Béal Opéra 8,5 mm

What can I say about this rope? It is so good that the chorus of praise that will follow will seem suspect. Once you’ve got over the first contact and the tense moment has passed when you ask yourself if you are really going to climb with a 8.5mm “string”… you love it! It is fluid, supple and most importantly ultra-light. A rope designed for use in single, double or twinned modes, which means it is basically the rope for all vertical uses in the mountains, from single pitch mountain routes to mountaineering on rock or ice and ski touring. It is perfect for long routes thanks to its feather-lightness, so you can use long lengths without having a great weight of rope pulling you downwards, which gives extreme comfort when climbing.

Thanks to the fact that it is certified as a single rope you have a great feeling of safety when using it double, in other words clipping the carabiners from one rope to two. Regarding falls it has a very dynamic reaction and very appreciated comfort. Strong, its data is 5 falls in single use, and 25 falls when twinned, the UIAA standard, enough to keep you going for a while. Dry Cover treated, an asset in the mountains or canyoning, it stays “dry” and easy to handle and knots are relatively easy to undo. Be very careful with crampons especially whilst walking on glaciers.

As the diameter is so small you have to be very careful not to cut the rope in any way, tiny nicks can be very quickly disastrous (for the rope and for you). The center is marked, an important detail especially for very long ropes, 80meters, so it is very practical when rappelling. Last important point, the thinness of this rope classifies it in the expert category pure and simply for safety reasons. Belaying demands expertise and enormous concentration. Whatever belaying devices are used gloves are highly recommended.

The automatic system that offers most safety, even f it isn’t certified for this diameter (8.9mm is usually the minimum) is still the Grigri 2. As well as safety it provides easy rope manipulation, keeping suppleness for giving out slack as the system only triggers when there is a fall. For belaying with other devices, not only must the belayer be extremely vigilant, it is necessary that he/she is a similar weight to the person being assured: avoid a lightweight assuring a heavyweight. An exceptional rope that should only be placed in the hands of experts. A tad expensive for a simple rope, but the quality is unequalled.

"A tad expensive for a simple rope, but the quality is unequalled. "

Rating

• 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
• Look / ergonomics
  9
• Comfort
  10
• Weight
  10
• Solidity, finishing
  10
• Quality/price ratio
  9