in the core along the whole length, these could be weaknesses

you are correct about 'impact force ratings'. lower is better in term of reducing the force on climber but tends to mean the rpe has a sorter life span - read this from the BMC
http://www.thebmc.co.uk/Feature.aspx?id=1440

you can also download theBMC's Care and Maintenance booklet http://www.thebmc.co.uk/Download.aspx?id=77

_________________
VP '08-'09

They should be perfectly safe (when they're signed out to you) or they'd be retired!! However it's definitely good practice to check any gear you use before you use it, the more times things are checked the less likely it is for a problem to develop. I personally wouldn't use gear that wasn't mine without checking it first.

If you are concerned about anything you should tell someone on committee, preferably one of the gear secs who can check things and decide what needs to be done. It's also worth noting that if you do take a fall you should let the gear secs know so they can record what's happened to each piece of gear.

As ropes get older the main problem with them is that they get less stretchy, which means they won't break or anything like that, they'll just catch you with more of a bang, putting more force on the gear (and you) etc. retiring ropes is usually more to do with that than anything else really. Having said that i when i was gear sec i had to retire a club rope once that had the sheath completely worn through on top rope, watch out for sharp edges!!

In terms of impact force lower usually is better, especially when winter climbing or on trad where you often want as little force on the gear as possible, but it does mean the rope stretches more, so you'll fall further, which might mean hitting the ground in some cases, so it's not always a good thing. It's probably not something I'd particularly worry about when getting a rope, because as long as it's not a static rope it'll be fine for most climbs.

_________________
Girls like three things: Danger, Boners and R1oss' guns.

They'll be fit for the purpose. But as Tommy says, you'll shorten the lifespan taking whippers every clip. If you really have to, if falling is the only thing stopping you from climbing harder, if the 'clip-drop' technique is going to solve all your head game problems and make you amazing, then go for it.

With one condition. Tie into the other end of the rope on alternative 'clip-drop' routes. The rope may be safe as it is, but take reptitive lobs onto the same end and they won't stay that way for very long. Give the thing a chance to rest.

_________________
Developing Nicely.

thank you all for your advice. I want to say that I definitely do no intend to do the clip-drop technique twice a week on a club rope.. I am just thinking about trying it out