Climbing Magazine acclaims that the Edelweiss Performance 9.2mm Unicore is a “next generation smart rope.”
What is a “smart rope?” According to Climbing Magazine, a smart rope “incorporates features that significantly increase safety, boost durability, or tailor it for a niche use. “ They also said that smart ropes encompass more than just a simple dry treatment and/or tighter sheath weave.
Here are the features that make the Edelweiss Performance 9.2mm Unicore a smart-rope:
- Unicore: The sheath is bonded to the core to eliminate sheath slippage, bunching, and fraying. More info here. “I view it as a top-notch lead line by itself, and then the added security of Unicore is like extra icing on the cake.” –Climbing Magazine
- UIAA Water Repellent: With the Supereverdry treatment, the Performance absorbs less than 1.5% water. More info here.
- Triple CE and UIAA Certification: The Performance works safely as a single, half, and twin rope.
- Lightweight: “At 53 g/m, the Performance is one of the lightest [single] ropes on the market.” –Climbing Magazine
- Thin Diameter: The Performance is a slim 9.2mm, offering great handling and keeping the bulk down when packing it.
We asked Edelweiss athlete,
Scott Bennett to chime in and offer his opinion about the rope:
“The Performance is my favorite cord! Before I started climbing on the Performance, I'd always thought that there was a direct trade-off between weight and durability. The skinny ropes that I'd used were haggard after just a season of use. With the Performance 9.2, however, I've realized that a well-built rope can be trustworthy over multiple years, regardless of the diameter. I climb on an 80-meter line. At 9.2 mm, it doesn’t weigh that much and allows me to link multiple pitches to get my climbing done faster.”
More about Supereverdry
With Edelweiss's
Supereverdry treatment every filament of the sheath and core is treated with a water repellent chemical before the rope is manufactured. This chemical covering is polymerized at a high temperature, making it last for a very long time. The outstanding durability and water repellency of this treatment makes it so that any treated rope absorbs less than 1.5% water, making it a certified UIAA Water Repellent Rope. The benefits of a Supereverdry treated rope is: limited weight gain in wet conditions, no bloating in wet conditions, decreased friction and abrasion on carabiners, belay devices, and rock.
More about Unicore
With
Unicore, the sheath and core are bonded together to prevent sheath slippage and bunching. If the sheath is cut or torn, the core and sheath remain bonded together, preventing the core from being overexposed and allowing for a safer escape. With any standard rope, the sheath slips, unravels, and bunches when cut by abrasion over an edge—a frequent occurrence in the mountains—making it impossible to pass the damaged zone by ascending or descending.
Edelweiss is one of two companies that construct dynamic climbing ropes with Unicore.
More about UIAA Water Repellent
For any rope to be certified as a
UIAA Water Repellent rope, a sample must be subjected to some light abrasion over it’s entire surface, equivalent to a few days’ use. It is then soaked in water for 15 minutes following a precise procedure. The amount of water absorbed must not be greater than 5% of the sample’s weight. Edelweiss's Supereverdry treated ropes easily pass this test and absorb less than 1.5%. For comparison, a non-treated rope absorbs around 50% of water in this test while , and current ropes on the market labeled as "dry” but lacking adequate treatments absorb between 20% and 40% of water.
Edelweiss is one of two companies that have UIAA Water Repellent certified ropes.
Edelweiss is one of the many brands exclusively distributed in the U.S. by Liberty Mountain. Visit LibertyMountain.com or contact the Liberty Mountain Sales Team to become an Edelweiss dealer today.
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