 Anyone got any ideas about the shelf life of climbing ropes? I've got a Beale 10.5mm rope, never used, dating from 2004. It's been stored in a plastic bag, inside a dark, dry, cupboard. I'm reluctant to throw it out simply on age grounds, but equally don't fancy trusting a rope that may not be in first class condition because of its age. Anyone got any thoughts?
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 At the end of the day it is your call but modern fibres used in ropes are very stable. I tried to break an 11mm mammut rope from the early 80s a couple of years ago by seriously loading it. It had been well used and survived the experience fine (I gave up before the rope did). Having loaded it so heavily it has been retired to the rope bin for tying stuff down, etc. Steve D
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 Do you value your life at less than the cost of a new rope? The simple fact is that you'll never know until you need it at which point its out of your hands.
As Steve says... your call!
BTW my advice... get a new rope.
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 Take a look at the BMC site - might not be there anymore but I remember they looked at longevity a while back (years) and iirc came to similar conclusions to those Steve_D mentions.
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| Edited: 09/06/11 17:21 |
 Read this! Especially this: "In good storage conditions BEAL PPE may be left for up to 5 years before first use without affecting the duration of its future time in use." email them. edited to add - manufacturers will of course verge on the conservative side for PR and sales purposes.
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| Edited: 09/06/11 17:24 |
 also what you'd ab off may be very different to what you'd trust on a big lead fall
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 I'd happily use it, it's not been in sunlight or left full of dirt etc for years. Certainly indoors, even the leader falls aren't huge then.
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 All Beal products have a unique ID. Give them a call explaining how it has been stored and they will tell you when it was made and whether they consider it safe. Personally I'd have no concerns with a 10.5 Beal rope from that vintage. John
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who's going to pay money for old rope? .... oh... 
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OK folks, many thanks for the thoughts. On balance, I'll hang on to it assuming its going to get used this summer [dislocated patella willing]. If it doesn't I'll call it a day and consign it to lowering stuff out of windows. Mainly Christmas trees. Odd house.
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Mammut produce a table of estimated rope life in their Ropes booklet. Though they do say it can be difficult to determine accurately. They would say the approximate life span for a never used rope is 10 years maximum. You can download a copy here (3MB PDF) I think even old ropes are very unlikely to break but impact force may be higher and they may not handle as well. will that be relevant...depends?
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Thanks, the PDF was a well interesting read! You use some interesting words... "estimated", "difficult to determine accurately", "approximate" "unlikely to break" I know the OP has made a decision so just saying I think he made the correct choice 
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 It's 7 years old and has been stored in the best possible way. However, most manufacturers, as stated above, say 5 years' shelf life before any change in properties are likely to occur. The opinions on retiring equipment are beginning to change: Petzl now give no retirement age for metal wear, and state ten years for softwear (as opposed to five years given by most companies). Their helmets are also given a ten year lifetime. Because the products have been around for a while now, and testing is well established, these longer lifetimes can be given with a degree of certainty. Despite all this, five years would have been quoted for that rope. I'd contact the manufacturer as a first port of call. They may want the rope back off you and might even exchange it (free!) for a new one. Unlikely, but it's worth a shot! Regarding properties, because it's been stored in the dark, has not taken any falls, and presambly hasn't had very heavy objects placed on it, there should be few differences from its 'new' state. However, if it plays in the back of your mind (as it clearly does - you've asked on here) you'll drop a grade or two and won't enjoy the climbing as much. Ropes don't often break when you fall - sharp edges are their biggest threat, and on trad the pro will usually break first.
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what Mr Fuller says...10 years unused - if you can be certain it's not been in contact with chemicals etc. Most of the 'use by' dates are conservative guesses and all are dependant on use. Teh usual ' legal standard' phrase is that things *could* fail on a single use. I'd be happy using it. if you're not...get another, flog it with a full description.
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>if you can be certain it's not been in contact with chemicals etc
And thats the thing! you might professionally clean your carpet and the chemical residue/smell will dissipate from the room with the windows open but might linger in a wardrobe in small un-noticable amount to you. What it lacks in overall strength might be achieved over length of time i.e. years its exposed to the rope.
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 I'll Buy it off you if you want rid
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Bedouin, I think that's just fear mongering! If the chemical's volatile then it may get near the rope, but it'll also leave very quickly and won't, by definition, 'linger'. 
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Mr F, Despite looking I can't find the reference but I'm 99% sure that this scenario (or very very similar) was mentioned in a gear related article in "Climb" or "Climber" magazine in the last couple of years.
As to its likelihood I'm not qualified to say but it is a genuine factor.
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| Edited: 13/06/11 10:43 |
