I asked Edelrid’s Product Manager, Philippe Westenberger, 36, about this revolutionary innovation. Through years of R&D and testing, Edelrid developed a means to incorporate aramid to the sheath yarns in the RLP, which roughly doubles the cut-resistance of the rope. To address the second shortcoming, cut resistance, Edelrid adds aramid (most of us know aramid by one of its brand names, Kevlar or Nomex are the most common) to the sheath of the 6mm RLP. This gives the RLP similar “feel” to Edelrid’s German-made climbing cords and equivalent water resistance. Over the past decade, Edelrid has gradually improved its Rap Line and its latest iteration, the “Rap Line Protect” (or RLP, as I’ll refer to it here $240 for a 60m 29g/m advertised, though my home scale measured it at 31g/m) is the company’s latest effort at making a versatile skinny cord which addresses three main shortcomings of these niche ropes - namely, water-resistance, cut resistance, and dynamic capacity.įirst, the RLP uses the same dry treatment as Edelrid’s “Pro” ropes, and employs the braided construction of their traditional climbing ropes. The first pull cords like these weren’t dry-treated (or coated/treated to resist absorbing water), but some skiers took to using them anyway, favoring their light weight and compact size. Climbers would tie a super-skinny cord to their fatter, heavier, dynamic climbing rope, thereby doubling the length of a rappel. Their “Rap Line” cords were originally used as “pull cords,” that is to pull down a rappel rope - usually in rock or alpine climbing. Legendary Germany rope manufacturer Edelrid has taken a very specific approach to these niche, super-skinny ropes. Before we dive into the Edelrid cord, let’s talk about ski ropes in general. I started this piece intending to review Edelrid’s new “ Rap Line Protect,” which got me to thinking about skiers, ropes, why, how, and which one on which day. Need to do a rappel or tie together on a glacier and suddenly the largest, messiest, bulkiest thing in our arsenal needs to come along. And nowhere does mass and bulk glare more obviously than ropes. In our communal quest to ski longer and farther, and do it happily, we’re usually chasing lighter weight, or lower mass, as a wise Colorado skier prefers to say. Missing from that list is a backpack exploding at the seams with gear or worse, one with most of our kit strapped, lashed, and clipped to the outside. I think I probably speak for all of us when I imagine our best days touring in the backcountry share some similarities - blue skies, deep pow, an elegant uptrack, and good friends. Only disadvantage of this device is its weight, but the pros definately outweigh the cons.The RLP resisted moisture and lightened packs during testing in the Vallée Blanche this October. Take care to place a backup belay knot behind the ATC so your second doesn't fall to the ground! Put a bit of webbing or prusikcord through it, run it through a higher placed karabiner and put your weight in it to tilt the device upwards and unblock it. The little eye on the bottom of the device is useful for unblocking the device if a second has fallen and needs to be fed some rope. As with the reverso it is very useful for belaying seconds as it has an auto-locking function. The device can also be used upside down for a little less friction. The ATC Guide is compatible with modern day thin ropes and the grooves give it extra grip when required. Conversely with very thin ropes the Reverso was not safe to use. The reverso is a fine belay device but with older, thicker ropes it could be a real hassle to feed it through the device. After using the Petzl Reverso for a couple of years I was looking for something with smoother rope handling.
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