UIAA Water Repellent Ropes

UIAA sets a new standard for water repellent ropes. Edelweiss Supereverdry ropes and Beal Golden Dry ropes have passed the test.

Climbing rope manufacturers have been making and marketing their own style of “dry ropes” for as long as most people can remember; ropes that claim to repel water in some form or another. With all the different “dry treatments” being used—each differing in its ability to actually repel water—the term “dry” leaves many to question if “dry ropes” truly are water repellent.

For the last decade, the UIAA has worked hard to develop a water repellency standard for climbing ropes. After a lot of research and testing, the UIAA Safety Commission has finally approved a new standard of testing to certify climbing ropes as UIAA Water Repellent. The only ropes that have currently passed the test and have received the UIAA Water Repellent certification are Edelweiss’s Supereverdry ropes and Beal’s Golden Dry ropes. 

To be certified as a UIAA Water Repellent rope, the rope must pass a very stringent test where the amount of water absorbed cannot be greater than 5% of the rope’s weight. Both Edelweiss and Beal have reported that their treated ropes surpassed the less-than-5% standard by only absorbing less than 2% of their weight in water. The UIAA discovered that non-treated ropes absorb around 50% and the majority of “dry ropes” on the market still absorb 20-40% of their weight in water.

The benefits of UIAA Water Repellent ropes definitely combat the dangers associated with wet ropes. When a rope gets wet, not only does it get bloated, heavy, and susceptible to freezing, it experiences a reduction in strength—as much as 70%. Wet ropes are known to overstretch, damaging nylon fibers and weakening the rope. Impact forces and fiber-to-fiber friction temperatures have also been known to increase when falling on a wet rope. A UIAA Water Resistant rope absorbs very little water, dries faster, and performs safer in wet conditions.

Edelweiss and Beal have been manufacturing ropes with Supereverdry and Golden Dry respectively for decades. Their methods of treating all the fibers in a rope’s core and sheath have proven to be an industry leading process for creating ropes that are truly water repellent—proven now with the UIAA certification. Not only are all the fibers in the rope treated, they are also treated in a way so that the rope will continue to repel water for its entire life.

UIAA Water Repellent ropes made by Edelweiss:

• Performance 9.2mm SuperEverdry Unicore
• Magnetic 11mm SuperEverdry
• Element II 10.2mm SuperEverdry Unicore
• Lithium 8.5mm SuperEverdry
• Oxygen II 8.2mm SuperEverdry Unicore
• Helium 7.9mm SuperEverdry
• Discover 8mm SuperEverdry

UIAA Water Repellent ropes made by Beal:

• Gully 7.3mm Golden Dry Unicore
• Ice Line 8.1mm Golden Dry Unicore
• Cobra II 8.6mm Golden Dry Unicore
• Pro Mountain 8.8mm Golden Dry
• Booster III 9.7mm Golden Dry
• Top Gun II 10.5mm Golden Dry Unicore
• Ice Twin 7.7mm Golden Dry
• Tiger 10mm Golden Dry Unicore
• Flyer 10.2mm Golden Dry
• Apollo 11mm Golden Dry
• Stinger III 9.4mm Golden Dry Unicore
• Joker 9.1mm Golden Dry Unicore

In addition to being the only brands with UIAA Water Repellent certified ropes, Beal and Edelweiss are also the only brands that manufacture ropes using Unicore, a method that eliminates sheath slippage by bonding the sheath to the core. 

Liberty Mountain is the U.S. distributor of Beal and Edelweiss climbing equipment. Contact the Liberty Mountain sales team and become a Beal and Edelweiss dealer today.

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