Home › Forums › The Gear Room › Petzl RAD rope
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Cascade Cruiser.
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- April 6, 2017 at 2:42 pm #803011barrowsParticipant
Any opinions here. This is a super light static cord developed for ski mountaineering. Personally I am a bit sketched out using a static cord for glacier travel. Having the experience of catching/rescuing from one pretty deep crevasse fall in the St. Elias Range, I am not sure I would be OK with a static cord? But Petal recommends it for this. It sure is light and works with my favorite trick bits (tibloc and mini traxion) despite its skinny 6 mm. Perfect fro rapping into coolies of course as it is supposed to rap pretty well with just a munter hitch…
I guess for belaying a hunter would eb the way to go as well, as I cannot imagine any belay device working with it (glacier travel, ‘schrunds sometimes warrant belays…)April 7, 2017 at 9:53 am #803064Kahti RyanParticipantNo personal experience here, but iirc there was quite a big thread about it on UKClimbing awhile back you may want to have a search for.
I think the general consensus was that the static line would do ok. Petzl uses a special construction for it compared with regular statics. Dunno how I’d feel on lead with it though, even on a snow slope where a fall would be more of a slide.
I think most peoples opinion was that it was a good kit, but could be made up cheaper individually, and most times it would be necessary you will be carrying a proper rope anyway. However that’s a climbers POV thinking about for alpine aproaches or non tech mountaineering routes, and those guys already have most of the gear as part of a rescue system. Seems ideal for its intended use to me. Shame petzl doesn’t sell the rope individually.April 7, 2017 at 10:43 am #803066Scooby2ParticipantMammut also has a 6mm snow oriented/belay cord that is available separately.
April 7, 2017 at 12:01 pm #803070barrowsParticipantMammut also has a 6mm snow oriented/belay cord that is available separately.
Actually, Petzl does sell the rope separately, this is what I was referring to. I already have plenty of gear, but that rope is super light compared to anything else.
My point of posting was to see if anyone here has had any experience with it. My concern is that a static cord is going to make catching a crevasse fall more difficult. I have caught a serious crevasse fall (on a dynamic rope of course), and I am almost certain I would not want to rely on a static cord for this, even though it could keep the length of fall shorter, if you could self arrest instantly without getting pulled out of position due to the more violent catch…
Currently I use half of a super light Mammut twin/1/2 rope (it is rated as both) for splitboarding, (I just split it with a friend and cut a 60m into two pieces, so we each have a 30m section). This works great, and could even take a single leader fall if one had to belay a short lead somewhere (top out on ice, or through a short cliff band perhaps). And one section at 30m is perfect for a glacier rope for two.April 7, 2017 at 1:00 pm #803076mgco3Participanthey @barrows, Petzl ropes are fabricated by Edelrid and Edelrid offers basically the same rope (see the specs) only in different colors as “Rap Line II”. The price is significantly lower and it should be available in 30 – 60 m. I use one since this winter, abseiling works fine with the petzl reverso 4(?), only one carabiner, and for glacier travel. But I never fell in a crevasse… the rope feels a bit thicker than you would expect, the rope coat is getting a bit more rough by the time and I have no concerns about belaying somebody during skimountaineering missions. Whats about a (double) munter hitch? I’ll keep on testing, I have two more weeks in Chamonix 😉
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https://mgco3.wordpress.com, https://www.instagram.com/conathanjumpman/April 7, 2017 at 7:18 pm #80311196avs01ParticipantMy back is way too jacked up to consider anything but a dynamic 1/2 rope for what you’re intended use is Barrows. Someone that’s in better health may be able to tolerate the increased force, I’m not willing to even entertain it.
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162 FurbergApril 7, 2017 at 11:00 pm #803124HansGLudwigParticipantWhats about a (double) munter hitch?
If you like your rope kinky and fuzzy, double Münter is for you! (there has to be a naughty joke to be made out of that)
In practice (rapping out of a chairlift on 6 mm accessory cord), the Münter twists the rope like a spring just waiting to be unweighted. It is also really rough on ropes; I wouldn’t want to do that to a fancy rope like Barrows is asking.
FWIW, I find the double Münter has way too much friction even with pack + board. You’re better off wrapping the brake end of a Münter around the ‘biner an extra time. Better yet, use a skinny rope device: Rock Exotica Mini-8 (still prone to kinking) or Edelrid’s Microjul (it doesn’t auto-lock w/ropes this skinny but it still works and is my favorite).
@Barrows, as long as you’re on snow/glacier, you’ll be fine. RAD was designed to belay in situations with give (or slip): the edge of a crevasse (where the rope can cut into) and devices that don’t lock hard. Petzl say it is easier to catch a crevasse fall w/RAD specifically because you won’t get pulled out of position.As points of comparison. . . 6 mm Bluewater accessory cord has static elongation of 16% with 1000 lbf (4.4 kN). Edelweiss & Beal make 8 mm “Glacier rope” w/6-8% elongation. RAD has <2%.
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http://splitboard.com/activity-2/April 8, 2017 at 11:11 am #803168barrowsParticipantYeah, good conversation going. For me, so far I agree with 96av. I am not willing to try and catch a bad crevasse fall with a static rope. By no means am I saying it could not be done, but like I said, I have caught a serious crevasse fall, and the risk of getting yanked off your feet and starting to slide before you can get an arrest is real (especially with a rope of two and you are heading downhill on frozen snow).
I actually love the hunter hitch myself, for snowboard mountaineering situations where you might do one short rap, I am willing to deal with the rope twist (and yes, it is true, the munter turns the rope into a twisted mess). But for something more technical, like the Grand Teton with lots of belaying and repelling, I would always carry a Reverso. Of course on a line like that you are going to have two 60 m twin ropes as well, so it is quite different than what I am discussing here: occasional rope use for rapping in, checking avy conditions, and glacier travel.
Love to hear of more people’s actual experience with the Rad cord though.I will discuss with one of my partners as well. I am considering a Rainier trip next spring, I know a lot of people even travel without a rope for S side routes, kind of crazy to me.; some of the best Alpinists in the world have been killed due to their (over)confidence in being able to read glacier conditions in both the Alps and AK.
April 8, 2017 at 11:26 pm #803204Cascade CruiserParticipantHauling somebody out after a crevasse fall might be a PITA w/ this rig, I imagine a 6mm static cord is going to cut into the lip pretty severely, especially if the lip is factored into the elasticity in the system. I agree w/ your thoughts that a dynamic rope is the way to go for the glacier travel application. If there are folks that have had bad experiences w/ static ropes on glaciers, they might not be on here to post about it.
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