How much rope needed to rappel

[wingnut]

I see most people recommend carrying 40' of rope to rappel down the tree. If you use 6' of rope to go around the tree with your knot for the link and your 18 foot up in the tree, couldn't you get away with 30' comfortably.

 

[bj139]

I see most people recommend carrying 40' of rope to rappel down the tree. If you use 6' of rope to go around the tree with your knot for the link and your 18 foot up in the tree you could get away with 30' comfortably.

I have used about 35 to 37 foot for SRT. I kept throwing a throwball over a nice crotch and realized my rope was not long enough so I went to 50 feet of rope. Now I can hunt hunt from the tree I want.

 

[SNIPERBBB]

You still need about 40' or more total as you'll need retrieval rope for the rapel rope. So you'll need either paracord or tie your rappel line in an Alpine butterfly so you dont need a seperate rope that you might forget to attach...

 

[CZMark]

My first year I used a 30' rappel rope and had no problems. People on this site convinced me I needed 40' so I switched to a longer rope. I rarely hunt more than 20' off the ground, so I now carry around an extra 10' of rope I don't use.

The amount of rope you need depends on the height you hunt and the diameter of the trees you hunt.

 

[Chrighton]

35ft has been kind of my sweet spot, and with the small diameter ropes they are easy to pack. I don't regularly SRT so 35 has been enough for me to rappel. Definately better off having too much than not enough though.
If you can take weight off your tether you can advance your tether girth hitch down the tree (similiar to one sticking down) allowing yourself to get away with less rope.

 

[wingnut]

Trying to stay minimal on rope bulk and weight is why I'd like to use less of the larger rope just to rappel with. I'd carry 25' of small dia. rope for retrieval.

 

[bodark]

I never needed more than 30’

 

[Weldabeast]

Better to have too much then not enough....I started with 40ft... Not sure final length after knots. I have never come close to using all of it but when it's time to retire from rappel service I have linesman's belts for years

 

[ericabbott]

As mentioned above, upon descending once you take weight off the rope you can lower it a few feet or more if needed. And the rope doesn’t need to touch the ground. I used 40’ last year but am going with 35’ this year, primarily because it’ll fit better in DanO’s water bottle bag and it’ll take less time to repack. I’m using OpLux so the weight difference is negligible.

 

[wingnut]

I think I'll try 30'.

 

[Skyler1987]

30 after I tied the figure 8 so probably 35 total

 

[808sh]

I'm using 50 ft of sterling Oplux

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[dougell]

I generally hunt 17-19 feet and I use 25 ft with no issues.I don't hunt huge trees and I bring my loop down to the top of my step when I rappel down.I use the same paracord to hoist my bow and to pull the rope down

 

[wingnut]

I like that Idea of double duty on the pull up rope. Lower the bow then clip it on the rappel line

 

[dougell]

One advantage to using the bow hoist is,I clip it to my rappel line before I pull my bow up and it stays there.That way I never rappel down and realize I forgot to hook up my pull down line.

 

[ffiivvee]

I use 40ft of Canyon C-IV. I rarely have needed anywhere near the full length. The one time gave me a little pucker as the tree I was in was on the lip of a bowl as well as a mild leaner and when rappelling down I ended up on the lowside of the tree. Well when I got to the tag end being in my hand by my waist I got a little scared as I wasn't on the ground yet.

I was only 6" above the ground but still, not a nice feeling to almost be out of rope and not on the ground.

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[slonstdy]

I guess it depends on how high you hunt and if you're comfortable knowing one day you might come up short and have to make a stop part way down the tree to reset your rope to get to the ground safely.
FWIW, carrying the extra few feet of Oplux or Canyon shouldn't add noticeble bulk or weight. I run 40' of Canyon and it fits in a DanO fleece pouch along with my safeguard and biner.

 

[wingnut]

I agree that even an extra 10' of rope isn't going to make or break my packability. As far as weight goes, changing from a climber with a pack to a saddle and a pack I'm looking at dropping around 20 Lbs.

 

[weekender21]

Sure, you can get away with 30’ if you’re only hunting 20’ or less.

I like to use 45 or 50’. If you’re using something really packable like OpLux, the additional weight is worth it IMO. Having a little extra for flexibility is nice, especially in hilly terrain.


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[Ehlusive]

I feel that 40 or 50 ft would be major overkill. What keeps a guy from running shorter 99.9% of the time and that once in a blue moon, repel down to end of rope, hang stick again. Drop your repel rope, reattach then run down rest way.