I'm looking to buy about 50' of good quality rope for some yard work and misc use like cutting saplings and or dragging brush with my quad. i have cables and chains, but all of which are very heavy so rope seems the way to go. I have bought from strapworks before and was wondering if anyone has use this rope before? http://www.strapworks.com/Kernmantle_Rope_Yellow_p/kr12yw.htm
pretty strange request/thread, but the best quality rope for general use would be some used climbing rope....or even used boat dock lines...or sail halyard and sheets, ....but how many bundles of 50' of 1/2 braided line that costs $20 can you really go through?....I see $1.60 a foot for the kernmantle stuff....for a get dirty rope, that seems costly.... if you had a contact at a local climbing gym, that would be a high quality rope for your purpose (and easy to untie if you use the right knot)....I had a big spool of 1" tubular nylon webbing that I use for some of your mentioned tasks.... http://www.repurposedmaterialsinc.com/used-climbing-rope.php
Since the listing doesn't say what it's made of, or what it's characteristics are, I wouldn't buy it. I want to know things like stretch, abrasion resistance, UV degradation and such. Go to a boating supply store. They've got a good choice of ropes to pick from. I've a 1,000' spool of 3/8" braided dacron rope myself. Cost me something like $60. Very usefull. I do keep a number of whipped 50' lengths around for whatever purposes. That is a handy and usefull length.
thanks for the replies guys. you're right knowing the basic specs would be good to know. I have a bit of tree cutting and limb trimming to do and need a decent quality rope that won't break the bank. the tree work and limb cutting is around the 12" dia and smaller.
I trimmed trees professionally for 4 years (and it was WAY too much work for me) . . . . . Boat yards, as written above. Dacron will out last you (but not your saw, so be careful). It also coils/uncoils nicely, having little or no "memory."
The important thing to know is the safe working load of the rope.If the rope doesn't specify it's breaking strength or safe working load (SWL), don't buy it, you don't know it's quality. SWL is usually considered 1/5 to 1/6 of the breaking strength and 1/10 if lifting a person. Here is a good link to check; http://kickinteractive.com/dc/units/1_1/safety.html
I have done the tree climbing work also. Hard work, real fun a few times a year other wise just hard work. I was in my best shape ever then though! Here is what I would recomend: http://www.treestuff.com/store/catalog.asp?category_id=143&item=197 Tree climbing line has no stretch and a very rugged outer sheath to protect the core. Bruce from Roanoke
hey thanks again guys and thanks rbjenterprises for the link. that rope is what my friend recommended to me over the phone on my way home from work. I've got a lot of tree work to do around the yard and that rope definately looks like it's going to last a while.
Look up AMSteel blue. Great stuff. Many have changed form steel cable to this stuff for winching and the type of work you are doing. I just bought some 1/8" diameter stuff for some things I have going on at less than a quater a foot from Redden Marine. 1/8" diameter has a 2300 lb tensile strength. Use the coupon code hammockforum. The stuff is made by Samson and you can go to their website to find the weight rating you desire. They even have whipping instructions available so you can make nice clean looped ends and things like that.
I've got some 1/2" poly rope I've been using on my place or 17 years now and it was pretty cheap when I got it. THE BEST THING I have ever used for dragging stuff is an old drive belt off of a 6' finish mower. I make a loop by pulling a loop around whatever I'm gonna pull then run the other end through it and put it over the ball on my ATV and pull away. It cinches up and doesn't slip but when you get the load where you want it all you have to do is back up a tad and it loosens right up, it works amazingly for dragging deer also as you don't get hair and funk on your rope and no jacking with knots at all. If you need a little stand-off room use two of them. I bet an old Serpentine automotive belt would work too.
If you go for a climbing rope, be aware there are two general flavors. Dynamic ropes stretch when a load is applied, the idea is the rope acts to absorb fall forces. Static rope does stretch, but NOTHING like a dynamic rope. 1-2% vs. 10-15%. You will want a static rope for what you're doing. Petzl makes a huge range of static ropes.
thanks Krazyjohnny and others i'll check on those suggestions. I will be using my chains and cable for pulling rotted logs and limbs on the ground with my atv. that would damage the rope fast. I live in an area with a lot of rocks. the rope will just be for tree limbing.
+1 on the AMSteel Look at Sdyderline as well. <TABLE id=PRODUCTDESC cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR bgColor=#ffffff><TD class=mivatech vAlign=top><HR></TD></TR><TR bgColor=#cccccc><TD class=mivatech>Specifications</TD></TR><TR borderColor=#999999><TD><TABLE class=mivatech id=miva borderColor=#999999 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=1><TBODY><TR bgColor=#cccccc><TD width="20%" rowSpan=2>Size</TD><TD width="40%" colSpan=2>Weight</TD><TD width="40%" colSpan=2>Tensile</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#cccccc><TD width="20%">lb/100'</TD><TD width="20%">g/m</TD><TD width="20%">lb</TD><TD width="20%">kg</TD></TR><TR><TD>1.8 mm</TD><TD>0.2</TD><TD>3.0</TD><TD>350</TD><TD>159</TD></TR><TR><TD>2.8 mm</TD><TD>0.4</TD><TD>6.0</TD><TD>1200</TD><TD>545</TD></TR><TR><TD>3.8 mm</TD><TD>0.8</TD><TD>11.9</TD><TD>1900</TD><TD>863</TD></TR><TR bgColor=#e2e2e2><TD>4.8 mm</TD><TD>1.3</TD><TD>19.3</TD><TD>2500</TD><TD>1135</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=body borderColor=#ccccff colSpan=2> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
I've got a ton of old climbing and rigging ropes that are no longer safe to climb or rig on but are still usable. Been climbing trees for 12 years and hate throwing away $200 ropes. PM me if you want a few hanks.
