Review: Decathlon 100-metre 8.9mm rope

I must have been crazy: I’d climbed on this exact rope for a week or so with Al back in late September. Brand new, and we’d had to cut both ends after only a few days! What was I doing buying my own version?

I’ll back up. I’ve gone through tons of ropes over the years. Beal, Edelrid, Sterling, etc. etc. My standout rope is still the Sterling Nano as it seemed to provide the best amount of longevity with the weight benefits of skinny ropes. The Beal Joker I had years ago lived up to its name as a Joke, falling apart insanely quickly. Yikes.

For the past few years we’ve been on an Edelrid Eagle. Which we’ve hated. It’s fat, and even worse, it’s heavy. So, clipping when on long routes becomes a horror show as the rope is horrible is lift and also gets so fat causes horrible friction and drag. In short, it’s sucked!

So, I was on a hunt for a new rope. And I was on the hunt for something at least 80 metres length. At least. And it turns out there’s not many options when you go above that length! I got to try the new Petzl 100 metre rope, however, it’s big money, €300. Ouch.

Which led me back to that Decatlon rope. It’s 8.9mm so as thin as you want. 100-metres. And €170 new.

But remember where I started with that experience with Al’s? Would it just disintegrate?! What turned my opinion was using the Petzl rope while in Siurana. You see, where I’d used it with Al was at a few venues in Basque Country where the ground was super sandy, and also many of the routes were pre-equipped with quickdraws in various states of quality. So, everything that is bad for damaging ropes. The sand gets into the rope bag, and the quickdraws with worn edges just cut into the sand into the rope. Sigh.

Which led me to come to the crazy self-conclusion to buy it myself.

And it turns out the gamble paid off! Siurana is not a sandy venue at the base of the cliff, and the quickdraws for the most part in use by people are of good quality, and my own are always in good condition.

Three weeks into use, I can say it’s been great. There’s definitely some wear on one end from usage, but it’s within expectations: it’s still a skinny rope which do wear out quicker. Also, it works great on a Gri-gri 2: be careful for the first day or so as it’s very slippy initially, however after that, it’s been amazing It’s also a lovely soft catch from big falls, and it’s a great rope for clipping with.

I will admit I got a laugh thought when I saw the paperwork with the rope AFTER purchasing it. Look at the ‘intensive use’ lifetime of the rope…… If I was having to replace my rope every three months, I’d need a sponsor!

In short, it’s a good rope however be careful where you use it :) I wouldn’t use this as a wall rope - as I suspect you’d also fall under the ‘intensive use’ descriptor!

Decathlon link