Rope Retirement Checker
Whether your rope is still in service life — inspection checklist first, then age and usage arithmetic, because inspection is what actually decides it.
Inspect it first — this beats any calculation
Run the whole rope through your hands, slowly, flexing it as you go. Tick anything that is true. Any single one of these retires the rope today, regardless of what the arithmetic below says.
Rope ages whether you climb on it or not
This is the part people resist. Nylon degrades with time, ultraviolet light and humidity even in a cupboard, so manufacturers put a ceiling of about ten years on a rope that has never been used at all. A pristine-looking rope from a decade ago is not a bargain — it is an expired rope that happens to look new.
From there the published figures fall steeply with use: roughly seven years for a rope used once or twice a year, five for monthly, three for several times a month, and one year or less for weekly and professional use.
The falls figure is a rule of thumb and openly so. There is no published arithmetic converting falls into months of life, because the answer depends on the fall factor, the edge the rope ran over, and where on the rope it happened. What is well established is the direction: hard falls shorten a rope's life, and a rope that has caught a genuine factor-2 is done regardless of its age.
Making it last
- Use a rope bag. Grit works into the sheath and then grinds the core from the inside, which is invisible and cumulative.
- Wash it when it is dirty — cool water, no detergent or a rope-specific one, dry in the shade. A dirty rope wears faster and feeds worse.
- Never store it wet, or in a car. Heat, ultraviolet light and damp are all cumulative and none of them show.
- Keep it away from every chemical, especially battery acid. Acid damage can leave no visible mark at all while destroying the strength, which is why unexplained contact is an automatic retirement.
- Swap the ends periodically. Most wear lands in the first few metres, and reversing which end you lead on spreads it.
- Cut back a damaged end. A rope with a bad first two metres is a shorter rope, not a dead one — as long as the damage really is confined to the end.
How to use
- Inspect the whole rope by hand before anything else.
- Check for core exposure, flat spots and sheath damage.
- Enter age and usage for the arithmetic.
- Retire on inspection findings regardless of what the age says.
Frequently asked questions
What retires a rope immediately?
Any core exposure through the sheath, a flat or soft spot indicating core damage, severe sheath abrasion or glazing, chemical contact — particularly acid, which can destroy nylon invisibly — and any fall you judge to have been severe. None of these depend on the rope's age.
How long does a rope last by age?
Manufacturers commonly quote up to ten years from manufacture if never used and stored properly, dropping sharply with use — perhaps a year or less with frequent hard use, and a few years for occasional recreational use. These are guidelines and every manufacturer publishes its own.
Does a rope expire if never used?
Nylon degrades slowly even in storage, particularly with UV exposure, heat and humidity, so an unused rope does have a shelf life. A rope of unknown history is worth retiring regardless of appearance, because you cannot inspect for chemical exposure.
How do I inspect a rope properly?
Run the entire length through your hands, flexing it, feeling for soft spots, lumps or inconsistency in diameter, and looking at the sheath throughout. It takes several minutes and it is the only inspection that finds core damage, which is invisible from outside.
Is one big fall enough to retire it?
It depends on the fall and the rope. A genuine factor 2 fall, or a fall over an edge, warrants serious consideration and many climbers retire on that alone. Routine sport falls do not, though they consume the rope's capacity over time — which is why heavily fallen-on ropes are retired sooner.
What do I do with a retired rope?
Cut it up so nobody can mistake it for serviceable, then use it for non-life-safety purposes. Passing on or selling a retired rope is genuinely dangerous, because the next person cannot inspect for the history you know about. Nothing here replaces the manufacturer's guidance for your specific rope.
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