# 24 vs 16 vs 12 Strand Climbing line



## blrobison (Jul 16, 2013)

I'm looking to get a new climbing line and I'm curious as to how each the 24, 16 and 12 strand ropes feel and handle. I currently use hi-vee 16 strand and it's been really good to me, just wondering how the other braiding compares. Please include what friction knot you use since it makes a huge difference in gripping ability.


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## RandomWoodsman (Jul 25, 2013)

Well my personal line is the yale poison hi-vy which is a 24strand, my long line at work is a yale xtc fire line which is a 16 strand, and my short line at work is a samson blue streak which is also a 16 strand. I climb using a swabisch prussic using bee-line. I find that on my 24 stand that the system runs smoother over branches and the prussic slides smoother when taking up slack and grips harder when it is loaded. The 16 strands that I use at work are decently smooth and just a little bit harder to take up slack but they still grip really well when a load is put on the prussic. I think the biggest difference is that I can take more redirects with the 24 strand than I can with the 16 because it has a smoother cover and doesn't make as much friction on the branch when it comes in contacts so getting around in the tree is a little bit easier.

Hope this helps,

-Random


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