Which is the preferred cord size for the cordlette? The 6mm seems less bulky and easier to manage but the 7mm is certainly stronger. Is the 7mm overkill?

I've always just used the rope and equalized slings for anchor tie-in's but I thought I'd give the cordlette a try.

-- Bruce Maples (bmaples@cinele.com), June 18, 1999

Answers

Bruce, 7 mil is a good choice although as you said it can be overkill (because the cord takes up too much room through the 'biner). dont get 6 mil. spend a little extra money and get 5.5 gemini or spectra thats what i use as does my climbing partner. well thats my opion hope it helps...also get it 18ft long...thats a good length.

-- Brian (SloBRI@aol.com), June 21, 1999.

THIS JUST IN......CORDLETTES RULE THE FREE WORLD!!!

-- Tea (mtea@ptc.com), June 25, 1999.

Dude, your cordalette is your primary means of attachment to the wall. This is NOT the place to skimp - use 7mm! On El Cap I carry four, two for each belay. One is tied from like 6m of cord, the other from about 7m. This allows me to easily clip four pieces without having to faff about with extra slings. Keep an eye on these things - since they are in more or less constant use, they get a lot of exposure to UV. When they start to look used, replace them! As I said, they ARE your primary means of attachment. I have not tried the 5.5mm Spectra stuff, but I suspect the knot would be EXTREMELY difficult to undo after loading since the diameter is so small. As an aside, if you're having trouble undoing your cordalette knot, GENTLY hit it with your hammer against a SMOOTH part of the wall to loosen it.

-- "Pass the Pitons" Pete Zabrok (pzabrok@netcom.ca), September 05, 1999.

5.5mm spectra cord works great. It's compact, cut resistant, and UV resistant. Haven't had any trouble getting the knot out yet and I dangle, belay, and jug off it.

-- Shaun Byrne (shaun.byrne@boeing.com), February 28, 2001.

Here's the best answer I could find... http://www.mountaineers.org/climbing/Reference/Cordelette.html this link will explain that 7mm perlon is the best - HANDS DOWN! Spectra has incredible tensile strength, but looses 50%-60% strength when tied into a figure of eight (not good). You can see from the link I've pasted, that the data shows the 7mm Perlon to be much, much, stronger at the anchors.

-- Grady Miras (gramiras@yahoo.com), October 22, 2002.

Yeah. Use 7mill nylon or 5mill tech cord. I've used that kevlar tech cord shit and i've never had a problem undoing the knot. I never use a 8 knot to equalise it though, i usually use a wrap 2+ fishermans.

The 5mill tech cord is great. It's smaller and lighter, its just costs twice as much.

Do some research on that stuff though. This sounds a lot like the whole spectra vs. nylon debate for slings.

-- Jim Davis (jmdavis384@aol.com), January 05, 2003.