How to Coil a Climbing Rope

Picture these scenarios…

You’ve endured a hard slog into the crag, the anticipation of being on real rock the only things getting you through the walk in. You open your rope bag - keen to flake out, tie in, and get climbing. But there it is… the spaghetti monster of doom.

You’ve spent all morning dealing with that pressing life admin that never goes away. Desperately in need of a refresh, you pop into the gym for a quick lead sesh - in and out is the plan! Instead, you spend half your allocated climb time feeding your entire rope through the knots that have magically appeared along its length.

You’re a climbing guide setting up several top ropes for clients. You reach into your kits, only to find that they’ve all been single coiled. Now you’ve got to waste precious time re-coiling each one double-stranded to find the mid point. Not only that, but one of the half-arsed coils disintegrates when you pick it up, and you’re left with a tangled pile of rope at your feet.

Getting frustrated yet? I feel ya! A tangled rope is a sure-fire way to kill your stoke. The good news is, there’s one thing that would solve all of these problems…

Why should I coil my rope?

Aside from preventing the above scenarios? Coiling your climbing ropes keeps your rope tidy and reduces twists in your rope. This makes deploying your rope faster and belaying more enjoyable (less opportunities to short rope your climber, because you’re not removing pig tails with the other hand).

So how do I coil it?

There are numerous ways to coil your rope, and equally numerous methods for finishing it off neatly. The one you choose to use is going to depend partly on the style of climbing you're about to embark on, and partly on good old personal preference! Our preferred method is the butterfly coil - here's our three favourite ways to coil your rope, and when we'd choose to employ them.

Each person may have a preferred methodology, so long as the the coil remains neat and secure then anything goes! Check out the different preferred methods of rope coiling by our team and ambassadors.