Edelrid Tommy Caldwell Eco Dry DT 9.6 Review

In many ways reviewing ropes is a bit of a nightmare – they are basically strong bits of string and funky colours aside there is rarely any visually special features. All the clever stuff after all tends to be a bit invisible. For the average user such as myself it comes down to how it handles, a subjective judgement, how well it wears and how much it weighs.

So what makes the Edelrid Tommy Caldwell Eco Dry DT 9.6 special and why should you spend a not inconsiderable amount of cash on what is undisputedly one of the top ropes currently on the market? First up if we are being brutally honest most of us do not need a rope as good as this (certainly not me!) – there are plenty of ropes in Edelrid’s range that will do an equally good job for the majority of climbs and climbers and leave you a lot more money for beer. However there are a number of features that make this a worthwhile investment if you are a regular user outside – it’s certainly not a gym rope!

Durability: As the name suggests this rope was developed in cooperation with Tommy Caldwell and has been constructed with a high sheath proportion making it great for working routes or big wall climbing. In fact Edelrid tag the this rope as being extremely abrasion resistant ‘Extreme Abriebsfest’! So for your average user this means it should last a bit longer and not become a fury caterpillar after one season! A year later and although not as good as new the Edelrid Tommy Caldwell Eco Dry DT 9.6 certainly doesn’t look a year old. There are no flat spots, no furring of the sheath and certainly no sheath damage. An added bonus seems to be it is quite dirt resistant too, perhaps the sheath construction helps prevent ingress of dirt too? I’ve used it on long granite multi pitch routes around Chamonix, French sport routes, some silly tilted the wrong way crag in Switzerland (thanks Kev ;->) and plenty of Yorkshire Dales limestone and it has handled all without issue. This rope is ideal for working routes or big routes where it is going to be subject to a lot of abrasion.

Handling: A somewhat subjective assessment. The Edelrid Tommy Caldwell Eco Dry DT 9.6 is quite slick when new so some caution is advised if you use an old Gri Gri or other belay device developed for thicker ropes. This slickness settled down after a month or so of regular use but it surprised a couple of people! Knot-ability wise I experienced no issues even when using old school bowline variations to tie in, the knots snugged up easily and didn’t loosen although it does feel a bit stiffer than some other sport ropes. As with the majority of Edelrid ropes the Tommy Caldwell Eco Dry DT 9.6 came supplied 3D lap coiled meaning that you can use it straight from the packaging, you literally pull on the marked end and it magically uncoils with no need to carefully uncoil to avoid kinking. Whilst this is certainly works to an extent there was a still a tendency to kink in some situations initially – more so than ‘broken-in’ ropes. This tendency has disappeared with use but to begin with it was a bit sensitive with poorly set up or threaded lower offs.

Lightweight: The Tommy Caldwell Eco Dry DT 9.6 comes in at a respectable 62g/m, nothing particularly earth shattering here and you can get lighter dry treated single ropes from Edelrid such as the Hummingbird Pro Dry 9.2 at 57g/m however the high sheath proportion of the Tommy Caldwell Eco Dry DT 9.6 should make it a more durable and longer lived rope abrasion wise.

DuoTec: This is a permanent middle marking whereby the black marker threads change to a grey/silver at the mid point. Traditionally this would help with setting up abseils but that is unlikely to be a major factor for most people using this particular rope either for sports climbing where you’ll be lowering or more technical multi pitch endeavours in the mountains where you’d probably abseil with two rope or with a tag line and not a 60m rope doubled up! On long sport routes it will also allow your belayer to judge if you can lower back to the ground in a single go or have to make use of that mysterious set of intermediate chains you passed by ;-> Where I also found it useful was in remembering to alternate ends when working a route or just climbing successive sport routes and so evening out wear and tear. If you happen to be coiling the rope rather than use a tarp it will help with that as well.

EcoDry: Edelrid were among the first rope manufacturers to switch from PFC based dry treatments and their attendant harmful environmental problems to their environmentally friendly ‘Eco Dry’ process. Edelrid admit that this is not quite as good as their non environmentally friendly Pro Dry in terms of durability etc. but having used the Swift Eco Dry since 2019 (I really need to retire it this season!) I can confirm that the Eco Dry treatment is sufficiently long lived and effective that you’re unlikely to notice much of a difference. It does of course more than meet all the UIAA requirements for a dry treatment. Along with many of Edelrids ropes the Tommy Caldwell Eco Dry DT 9.6 is a Climb Green and a bluesign® product.

Overall the Edelrid Tommy Caldwell Eco Dry DT 9.6 gives you a durable, good handling rope with excellent eco credentials (Bluesign certified). If you want a premium rope suitable for working routes or surviving the abuse of big mountain routes it is the perfect pick.

PROs

• Durable
• Decent weight
• Good handling especially once broken in
• Excellent environmental credentials

CONS

• Slick to begin with
• Kinks a bit when new.

SRP £265

Stockists

Disclaimer – CGR reviewers are never paid to provide a review and the website does not take advertising. We are a bunch of keen climbers and outdoor enthusiasts that accept sample products and offer an honest and independent review of the item. The reviewer will often keep the sample after reviewing it for both hygiene reasons and more often they’re in no fit state to return!