I decided to learn how to rappel during this off-season, so I bought the kit from EWO that included a MadRock Safeguard & the 9mm Sterling Canyon Elite.
I also got 35' of 8mm Teufelburger Resc Tech to see how that works with the MadRock.
!!NOTE!!-the MadRock Safeguard is rated for 8.9-11mm rope, so the Resc Tech is considered (by MadRock) to be TOO SMALL for the Safeguard. USE THIS COMBINATION AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Both have been great ropes so far, and both have easily been pulled down from the tree once I've descended.
The only difference is that for some reason, the Canyon Elite wants to always slide down the tree, when I'm climbing. I'm mainly "practice-climbing" Shagbark Hickories, & Chestnut Oaks, which both have pretty rough bark. I even removed my quick link from the Canyon Elite, to lighten it up to see if that made a difference, which it didn't. Climbing with that & advancing my tether/rappel rope is kind of "fiddly" for me. Not a big deal, because I don't care how long it takes to get to hunting height-I'm not a speed demon!
But, I've pretty much decided that it will be a great pre-set rope, where I can climb with it & cinch it down ahead of time (with a stopper,) & leave it up there. For my pre-sets, if I'm going to leave the rappel rope on the tree (especially on public land,) I coil it up about 12 'or so from ground level, & hang it on one of my Wild Edge steps. Then when I go back, I use a lineman's belt & tether to get that far up, uncoil & drop the rappel line, & use that with the lineman's belt to go the rest of the way up.
The Resc Tech works fine-A little small to grab with my gloved hands, ( I ALWAYS wear gloves when climbing,) but very manageable. And, it doesn't seem to want to slip down the tree while climbing as easily as the Canyon Elite.
I personally have experienced no issues climbing or rappelling down when used with the Safeguard.
Then, because I am a hopeless gear junkie, I saw this stuff on another thread, & decided that I needed to try it as well:
Glider Climbing Rope by MAXIM; It is incredibly durable, making it a great choice for a dynamic rope that will last a long time and hold up to abuse while sport or trad climbing. Glider Climbing Ropes give the feeling of lighter weight as you pull the rope through protection on sport routes.
www.rope.com
It's the first dynamic rope that I've tried, and so far, I'm very pleased with it. It's bigger, (10.5mm) so easier to grab & advance up the tree. Grips the tree very well, works well with the MadRock, & I can feel the stretch in it when I do a "less-than-adequate" job of starting/stopping my descents!
I also decided to try the Notch Quickie with this rope as my quick link-even with gloves, I can open & close it way quicker than opening/closing a quick link, when I have to disconnect it to go around a branch.
I am lucky enough to have access to private land here in PA & OH so I can do pre-sets, so all of this rope will get used, but so far, if I'm going in "cold," & have to find a tree to climb, my favorites are the Glider rope, followed by the Resc Tech!
Hope this helps!