Independent specialists since 1984 

	About Climbing Ropes
ORDER BY PHONE: 01433 651013 9:00am - 5:30pm 7 days Hope Road, Bamford, Hope Valley, Derbyshire, S33 0AH, UK. Main Menu > CLIMBING > Climbing Equipment > Climbing Ropes > About Climbing Ropes Climbing Ropes: Frequently Asked Questions. Q: What's the difference between "single", "half" and "twin" ropes? A: Climbing ropes have evolved into three main types, tested to three different standards. Single: One rope used on its own, generally for sport climbs, shorter direct line crag routes and top roping. Not so good on meandering routes as the rope has to zig-zag between protection resulting in excessive rope drag. Not good on multi-pitch routes as these tend to meander and retreating abseils would be limited to half the length of the rope. Single ropes are identified by a "1" inside a circle on the end marker. Half: Two thinner and lighter ropes used as a pair but clipped separately. Used correctly they reduce rope drag, allow full rope length abseils and increase safety. Half ropes are good for trad, multi-pitch and mountain routes. Half ropes are identified by a "½" inside a circle on the end marker. Twin: Two even thinner and lighter ropes used together side-by-side as if they were a single rope. Generally used for mountaineering where saving weight is vital. Used as a single during ascent but can be used like half ropes in descent for full rope length abseils. Twin's are much safer than singles where there is a risk of rope damage due to sharp edges etc. Some of the more recent "Twin" ropes also conform to the standard for "Half" ropes. Twin ropes are identified by two overlapping circles inside a circle on the end marker. Q: What gives a rope it's stretch / What does "dynamic" mean? A: The "dynamic properties" of a rope are best described as the way in which it absorbs the impact of a fall and the way in which it returns to its pre-fall, pre-loaded state, to be ready for the next fall. The nylon filaments that make up a rope are not in themselves elastic. If stretched they break. What gives a rope the ability to stretch and absorb falls without damaging the filaments is the construction and the interaction between the core and sheath. The core is made up of spiralled bunches of filaments running along the rope. These have some constructional elasticity but this needs to be controlled. On its own the core would just elongate until the filaments were loaded. The sheath, apart from keeping the core strands together, contracts around the core as the rope elongates acting as as a gradual brake limiting core stretch. After a fall the rope gradually returns to it's pre-fall state as it flexes and moves around. Q: What are "Dry" treated ropes? They're more expensive but are they worth the extra money? A: In short, "Dry" ropes have a treatment to protect them from moisture, and yes, they are definitely worth the extra money, even if you never go out in wet conditions. Now here's the longer version..... Climbing ropes are made from nylon filaments, which are hydrophilic, so in wet conditions water is absorbed into and trapped between the material the rope is made from. This doesn't just make the rope wet and heavy, it weakens it and seriously effects it's dynamic properties. Testing has shown saturated ropes to be weakened by up to 70%!! Saturated nylon filaments are weaker than dry ones and on top of that water acts as a lubricant preventing the required interaction between the sheath and core, resulting in much higher impact forces and potential damage to the falling climber and the rope. The damage caused to the climber will probably be obvious but the damage to the rope won't be. See question above regarding dynamics. Q: If "Dry" treatment is so important why do manufacturers make non "Dry" ropes? A: It's cheaper. If you can guarantee that your rope will never get damp, it will be okay, although it won't last as long. Q: What are all the numbers and letters written on the ends of climbing ropes? A: These identify various things including rope type (single, half or twin as described above), manufacturer, the standards to which it conforms (EN, CE, U.I.A.A. etc), length and sometimes batch number. Often the batch number is only on the printed documentation supplied with the rope.

PRODUCT AVAILABILITY: We source many of our products from very small manufacturers who don't have registered bar codes. Although technically possible it is impractical for us to operate an automated stock control system. We would be working for the machine rather than the machine working for us and there aren't enough hours in the day to do it. However, it is rare for us to be out of stock of anything and we do our best keep our site updated accordingly. If we know we're out of stock of something we remove the "add" button or put a note against the item. In the rare event we sell out of something between web site updates or we miss something, we would let you know, giving you the choice of keeping the item on order or cancelling. If you would like to check availability of an item prior to ordering either give us a call or drop us a line by email. E: info@hitchnhike.co.uk

YOUR SECURITY: We use the Actinic Payments System powered by CreditCall. This is 100% PCI DSS compliant and 3D secure. Actinic Payments meets all current banking security standards including PCI DSS, which is now a requirement for all UK businesses to accept credit card and debit card payments. It also supports anti-fraud options such as AVS, CV2 and 3D Secure. Your card details are not held anywhere in our system.

WHO ARE WE? We are an independent specialist company based in Bamford, Derbyshire and we've been trading for 28 years. We are a family firm and all our staff are long term. If you don't know us and are worried about buying over the Internet from a company you've never heard of type "Hitch n Hike" into Google and check us out, or just give us a call.

HIGHLANDS & ISLANDS: Some remote areas and islands may be subject to additional delivery costs, requirements or restraints, depending on the size and weight of the item ordered. If you place an order and this is the case we would contact you to discuss options / additional costs. We will always do our best to find a way but if we can't we may have to cancel the order. If you'd like us to check first just give us a call.

COPYRIGHTS: All images, content and test figures are subject to copyright and may not be used without written permission from Hitch n Hike Ltd. The embedding of images, content, test figures or tables on other web sites is not permitted unless it is to the benefit of Hitch n Hike Ltd. For clarification or further information contact shaun@hitchnhike.co.uk