UIAA Rope Standards

UIAA stands for: Union Internationale Des Associations D’Alpinisme. The UIAA Safety Commission works closely with the industry to develop standards to minimize accidents caused by equipment failure. A certified piece of mountaineering or climbing equipment carries a UIAA Safety Label, which indicates the equipment’s compliance with UIAA standards. All of our climbing ropes must pass UIAA safety standards

Fall Factor

The fall factor is calculated by dividing the distance of a fall by the amount of rope that is out. A fall factor of 2 is the worst-case scenario. This happens when a leader falls before placing any gear above a belay and falls past the belay.

Number of UIAA Falls

This is a measure of a rope’s ability to absorb energy in a harsh fall scenario. An 80Kg mass is dropped 5 meters with 2.8 meters of rope out to create a fall factor of 1.7. The number of UIAA falls a rope can withstand before failing is an indicator of overall durability of a rope but by no means indicative of the number of “realistic” falls a rope can withstand.

Impact Force

A measure of the force exerted on a climber and their gear during a UIAA test fall. Inversely related to dynamic elongation. More elongation equates to a low impact force. Balance must be met between elongation and impact force, as the UIAA puts a maximum of 40% dynamic elongation as its standard. This measurement will affect day to day performance of your rope more than the number of UIAA falls. Lower impact forces are desirable for trad, alpine, and ice climbing where protection might be marginal. Lower impact forces will put less stress on you, your gear, and the person belaying.

Dynamic Elongation

This amount of stretch that occurs during a UIAA test fall. Higher elongation equals longer fall and lower impact forces. Lower elongation equals short fall with higher impact forces. Less elongation is desirable for sport climbing where you don’t want to fall as far especially when a fall close to the ground is more likely.

Static Elongation

The amount of stretch that occurs when a 176lb or 80Kg mass weights the rope. Less static elongation is desirable for top roping, lines used for ascending, and glacier lines.

Sheath Slippage

A Measure of the amount the sheath separates from the core. 0% is desirable and the norm for the majority of modern climbing ropes.