Dodgy Rope

[EarlyRiser]

I’ve bought all sorts of rope and cord and never had a problem until today.

I ordered some 7mm purlon rope which arrived this morning. It looked and felt OK but I noticed that that outer sheath was not one continuous piece but two, joined in the middle by heating .

A sharp tug caused the halves to separate revealing a core of two separate braided cords.

Wondering about the quality, I tested the strength of one of the inner cords by pulling it between my hands. It stretched, distorted and snapped without putting a great deal of effort in.

If there hadn’t been a problem with the outer sheath I wouldn’t have noticed the poor quality of this rope. Needless to say I’ve asked for a refund as this stuff is going in the bin.

Just glad I didn’t discover this whilst it was supporting my tarp at 3 am.

Tom

 

[Shewie]

I've used various lengths of purlon for ridgelines and they've usually been okay, you do need to ask for one length though as sometimes folk will fob you off with the joined up pieces.

If you're getting a refund maybe have a look at some climbing accessory cord, 4mm will be ideal for a tarp and won't stretch as it's static.

 

[SimonM]

I use 4mm static line for the ridge and 3mm for the guys and prussicks.

No problems at all with this set up.

Simon

 

[EarlyRiser]

I have some 9mm purlon rope that I've had for about 5 years which has been great. It's been used for pretty much everything including:

Tarp ridge line
Puppy training lead
Canoe painter
Safety line
Children's swing
Bison lasso

Ok perhaps not all of the above (I've never had a puppy) ;-)

I agree 4mm is fine for a ridge line but it's a bin thin for some other purposes.