550 parracord for climbing?

[UrbanPrepper]

After a post by NR I've decided to add climbing to my preps. Was wondering if anyone has tried using para cord for repelling climbing etc?

[NorthernRaider]

Don't blame me, I got the subject of urban prepping movement from a French prepper who reckons that after TSHTF you will need climbing and abseiling skills to be able to full able to access stuff in damaged building or ones without power etc. He also does something called Parcour (Spl?) which is apparently some sort of rope free urban scrambling skill very popular among young urban preppers.

[PreparednessUK]

Wouldn't para cord be rather hard on the hands?

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We used to call it hedge hopping when we were kids

[CharlesHarris]

Paracord is not suitable for climbing rope or rappeling, although it is ok for rigging equipment tag lines and tethers.

Climbing ropes are usually 11-12mm in diameter, and tested to 1500-2000kg with a stretch factor of about 30-35% at rupture. There are various types designed for handling either static or dynamic loads. Depending upon your specific need and skill level, you need to research suitable rope for your intended purpose. Rope for lifting static loads is entirely different from life-safety line, which is intended to absorb energy from a fall and arrest a climber on belay without injury. Using the wrong type of rope canget someone killed.

[PreparednessUK]

Good info thanks

[Binnie]

a single piece of 550 paracord can support me, and i'm 100kg.

It's quite springy, so not that suitable for climbing, though i'd use it for climbing, just doubled up for safety.

I do have 30m of 11mm "static line" which i have used for abseiling,

the whole getup including traditional descender and harness only cost me around £90,

I use the line doubled (a loop round your anchor, and two open tails at ground level, twice the rope, twice the friction, half the effort, i can hold myself still with only a gentle grip of the line.

also very handy for recovering your line if you don't intend to climb back up.

[SlyUrbanFox]

Please don't get your climbing and abseil ropes mixed up, it could kill you. You can abseil on a climbing rope but not climb on an abseil rope. I'd recommend a scrambling rope. They are usually 30m of 8.5mm dynamic rope so cover all bases.

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If you have a riggers belt / CQB belt you only need a 120cm sewn sling for improvised leg loops and a HMS locking karabiner to be fully kitted out for abseil.(using italian hitch) My 30m scrambling rope weighs less than 1.5kgs. Sling and biner take up no room and should already have gloves on you. sorted!

[Scythe13]

Paracord will kill you! Stay well away from it as a climbing rope.

Yes it is strong. Yes it can take your weight. Yes it is pretty light.

Now the negatives.
It's very narrow, so will rip your hands to shreds.
It's not very heat resistant, so the heat from the friction will destroy it.
It's not very friction resistant, so general wear and tear will destroy it.
There is not a lot of 'give' in the rope, so it would REALLY aggressively stop you, if you fell.
Back to the narrow bit, if you fell, it would cut into you (huge pressure, small surface are to take the impact of the rope against your body).
Belay devices are made for larger thicknesses of rope, so you'll not be getting the 'lock off' benefits if you get tired and need to take a break...your climbing partner will not be able to lock off very easily, if at all.
The surface is SUPER abrasive, so if you did fall, the friction would rip through the hand of whoever is belaying for you.

All the above applied for both climbing and rappelling. A figure 8 would just melt the 550 cord.

A good climbing rope, for a small enough distance, e.g. 30 or 40 meters, will probably only cost around the £40 mark. To put your life in the hands of a £3.50 length of shoelace, or a specialised piece of equipment....for me it's an easy call.

[UrbanPrepper]

Thank you all for the info glad I asked now. Will be ordering some gear soon my shopping list is never ending

[Scythe13]

If you're going to start climbing, hire the shoes, and just boulder for a while. Get to know the people in your climbing centre, then some will get you up top-roping, then after a while you'll be lead climbing. But just boulder for a while. Get the technique, and take time getting the finger strength. You'll gain in 6 weeks, for strength, what your tendons will get in 6 months! So go steady.