I have some stoppers that are on some pretty old cord rather than steel cable. I'm looking to replace the cord and wondered if anyone has suggestions on the best cord to put on these beasts for lead climbing. I have about 20 stoppers and 10 hex's that need redone.

Thanks!

Thanks Chief. I'm re-cording them to teach new leaders and to be a beginner rack for my kids. When I learned to trad lead, I was taught on just stoppers, tricams, and hexes......no cams. Once I could lead 5.5+ with only passive pro, I moved on to active cams. You're right.....I wouldn't haul those things up anything substantial....just not necessary anymore.

Thanks!

5 mm tech cord is pretty nice, and way stronger than nylon, especially if you can hide the knot inside the hex.

5 mm tech cord is pretty nice, and way stronger than nylon, especially if you can hide the knot inside the hex.

Chouinard used to sell a kit of vinyl tubes to resling old hexes and stoppers that were bored with 7mm, 8mm, and 9mm holes to use 5.5mm cord. I recommend inspecting any old pro to see what size holes they have so you can install the new securely. Most pro since the late 80's is already bored for 5.5mm cord.

Ended up getting 5mm Titan cord with Dyneema. GearExpress had a pretty good deal on it so I thought I'd give it a try. May be a bit overkill, but I tend to do that with my climbing.

Thanks all!

WyomingSummits wrote:Ended up getting 5mm Titan cord with Dyneema. GearExpress had a pretty good deal on it so I thought I'd give it a try. May be a bit overkill, but I tend to do that with my climbing.

Thanks all!

How'd that work out? The Titan is great on paper, but it's kind of a pain in the ass.

Ben Beckerich wrote:

WyomingSummits wrote:Ended up getting 5mm Titan cord with Dyneema. GearExpress had a pretty good deal on it so I thought I'd give it a try. May be a bit overkill, but I tend to do that with my climbing.

Thanks all!

How'd that work out? The Titan is great on paper, but it's kind of a pain in the ass.

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Not sure how I feel about it yet. It's a bit rigid.....which has it's pros and cons. For the big monster pro I was loading on it, it'll suffice. Not sure if I'd put smaller stoppers and such on this cord as the stiffness, even if it loosens up a bit, seems like it could cause a mess on your racking system. I'm going to run up a few cracks on Devil's Tower with it when weather permits.....NE Wyoming is a bit harsh for rock climbing this time of year.

I slung some hexes with the 5 or 5.5 mm tech cord. The holes bored into the more modern hexes are just barely big enough to let the cord through. It was a real bitch trying to sling them. When melting the ends to get a good point for threading through, the sheath will melt and fuse together but the core does not do so readily. Tends to stay frayed and hard to work with. Pulling the sheath very slightly ahead of the core, then melting the end with the core tucked inside worked well.

mountainsandsound wrote:I slung some hexes with the 5 or 5.5 mm tech cord. The holes bored into the more modern hexes are just barely big enough to let the cord through. It was a real bitch trying to sling them. When melting the ends to get a good point for threading through, the sheath will melt and fuse together but the core does not do so readily. Tends to stay frayed and hard to work with. Pulling the sheath very slightly ahead of the core, then melting the end with the core tucked inside worked well.

Yeah, the smaller holes weren't easy. I'll be using some rubber tubing to make up the diameter difference for the older pro.