Petzl Fuse 9.4mm Rope Review

Skinny ropes have been popular for quite some time now, but I’ve generally stayed away. For one, they don’t work with well Gri Gri’s, no matter what all you people who are using them tell yourselves. I tend to use 10 mm cords for that reason, and because at 175 lbs, I put some weight on the rope when I fall.  On top of that, they just never seemed all that versatile. Sure, it’s great to have a skinny redpoint cord, but if I’m gonna drop some $$ on a rope, I want to be able to use it as much as I need.

So it was with some hesitation that I started using the Petzl Fuse 9.4mm Rope. Running the thin strands through my hands as I stacked it into a rope bag for the first time, I thought, wow, this is pretty skinny! I’ve now had it out on sport and trad climbs, and I have to say, I’m hooked. For starters, this thing is light, at least compared to the 10 mil cord I was using. The weight savings is really noticeable on long pitches, like at the top of a 140′ route I did at the City of Rocks last week, when I easily pulled up rope to make the last clip. Plus this thing handles like a dream. It feeds easy, clips easy, it pretty much makes your life better, period.

But what about working with belay devices? Well, Gri Gri’s are supposed to be for ropes 10mm and up, so you should know better, even if it seems to work ok. We used it with our Trango Cinch, which is designed to work with ropes down to 9.4mm. When it was brand new, there was slippage even with the Cinch, but since it’s been broken in some, this is no longer a concern, and my Reverso 3 locked down on it with ease.

We’ll be taking this cord on an upcoming trip to Rocky Mountain Park in July, as it seems like it could be a perfect alpine cord, light and durable. I’ll check back in after we have a few months of use on it, to see how it’s held up over time, which is one of my chief concerns with a cord this skinny.

Overall, I have to say so far I dig this rope. But then again, what else would you expect from Petzl? With so many ropes to choose from these days, I’d definitely give this one a look if you are thinking about buying a new cord.