When I got this rope it was an awesome bi-pattern 70m. Six months later it was sweet 60m. Another six months passed and now it’s a stellar 50m. At any length, this rope is great. Yet despite my best efforts to treat this rope carefully (e.g. by keeping it away from sharp edges and rough rock) it keeps getting shorter the more I climb on it.
Weight
It’s 57 g/m.
Handling
Supple. It feels soft and is easy to handle when making tough clips. It just feels good in your hand. Its soft nature can make untying knots a bit difficult, but they always come untied eventually.
Durability
Bah! Thought I’d found a good one here. The tight weave on this rope makes one think it’ll hold up to some abuse. But at the end of the climbing season, mine had some disconcerting wear on the sheath within a few meters of the end of the rope. I had to cut it down to a 60m, then, after another half-season, I had to cut it again to a 50m.
Yes, it’s on the lighter side at 57 g/m, but my Petzl Volta has held up through several seasons without significant wear, and it’s only 55 g/m. Too bad it doesn’t come in bi-pattern.
Conclusion
I never realized how much I’d like having a 50m bi-pattern rope. Seriously, if you’ve never hiked to the crag with a 50m, try it. You’ll keep stoping to check if the rope is actually in there, it’s so light. Nonetheless, I was expecting to get more life out of this at its original length, and at some point it’s going to get damaged again. I’m not sure if it will be useful for rock climbing once it’s shorter than 50m; I guess it’ll become a gym rope. Until then, oppan alpine style.