Do you seriously have a rope log? Do you also write logs for your quickdraws and cams?

Maybe this is just a carry over from my job in the fire service...

So here it is on it's own thread... Do you keep a rope log? I do.

I can't come up with enough cons not to versus the pro's of having one.

Yeah well call me coo-koo but I do have a rope log for both my ropes. Maybe this is just a carry over from my job in the fire service but it makes sense to me.

I mark down what kind of service the rope was doing (TR, Lead, Rappels) location, dates and any significant event to the rope. (washing, lead falls, ect.) I also have on record the purchase dates as well. This is a folded piece of paper kept in my rope bag and takes ten seconds or less to fill out after a day of climbing. This is probably considered overkill by many but it's what I do.

I've kept a rope log since I bought my first rope. It's just a small composition book that fits nicely in the rope bag pocket. After each trip I record the date(s), location/crag, # of pitches, and # of lead falls. I'll also record other info such as wash dates/detergent used or any other incidents worth noting. This book is really more of a generally estimation of the wear and tear my rope has seen because there are many subjective factors to consider. I do not simply retire a rope based on numbers and dates. I must agree with the majority of the discussion in that feeling for imperfections and visual inspection is a far better way to determine the condition of a rope than a simple rope log. However combing the information found in a rope log with visual inspection would be beneficial. Also, it's often interesting to look back through the rope log after a year or two and realize how many amazing places you've been and recount how many pitches/lead falls your rope has seen.

I've kept a rope log since I bought my first rope. It's just a small composition book that fits nicely in the rope bag pocket. After each trip I record the date(s), location/crag, # of pitches, and # of lead falls. I'll also record other info such as wash dates/detergent used or any other incidents worth noting. This book is really more of a generally estimation of the wear and tear my rope has seen because there are many subjective factors to consider. I do not simply retire a rope based on numbers and dates. I must agree with the majority of the discussion in that feeling for imperfections and visual inspection is a far better way to determine the condition of a rope than a simple rope log. However combing the information found in a rope log with visual inspection would be beneficial. Also, it's often interesting to look back through the rope log after a year or two and realize how many amazing places you've been and recount how many pitches/lead falls your rope has seen.

I've never retired a rope based solely on information found in my rope log. In addition, I've never kept a rope which failed a visual inspection based on information found in my rope log. If a rope fails visual inspection I can open my rope log and take a look at the details... If the rope is relatively new (or even brand new), seen few lead falls, and experienced (to my knowledge) no unusual wear and tear, I'm still going to retire the rope. However, I can then contemplate that the damage came from either an extreme circumstance (sharp edge, ect.) or possibly a manufacturing problem. Alternatively, if the rope has been in service for 2.5 years, caught 85 lead falls, and been subject to much rope drag and hang-dogging, I can then determine that I’ve probably got my money’s worth and it is due time to retire the rope. After climbing for decades through the lifetime of numerous ropes, one might be able to look back over the information and ascertain a pattern of some sort. For example, he might notice that all the ropes which faced no unusual wear and tear were ready to be retired around 3 years, 1000 pitches, and 80 lead falls. It’s also possible that this person would find no pattern of any sort and the data would be completely sporadic providing no realistic speculation on the typical lifetime of a rope.

I wish I had enough figures to give you some specific results, but I simply haven’t been climbing long enough. I do intend to accumulate this data as I, God willingly, climb through the next few decades. Maybe someone here has done this and can offer some insight? The problem with forming a “typical lifetime” for a rope is that people will presume to expect that from their rope and not yield caution while the rope is still young often neglecting to inspect the rope visually. I’m the kind of person that inspects my rope before every trip because I understand that it only takes one bad fall, or chemical spill, which may even go unnoticed at the time, to render the rope useless. So, we must take great caution when presenting this kind of data to the public.

As I mentioned before, there are so many subjective factors that contribute to wear and tear on a rope and as a result, it is difficult to conclude on any definitive information provided on the typical lifetime of a rope. My rope log is not going to influence my decision on when to retire my rope until I know more about the durability of dynamic ropes. At the moment it is more or less just an accumulation of data and something I enjoy filling out as I reflect back on my climbing trips. Most people probably don’t need a rope log to remember what kind of wear and tear their rope has been subject to. And most people probably don’t care exactly how many pitches their rope has been service to, but this is information my rope log provides for me and my own benefit.

Out of curiosity, how many ropes have you even ever retired?

Here is what your rope log should look like.
DATE PURCHASED _____

If more than 5 or so years have passed start thinking about getting a new one even if the rope still looks and feels ok.