If you’re new to top roping or climbing in general, you might be wondering if you can use static rope for top roping – and if so, how to go about it safely. There are as many opinions on this as there are climbers, and to some degree all of them have some validity.
While it’s not recommended to use static rope for top roping, many climbers do. The reason dynamic rope is used in climbing is because it stretches and absorbs a lot of the force of a fall. If climbing with static rope, the climber would take all of the force of the fall which could cause serious injury.
There are static ropes made that are specifically made for top roping and rappelling, but they need to be treated differently than dynamic ropes would be. A company called New England Ropes actually makes static ropes that are meant for top roping.
These ropes can easily be bought for a dollar or less per foot. They are available in a variety of colors, it’s important to tell anyone who may be belaying you that you are using static rope – as they must belay differently when static rope is used.
Because static rope is available in bright colors, they may mistake it for a dynamic line. You should never allow anyone to borrow or use these ropes unless they are well aware that they are static lines, they could seriously injure themselves if they treat them as dynamic ropes.
Essential Safety Rules for Top Roping with Static Rope
If you do decide to top rope with static rope, there are a few rules that must be followed to at least lessen the risk of injury in the event of a fall. The belayer must not only be aware that you’re using static rope, but how to properly belay static rope as well.
They need to make sure that there is almost no slack in the rope whatsoever, as with any excess line the climber would take a lot more impact than they would with dynamic rope.
You should only ever climb with an experienced top roper, an they need to pay close attention not only to the climber – but how much slack there is in the line.
Semi-static Rope for Top Climbing
A better option for top rope climbing may be semi-static rope. There is a small percentage of stretching in all ropes, even static ones. But the percentage of stretch can be very minimal with most standard static ropes.
While static ropes may offer little to no stretch, there are semi-static ropes that offer a bit more stretch than a static rope, but not as much as a dynamic rope. These can be ideal for top roping, especially in situations where you may be concerned about decking (see below).
A company called Singing Rock makes a series of ropes that they describe as low stretch or semi static, these are all available in a large variety of sizes, strengths and colors. You may see a big difference in the amount of stretch in some of these when compared to standard static rope.
While no where close to dynamic rope, these do have enough stretch to help you avoid any potential jarring. This can make falls a bit more comfortable on low slack falls. These might be great ropes to use for smaller to medium sized top rope climbs.
Many Gyms Use Semi-static Ropes for Top Roping
While dynamic ropes are frequently used at climbing gyms, many indoor climbing gyms do use semi-static ropes for top roping. Many of the ropes commonly used in gyms are marketed as low stretch ropes. These ropes tend to typically have a dynamic stretch of three point five percent.
This is mainly due to the cost effectiveness of static and semi-static ropes, which are far cheaper than dynamic ropes. These ropes typically have a bit more stretch than a standard static rope, but no where near as much as any high quality, name brand dynamic rope that’s meant for climbing.
Reasons Some Climbers Prefer Top Roping with Static Rope
There are more than a few climbers that prefer top roping with either static or semi-static rope over using dynamic rope. One of the main reasons for this is that it’s keeps their main rope free of any extra wear and tear.
Dynamic ropes are expensive, and if you feel safe and comfortable enough top roping with a static line – you’re at least preserving your main rope a bit more.
Many static ropes are stronger than other dynamic ropes, and static ropes are generally cheaper. Given the lower price point, it can be much more economical to use static or semi-static rope for top climbing small to medium sized climbs.
Static ropes also significantly lower the risk of decking when climbing due to their much lower stretch elongation percentage.
For those who don’t know: Decking is when a climber falls and hits the ground. Decking is primarily due to falling at low heights and dynamic stretching when falling from low heights.
Example: A climber falls from fifteen feet, the belayer catches most of the slack in the line – but, due to the large amount of stretch in the dynamic line, the climber hits the ground.
Decking is next to impossible with a static rope that’s held with little slack by the belayer.
Other Options for Top Roping Lines
Some climbers like to use their old main lines for top roping. Similar to those climbers who use static ropes to help keep their main dynamic ropes in good shape, many climbers will set aside their old dynamic rope just for top roping.
If you have an old dynamic rope that still in good enough shape to climb with that you’re not using, you could use that rope exclusively for top roping.
Don’t Use Static Ropes For…
While both static and semi-static ropes can be use for some climbing, top roping and rappelling, there are some things that they should never be used for. Because climbing is an inherently dangerous sport, it’s even more important that you follow any and all safety rules to the letter.
