Twin ropes
Product 2019
Woman, Man
The first time you come across the Beal Gully 7.3mm rope, the hairs on your back prick up, and most likely your partner who’s with you will spark up: “you climbing with your laces today?” True – the diameter is a bit of a surprise! In all intents and purposes it is a rope that is designed for experts: not for your average Joe Bloggs. A high tech, certified twin and double rope, its diameter is pretty incredible especially during rope management. Belaying is the only restrictive point to look out for. We tested with standard models like Reverso 4, Verso, ATC Guide Black D and it works, but … you have to stay very focused, and wearing gloves is a no brainer (same whilst abseiling). You can improve braking by using two belay carabiners with a “square” profile (Beal Be Safe or Twin auto belay) to increase the rubbing force. There is also a belay model made by Edlerid which is dedicated to thin ropes, the Mircojul. This rope isn’t what you would call flexible, but “stiff”, and this stiffness is an advantage for belaying; it increases the rope’s gripping ability, and slides less quickly. The lightness and thin diameter give a polyvalent and comfortable rope. But the small diameter and this slight stiffness mean that it has a tendency to tangle up easily, so folding carefully without twisting helps. Other advantages include the ease of clipping on carabiners, of course thanks to the lightness and reduced rubbing, and less space taken up in the pack, and it is hardwearing despite its small diameter. There was just a tiny bit of fluffing but after many outings on rough rocks and lots of abseiling. The center is not marked which is a shame because it’s an important detail when you use one strand or to gauge the distance on pitches. It is treated with Golden Dry, an important option for use in the mountains and canyoning. The Beal Gully is a top of the range product, reserved for expert climbers, polyvalent for long pitches on rock, ice and mixed. A great investment if you have the use, because the price is still high.
We used this equipment over a long period of time
These are our thoughts after intensive use:
We used the Gully for three years, mainly on long rocky climbing routes, in the Verdon and the Calanques, Corsica and Chamonix, about forty full days of climbing. One high mountain route, and a single day ice climbing, needless to say in view of the diameter of the rope you have to be very careful with your crampons … Otherwise that’s all, it’s in perfect condition, except the “balling” which appears quickly yet stabilizes just as quickly. It is always 100% operational, flexible, manageable and comfortable. We also recently tested a new rope from 2018, on half a dozen routes, the rope fluffing was much less than the first version tested, but, the middle of the rope is still not marked …
It is an exceptional rope for expert climbers, and it has dropped in price.
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