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SendMasterJack
Apr 29, 2009, 1:14 AM
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I'm sure this topic has been covered, but I will ask for some advice anyhow. I have a mammut dynamic rope, and the middle of the rope is marked but not very obvious. I was wondering what would be a safe non corrosive way to mark the middle of the rope to save myself some time up yonder.
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bill413
Apr 29, 2009, 1:21 AM
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SendMasterJack wrote: I'm sure this topic has been covered, but I will ask for some advice anyhow. I have a mammut dynamic rope, and the middle of the rope is marked but not very obvious. I was wondering what would be a safe non corrosive way to mark the middle of the rope to save myself some time up yonder.
I've come around to not wanting to mark mid-points. If you misread the mark, or later shorten one leg of the rope, the middle mark may mislead you.
When I want the middle of the rope, I grab both ends & pull them together until I get there.
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mach2
Apr 29, 2009, 1:25 AM
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No offense to bill, but if he decides to go ahead with it, "Marks A Lot" pens or Sharpie are applicable methods, and I suppose you could use different colors if you cut your rope later.
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Lazlo
Apr 29, 2009, 1:34 AM
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I agree with the dental floss.
...and it's not hard to remove if you decide you don't want it there anymore.
(This post was edited by Lazlo on Apr 29, 2009, 1:35 AM)
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bill413
Apr 29, 2009, 1:49 AM
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mach2 wrote: No offense to bill, but if he decides to go ahead with it, "Marks A Lot" pens or Sharpie are applicable methods, and I suppose you could use different colors if you cut your rope later.
I used to use the Blue Water marking pen...then I heard about other rope manufacturers not wanting to endorse the use of marking pens. So....I'm willing to climb on someone elses rope who did it (more or less - don't ask, don't tell) but I won't do it to mine anymore.
The dental floss seems reasonable...but lately I've heard too many stories of people misjudging equal ends of ropes. So, I spend the extra energy to actually find it (no wonder I can't climb harder, wasting all that on the rope).
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potreroed
Apr 29, 2009, 2:32 AM
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Magic Marker brand and Sharpie are safe. If you do any amount of rappelling you want your middle well marked.
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bill413
Apr 29, 2009, 2:36 AM
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potreroed wrote: Magic Marker brand and Sharpie are safe. If you do any amount of rappelling you want your middle well marked.
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northfacejmb
Apr 29, 2009, 4:28 AM
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I just use a strip of climbing tape because you can see and feel it easily.
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mckbill
Apr 29, 2009, 4:39 AM
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That light string you can get from opening dog food sacks, or large sacks of bird seed is good.
I attach it with a dbl-fisherman followed by overhands until I have about 2 inches tied on the middle of the rope. It makes a nice mark that is visible and easy to feel. I replace it when it gets dirty or starts to fray from use.
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coastal_climber
Apr 29, 2009, 5:48 AM
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northfacejmb wrote: I just use a strip of climbing tape because you can see and feel it easily.
Only problem is that tape slips, wears easily and tears.
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clc
Apr 29, 2009, 1:58 PM
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and the tape can slide down the rope, and not mark the middle.
New england(Maxim) ropes says to use Avery Marks-a-lot). they said it was tested on thier ropes
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reg
Apr 29, 2009, 2:22 PM
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IMHO - i don't agree with weaving dental floss into the mantel. i believe you could possibly degrade it's integraty. when those yarns get stretched tighter then tight on a fall, you don't want anything in between them like sand, grit, even water, which causes excess pressure. sand and grit cut and bla, bla, bla.
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coolcat83
Apr 29, 2009, 2:47 PM
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Just whip some floss or nylon thread around the middle occasionally weaving it through the sheath, it works just fine and you don't mess with the core
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markc
Apr 29, 2009, 3:40 PM
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bill413 wrote: potreroed wrote: Magic Marker brand and Sharpie are safe. If you do any amount of rappelling you want your middle well marked. If you do any amount of rappelling you want to be sure you find the middle of the rope. Guaranteed. Everytime.
I hear what you're saying, but if I put the mark on my rope, I damn well trust it. I'm determining center the same way you're finding the middle to rappel, only I'm doing it with my feet up on the couch rather than tired at the end of the day on the side of a rock. That said, the trust isn't blind. I make every effort to confirm the ends are where I want them, and watch the ends while rappelling.
