When should I retire my rope

The manufacturer of your rope says:

Time in use : The potential lifetime of BEAL PPE in use is up to a maximum of 10 years. The lifetime of the rope in use must never exceed 10 years.

The rope must be retired immediately:

• if it has held a major fall, approaching fall factor 2
• if inspection reveals or even indicates damage to the core
• if the sheath is very worn
• if it has been in contact with any active or dangerous chemicals
• if there is the slightest doubt about its security

Note that the severity of a fall is not measured by distance but by fall factor. Short falls with little rope out (in a gym) may have a higher fall factor than longer falls with a lot of rope out (outdoors).

They also give a general guideline for expected rope lifetime:

• Intensive and daily use: 1 year
• Weekly and intensive use: 2 years
• Daily in-season use of average intensity: 3 years
• Weekly in-season use of average intensity: 5 years
• Several uses during the year of average intensity: 7 years
• Very occasional light use: 10 years.

This PDF from BEAL gives visual guidelines for rope wear:

(click for larger)

(Although not directly describing dynamic climbing rope)

Rescue Tech 1 guidelines for inspection/retirement of kernmantle life safety rope:

If your rope has any of the following characteristics it must be retired:

• Abrasion/Sheath Wear - The core is exposed or more than half of the outer sheath yarns are abraded.
• Fraying indicates broken or damaged sheath bundles caused by abrasion or overloading.
• Glazing and/or glossy marks or hard, stiff areas which signify heat damage.
• Discoloration, a change in the ropes original color is an indication of chemical damage or overexposure to the elements of nature including UV radiation.
• Exposed Core Fibers indicate severe sheath damage and possible core damage.
• A Lack of Uniformity in Diameter or Size indicates core damage. This is noted by a depression in the diameter of the rope, lumpiness of the rope or exposure of white core fibers protruding from the sheath.
• Flexibility and/or inconsistency in texture including, but not limited to, stiff or soft areas signify possible core damage.
• Use/Age - the rope is simply worn out from use. We recommend a low elongation/static rope be removed from service after ten years under ideal use and storage condition.
• Loss of Faith - if you feel uncomfortable for any reason or suspect there may be a problem with your rope it must be retired and destroyed.It is not possible to pre-determine an expected life span for a rescue kernmantle rope. Consistent, accurate record keeping, with a careful inspection program, are the best methods for determining when to remove a rope from service.
• No type of visual inspection can be guaranteed to determine accurately and precisely actual residual strength. When the fibers show wear in any given area, the rope should be downgraded or replaced.
• Service / Storage Life: Rescue Technology recommends that Low stretch Kernmantle Life Safety Ropes should be retired within 10 years of its production date. We also recommend that Life Safety Ropes be put into active service within 5 years of its production date in order to enjoy the rope's handling characteristics. These stated time limits in no way preclude the requirement of regular inspection by a competent person skilled in the inspection of Life Safety Rope and appropriate use by trained rescuers. Warning: Lack of accountability of a ropes purchase date, usage dates and types, inspection dates and results can impact the suitability of any rope used for life safety.

posted over 10 years ago

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Mr.Wizard‭

251 reputation 8 79 27 0

If you ask the rope manufacturers they typically advise to drop a rope after between two and ten years depending on the usage. For most non-professional climbers I would typically head more towards ten than towards 2 years, as long as there haven't been any incidents that substantiate suspicion that it might have any damage. According to this article from the UIAA your rope should develop handling issues such as getting stiff and/or kind of "furry" at the outside long before it will have serious safety issues as long as it has not been loaded over some sharp edge during a fall.

So according to your description I would guess that in technical terms your rope should still be perfectly fine and stay so for some time.

You seem to have some non-technical issues with it and from your question I believe to read some idea of buying a new rope, but are still searching for a reason to get rid of the old one, as you mention that it's a bit heavy and too long for most of the stuff you do. In this case you could cut your old rope into two halves and use them as your gym ropes (30m should be enough for most gyms) while getting a new lighter and maybe shorter one for the other stuff.

posted over 10 years ago

CC BY-SA 3.0

Benedikt Bauer‭

181 reputation 4 67 21 0