Blue Water Ropes

[Tony Anders]

Has anyone on here used the Blue Water ropes in there caving experience.

My brothers and I are looking into getting some ropes for use inside the caves, incase we need to lower into a pit or off a ledge, we need something durable and something that will hold up to getting wet from time to time.

I looked at this at Campmor www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=39202537&memberId=12500226

I don't know if it is what we need or not. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know, please.

thanks again for everyones help in the past.

[Azurerana]

Bluewater II 7/16 static rope is fine for caving. I've got a hank of it in the basement. As long as the rope is nylon, static and kernmantle construction it works fine. Check out Pigeon Mountain Industries Pit Rope as well-- www.pmirope.com Many cavers like PMI better--it is a caving product for cavers. I'm not a rope head-- After the weekend, I bet Tim White, one of the other mods here, will check in--he's a safety and techniques kind of guy so you might want to wait for his two cents before plunking down $$$$. But I've never heard of anything 'bad' about Bluewater II.

Just avoid dynamic rope for any load-bearing application in a cave--it's way too springy. Americans tend to cave on 11mm or 7/16 rope-- Europeans go for smaller rope diameters, but they use other SRT techniques too.

Wait for Tim to check in. Have you seen the book "On Rope"? I highly recommend it, plus getting someone experienced to teach you caving Single Rope Technique. They talk about rope and knots in that book, too. Reading AND doing is best...stay safe.
Azurerana

[madratdan]

I own Blue Water II rope and recommend it as good to go. Nice static line and easy to clean. We have it permanently rigged in several caves in Williams Canyon. I'm sure there are better ropes, but I see nothing wrong with Blue Water II. The price does seem a little higher than what I paid, but I haven't invested in new rope for several years.

[Tim White]

Back from a weekend of caving and a bit of cave rescuing.

Tony- I personally know both Glenn Newell of Blue Water and Steve Hudson of PMI. Both companies manufacture quality ropes. The following is my opinion only...

I STRONGLY prefer a very low elongation (low stretch, i.e. “stiff”) rope. PMI 7/16” Classic rope has 2.8% elongation (stretch) at roughly 10% MBS where BWII has 5.1%

Why do I prefer a very low elongation rope?
#1. A rope with higher elongation is very bouncy when climbing.
#2 Lip transition. I have been standing at a lip on BWII, with my rack locked off, lean back to put weight on the rope and due to stretch, find myself below the lip!
#3 I coil my ropes, I don’t bag them. BWII is to soft to hold up to moving through a cave in a coil.

As I said, my opinion only. But in full disclosure... My wife, Berta Kirchman is a PMI Sponsored Athlete.

[Rick Brinkman]

I have BWII and Sterling ropes. I very much prefer my Sterling rope. Because it has less stretch (and might be slightly smaller diameter) it feeds through my Stop much easier. I have had other cavers (various descenders) complain about how slow my BWII is. Of course, on the other side, the higher friction is great for teaching beginners.

The Sterling also seems to be a little softer than other ropes, such as the PMI, so it's easier to tie knots in. It's also a little bouncier than the PMI too.

Personally, I won't buy BWII again.

[Tony Anders]

OK, thanks for all the replies and helpful information.

I guess what I should ask now, "is the bluewater rope worth the money for a first rope for us to invest in, or should we pool our money and purchase a PMI or other type of rope.

Remember we aren't going to be doing extensive rapelling. We will mainly use it for small 10-20 foot rock wall rappels, and small free fall drops. I was also wanting a rope that will be good for using in water. something that will take the everyday rigors of us carrying it through the cave ...

Thanks for the input.

Keep the info comming..

[guanonoggin]

Tony,
Most dudes I know use PMI because of its toughness. It can take lots of major abuse and keep on workin for ya man. Trusting your bones to one rope means you want to know you can totally depend on it. If you read the post on Sloans Valley it is friggin clear you can croak from a 25 foot fall pretty easy. So go with what makes you feel safest man.

I never tried BW but it would prolly do the trick too. I am a total PMI dude though. So far so good.

Good Karma to ya dude.

[Brian Roebuck]

I like PMI too since it is proven good in the TAG region. Kentucky is close enough to TAG that it should do great there too.

[Azurerana]

Hey, here's a thought--unless you are in a real whale of a hurry, try out someone else's rope first.

From a safety standpoint, either BWII or PMI will do. As others have noted, they have subtle differences in performance, which are probably a matter of preference. Just as long as you have more rope than the pit you are dropping, and since you say you are doing less than 50 footers, it likely doesn't matter that much. My BWII is a short length rope, too.

As you ask around, find some gray haired people and ask them about Goldline. Now that made both BWII and PMI look like the king's non-stretch answer to one's prayers.

[happykillmore]

I use PMI sport rope because it is the best for what i do. But it depends on the equipment you are using. If you are using a figure 8 then you are better off with Bluewater. and if you are doing 50 feet or less that is fine. but if you are using a rack i would say go with pmi.