Sure, cutting down the rope will result in the mark being off-center. It will also result in a shorter cord, something else that needs to be clearly communicated to partners. I find the markings fade with time. Putting a new mark in the appropriate location shouldn't be an issue. I rarely cut down ropes. When I do, they're usually semi-retired to shorter cragging. In that case, I rely upon middle-marks much less. I'll still caution partners at the start of each day.
As far as what I use, I picked up the Blue Water marker some time ago. I've heard good things about whipping the sheath, which has the added benefit of giving a change in texture. I'd never suggest tape, which can migrate too easily.
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rtwilli4
Apr 29, 2009, 4:33 PM
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I have searched this on here and haven't ever heard of anyone just wrapping thread around the rope. I'm not down with sticking a needle in the rope like some people say, so I just wrapped some white thread around the middle of my rope a shit ton of times and then tied it off. It's been climbed on about 100 pitches since and it's still in the middle.
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desertwanderer81
Apr 29, 2009, 4:56 PM
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Just use a sharpie and be done with it.
It's the easiest and fastest way......
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angry
Apr 29, 2009, 5:17 PM
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desertwanderer81 wrote: Just use a sharpie and be done with it. It's the easiest and fastest way......
Not if you don't have a sharpie.
I've only got a bottle of bleach, iodine, and bucket of half rotted potatoes. How should I mark my rope?
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westbend
Apr 29, 2009, 5:20 PM
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I use waxed dental tape (extra wide floss). It is stronger and easier to work with. Instead of the traditional whipping, I use a continuous band of clove hitches. Just wrap, tuck and tighten, wrap, tuck and tighten. Keep going till you have a 1/2 inch wide band. I usually do three of these about 3 inches apart. This is really easy with a large sewing needle. With traditional whipping as soon as a strand gets cut the whole thing unravels. With the clove hitch a break doesn't hurt.
Even with the clove hitches, the whipping will not last a lot of weighted runs through a belay device. I usually get only a few sessions of toproping before I get to do it again.
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desertwanderer81
Apr 29, 2009, 5:24 PM
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angry wrote: desertwanderer81 wrote: Just use a sharpie and be done with it. It's the easiest and fastest way...... Not if you don't have a sharpie. I've only got a bottle of bleach, iodine, and bucket of half rotted potatoes. How should I mark my rope?
O
I'd mix it all together in a bucket and put the middle of your rope in it.
But if you have a knife, you should cut up part of the middle so that it can perforate it better.
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angry
Apr 29, 2009, 5:31 PM
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desertwanderer81 wrote: angry wrote: desertwanderer81 wrote: Just use a sharpie and be done with it. It's the easiest and fastest way...... Not if you don't have a sharpie. I've only got a bottle of bleach, iodine, and bucket of half rotted potatoes. How should I mark my rope? O I'd mix it all together in a bucket and put the middle of your rope in it. But if you have a knife, you should cut up part of the middle so that it can perforate it better.
I was thinking of inserting parts of the potato into the middle so you'd feel it when it passed. The bleach was to sanitize not only the potatoes (cause they're rotting) but also the entire length of the rope because outdoors is icky and germy. The iodine is to clean any wounds I inflict on myself cutting the potato or opening the sheath in the middle.
Two questions though.
Isn't there some cool Mr. Wizard thing you can do with potatoes and iodine? Something about turning blue, I can't remember but maybe this could be integrated into the mark.
The other is, will stitching my sheath back together be better or should I try to melt it back together? I'd use a patch kit but that's not in my list of materials.
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desertwanderer81
Apr 29, 2009, 5:38 PM
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Good idea.
http://www.biology-resources.com/documents/Experiments-sup/02-enzymes/13-starch-phosphorylase.doc
On the potato iodine thingie.
On the rope, you've got to use fire to bind the resins in the rope together after cutting it open. Otherwise the rope will be significantly weakened. Everyone knows this.
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angry
Apr 29, 2009, 5:44 PM
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desertwanderer81 wrote: Good idea. http://www.biology-resources.com/documents/Experiments-sup/02-enzymes/13-starch-phosphorylase.doc On the potato iodine thingie. On the rope, you've got to use fire to bind the resins in the rope together after cutting it open. Otherwise the rope will be significantly weakened. Everyone knows this.
Will a barbecue work? Spice pirates stole my lighter.
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desertwanderer81
Apr 29, 2009, 5:47 PM
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Common genious! Now how are you going to light the BBQ without a lighter?
JEEZE.......
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markc
Apr 29, 2009, 5:49 PM
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desertwanderer81 wrote: Common genious! Now how are you going to light the BBQ without a lighter? JEEZE.......
Your grill doesn't have a button ignition? Lame ass.
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