One thing you never want to use static rope for is lead climbing. Even if a lead climber were to only fall a couple of feet on a static line, it could cause internal organ damage, broken carabiners or a crippling injury.
Never use static rope for lead climbing, ever. Seriously, don’t do it.
Because there is such a danger when it comes to accidentally mixing up static rope with dynamic rope, manufacturers started using bright colors to help with distinguishing the two. They realized that they needed to make it clearly visible to even a brand new climber whether or not they are using static line.
So, they started to produce ropes with bright colors and patterns to make is easy to tell the difference between static and dynamic lines. Static ropes tend to feature solid colors, and normally darker colors at that.
As mentioned above, there are static ropes available that have bright colors, which could be confused with dynamic rope. If you ever use these when climbing with other climbers, make sure that all climbers understand that they are static ropes and cannot be used as dynamic ropes would be.
Bigger climbers (over around 200 pounds or so) should never use static ropes for climbing in general, and this includes top roping as well. Falls of heavier climbers on static rope could cause serious injury, even if there’s very little slack in the line.
Also, if the belayer is smaller than the climber, this would be an important factor in the event of fall. The belayer would have to jump off the ground a bit to try to lessen the fall and support the climber – which would be unsafe.
You should never let anyone borrow any static or semi-static ropes from you if there’s even a remote chance that they could ever forget that the rope is a static line or mistake it for a dynamic line. This is even more true if the rope is a brightly colored rope that could easily be confused with a dynamic line.
Static Rope is Used for Top Rope Anchors
While climbers are still divided on whether or not static ropes should be used for top roping, they’ll probably all agree that static ropes are perfectly fine to use for building top rope anchors.
If you do use static rope for anchors, many climbers like to use 11mm rope, but you should at least use a rope with a diameter of 9mm or above. Larger diameter ropes will generally be stronger and stand up to more abuse, but that’s at a cost of the rope also being more stiff to work with.
On the other hand, smaller diameter ropes are easier to work with, but not as tough and durable. You’ll need to find a balance that’s right for you.
If you have a local climbing store nearby, you could always just go and play around with tying knots in different diameter ropes. See if you can find one that’s strong enough to give you a safe and suitable anchor – while still be easy to work with.
Once you’ve decided on what diameter rope you want, you’ll want to pick up between a hundred to a hundred and twenty feet of line. This may seem like a lot, but it’s important to note that you’ll need the full one hundred and twenty feet for many setups.
Once you learn some of the more advanced methods of building top rope anchors, you’ll want to have plenty of line on hand to build them.
Many climbers use webbing for building their top rope anchors instead of using static rope. There are a few advantages and disadvantages to this approach.
Webbing tends to be pretty cheap, and it’s quite a bit lighter than static rope. It won’t normally cause as much damage to trees as static rope would and you’re able to pack it both smaller and lighter than static line.
Keep in mind that if you do decide to use webbing instead of static rope, it won’t last anywhere near as long as static rope does. You do need to replace it a lot more often, but webbing is pretty inexpensive and lighter to ship – so you may be able to get goods deals on webbing by buying online.
Inexpensive Edge Protectors for Top Roping
Let’s face it, climbing rope isn’t cheap. Here’s a cool little trick that’ll not only help to protect your rope and the rock, it’ll also save you from having to buy more expensive gear.
You can usually find exactly what you’ll need to build great edge protectors at any of the larger hardware stores like Lowe’s or Home Depot. And you can also order from their web sites online if you don’t have one in your area.
You need to buy a few one to two foot lengths of clear plastic tubing. You’ll usually be able to find these in the plumbing section of the above stores. These should be wide enough that they can be easily fit over your rope, but still fit snugly.
If you don’t want to bring your rope to the store with you, you can buy a little piece of rope in the store for testing out the different sizes of plastic tubing. While we’re at it, ask the guy working the rope area if he could cut you a small sample piece for free.
This plastic tubing makes an awesome edge protector,and it’s way cheaper then buying climbing edge protectors. Simply cut a slit down the length of the tubing so that you can easily slide them on your rope, even if both ends of the rope are already anchored.
I hope that this guide has helped you to understand not only the different techniques of top roping with static rope, but more importantly the safety factors involved. Always have safety in mind as your first priority in any type of climbing.
As always, be safe and have fun climbing!