Sterling DryXP Ropes Exceeds Dry Standards

Gripped March 21, 2018

By early 2018, all of Sterling’s dry ropes were treated to the DeltaDry process.

The process takes water protection to the next level and, on many of their ropes, far exceeds the UIAA Water Repellent Standard of five per cent.

Many climbers prefer dry treated ropes because they climb in areas where the ground is damp, it rains often or they’re ice climbing.

Sterling starts with DryCore, which treats the rope’s core fibers to prevent yarn-on-yarn abrasion and moisture absorption. This in turn helps the fibers share loads more evenly and resist the negative effects of water. All of Sterling’s dynamic climbing ropes have DryCore.

All ropes labelled “Dry” now go through the DeltaDry process, ropes labeled “DryXP” exceed the standard.

To pass the UIAA test, the rope’s amount of absorbed water must not be greater than five per cent of the rope’s weight.

A non-treated rope absorbs about 50 per cent of water in the same test. Some of Sterling’s ropes exceed the standard by more than three per cent.

“The UIAA had to implicate this standard because manufacturers could claim dry treatment of ropes, but there was no standard or method to evaluate that,” said Jim Ewing, product engineer, technical adviser for Sterling and top New England climber.

“One manufacturer’s ‘dry’ may not be as good as another. After a lot of discussion at committee level, the standard was created. Along with many companies, we didn’t have a rope that would pass, so we came up with a method to get there.”

Ewing said the process involves treating every single strand, there can be over 200 in a rope’s core, individually to ensure there is no part of the rope that can absorb too much water.

“I think the standard is a way of holding rope manufacturers accountable,” Ewing said.

“If you claim it has dry treatment you have to prove it – the standard is the tool to prove it. From the consumer standpoint, when they purchase a rope they know that it has been tested throughout.”

Angela Hawse is an IFMGA guide and pro climber who said, “Sterling’s DryXP has exceeded my expectations with rigorous abuse of the Nano IX DryXP.

“I’ve tested from ski mountaineering on the Antarctic Peninsula to climbing ice and alpine rock routes high in the Rockies.

“While dragging it across glaciers and testing it on wet ice climbs it has shed moisture like a freshly waxed car. Even on rough desert sandstone this spring it has withstood considerable abrasion, shown little wear and retained its solid hand after heavy use.”