Rafting Magazine Ropes for Rivers 1

Ropes for River Use

In this article Rafting Magazine takes a look at rope used for rafting specifically static line. For this article they reached out to both Sterling and BlueWater ropes to get some technical insight on what works best for river rescue use. There is a lot to know and a lot to understand about what rafters need on the river. If you are looking for throw ropes or throw bags you can find more info on that here. They also will be bringing you some of the top contenders for best ropes on the market.

Ropes are a pretty complex topic in the river community. Both static and dynamic ropes find their way into our gear. It’s Important to know what they are and when to use them if you are unfamiliar with the purpose of each type of rope. Another important piece of terminology is what the difference between rope and line is.

What is the Difference Between Rope vs. Line?

A rope is a rope right? Not exactly, as we increase our mastery over a topic, it requires greater degrees of specificity to accurately describe and understand the topic. So the best way to understand this is: a rope is a rope, unless it’s on a boat, then it’s a line. Throw ropes are used on shore, perimeter lines ring a raft, static lines pull a raft off of a wrap, flip lines (which generally aren’t even rope) flip the boat over, but a strap secures gear to the boat. Like any sport as the community has gained mastery we have borrowed some terms from sailing, kayaking, and oceanic navigation, as well as sprinkling in some other terms of our own. So a rope is a rope, until it’s not a rope, but does that make all rope equal?

Static Rope in Rafting

Now that we understand the difference between rope and line it is important to note that not all rope is equal or the same in rafting. There are two main uses for Static line in rafting: perimeter lines and static lines for rescue applications. When rigging perimeter lines some folks prefer ropes and some prefer webbing, largely it is a matter of preference, however Continue reading Ropes for River Use


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DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, viewpoints or official policies of the IRF.