7. How do I know if I should still be using my rope?
* Inspect your rope often and thoroughly.
It is important to inspect your rope thoroughly before and after each use. This should be done both visually and by sliding the rope through your hands meter by meter. If your rope is excessively abraded or you have core coming through the sheath, it is time to retire that rope. Often ropes wear faster on the ends from repeated short falls and tying and untying. It may be possible to cut out the damaged section of the rope and continue using the good section.
*Do not step on your rope.
Stepping on a rope, while not so bad in itself, can cause dirt and crystals to get forced through the sheath, abrading the core with each use.
*Keep your rope clean.
Use a rope bag and wash your rope every 30 to 40 uses.
* Know the condition of your rope and be wary of lending it out.
It is important to inspect the rope when new and continually inspect it during use. We recommend keeping a rope log in order to track the uses and abuses to your rope. Remember that every fall lessens the amount of impact a rope can later absorb. Often a rope used for sport climbing will be subjected to repeated shorter falls. While the rope may not show as much wear from these falls, the cores are being frequently loaded and its ability to cushion your falls will be affected. It is important to inspect the ends of a rope and remove them if they are soft. Please be aware that during each fall the entire rope is being loaded and just cutting off the ends does not give you a new rope.
If in doubt about the condition of your rope it is always best to retire it.

8. What happens to my nylon rope when it's wet?
Nylon fiber is affected by the absorption of water. Nylon is hydrophilic meaning it will absorb water. The overall strength and stretch can be greatly affected by moisture in the fiber. Whenever possible try and keep your ropes away from water and as dry as possible. Our in-house testing shows that a dynamic ropes ability to hold falls may be lessened as much as 70% in nylon ropes without DryCore(tm) but only 40% in ropes with DryCore(tm). An 11mm DryCore(tm) rope that holds 11 falls dry, holds 7 falls wet. That some rope without DryCore(tm) may hold only 3 falls when wet. In general the data shows that the loss of strength through the presence of water in nylon ropes is significant. The good news is that nylon's original strength and elongation returns when the rope dries.

9. What happens to my polyester rope when it's wet?
Remember that polyester is hydrophobic (literally "scared of water") and does not absorb nearly as much water as nylon and therefore is not greatly affected by being wet.

Next time we will continue to work on answering Frequently Asked Questions.

Until next time, be safe and always dress your knots!

STERLING ROPE and AHS Rescue