Weight Comparison * Rope Bag Fit * Rating Information * Sheath-Heavy Design * 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 | 3900 lbF | 50.0 g/m | 3.34 lbs/100ft | 6.68 lbs/200ft |
| 8.3mm Canyon Fire | 3900 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 |
Rating Information
Our ropes are rated using a 3-sigma system. The rated strength is at least 3 standard deviations less than the mean breaking strength. A test is made
every 9000 feet of rope, at a minimum.
Sheath Heavy Design
Traditionally, static ropes use a 50% sheath, 50% core design. Since there are few stats associated with static ropes, manufacturers like to "get" a nice
high rated strength, as something they can sell to the public. Strength comes from the core, so this tendency encourages putting more material in the core.
In canyoneering, the sheath is what counts. Ropes die when they get core-shot - when one of the 16 sheath strands get cut all the way through. Our Canyon Fire
and Canyonero ropes are designed to pack more material in the sheath, where it will increase the durability of the rope. The Canyon Fire packs 56% of the
material into the sheath, or, to put it another way, the sheath has 27% more material than the core.
The Canyonero is somewhat less unbalanced at 52% Sheath, because we also chose, on this rope design, to achieve a 5000 pound rating to meet
Boy Scouts of America (and other) standards. On the Canyonero, the sheath has 8% more material than the core.
Choosing a Diameter
There are many factors to take into consideration when selecting a 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 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 rope size for you:
- Your Weight - big people need a bigger 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 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 cord, or the cord 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 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 the 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, Bill and I 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 ropes are used, they tend to get shorter. Because of the tight weave, I think our ropes shrink less than most - but there is no standardized test for 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 canyoneering ropes are 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 on 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 of a tendency for the sheath to slip 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 at the ends, which is harder to do when the core and sheath materials do not melt together well.
Ropes can be "tightened up" before use by soaking in water and then drying, perhaps 2 or 3 times. This tends to shrink the rope a bit
and tightens the sheath on the core.
Country of Origin
Imlay Ropes are made in Canada in an ISO 9001:2008 Certified factory, from fibers manufactured in Korea.
Warranty
WARRANTY: Imlay Canyon Gear products are warrantied to be free from defects in materials and 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.
