Packing Rope

[kgmolson]

Do you guys carry any rope in your pack just in case? If so, how much.

I am thinking about picking up a few feet to throw in the pack just in case I may need it.

[joebartels]

For emergency 25 foot range you might consider webbing. It's cheap, tough, light and stuffs into day packs easier.

[Grasshopper]

In response to kgmolson:

For the unexpected, I always carry 35' of 3/16" rope with a carabineer at one end. I have yet to need it while hiking in AZ, but have needed it a few times in CALIF remote canyons for Anza Borrego Desert State Park. IF I ever hike our AZ "Devils Chasm", I bet my rope will come in handy for pulling my day pack up/down on that ~12' waterfall section that everyone talks about:

[Jeffshadows]

2" webbing; standard rescue webbing, basically. It rolls up really nicely. Usually carry about twenty feet on longer treks...

[Davis2001r6]

Is webbing easier to handle for the equivalent size/weight of rope?

[joebartels]

No and I'm sure some stud climber will reply with something like "dude that's not the proper use of webbing". Nevertheless I think the weight/size makes it ideal for the "just in case" angle.

If you really want to go light chain link Dynemma slings, but that's not going to be cheap.

[Jeffshadows]

Webbing is a lot more versatile than rope for the unexpected that might come along. Although, carrying something thin and small is always useful too, something like 550-cord. Hauling a kernmantle up a trail without any specific need for it isn't fun unless you want extra weight, and short pieces of webbing will do things that a comparably short piece of rope won't, I've found.

I do know a guy that takes a 45-foot piece of 6mm static core with him everywhere and refuses to even touch webbing, so I guess it really is just a matter of opinion...

[mttgilbert]

depending on what I'm doing I like to have a little of both. About 15 feet of webbing (enough for an anchor, a short haul, or to tie a seat) and about 40 feet of six mil static line for hauling, handline, or emergency rapel. Add a biner or two and you've got just about everything you could ever need or want. The whole bundle weighs in at just over a pound so it's not a huge addition to a small daypack. I rarely bring it on hikes, but for "non-technical" canyoneering it can be a real nice thing to have.