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Found out my grandpa's old climbing rope was hemp
Cleaning out his shed last weekend. Found a coil of rope from the 60s. Looked it up online. It was manila hemp, not any synthetic. Guys back then climbed on that stuff. No dynamic stretch at all. A fall would've yanked you hard. Makes me appreciate modern gear. Anyone ever climb on the old natural fiber ropes?
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wader7127d ago
Hold on before you trash that hemp rope. Real talk, the old guys knew exactly what they were doing with that stuff, and honestly there's something to be said for zero stretch. Yeah a fall would've been a hard jerk, but that also meant you felt every move and learned to climb smooth and controlled instead of just yarding on gear. Modern ropes are forgiving, sure, but they can also make you lazy about your footwork and your head game, you know? Plus that manila hemp has a character and history to it that a boring nylon line just doesn't have. I'd say clean it up, hang it on the wall, and tip your hat to the dudes who trusted their lives to that thing.
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the_robin25d ago
My Uncle Frank used that same rope to hang a tire swing in 1985, tree branch snapped before the rope did.
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