Ropes:
Of course, not too many tree climbers use the dynamic (springy) ropes that rock climbers favor, because they seldom if ever climb above their tie-in points. A really springy rope would waste a lot of energy during a climb, but a bit of spring is nice to soften the little falls that sometimes happen when going from branch to branch.

... Another point worth considering.

I love caving, dabbled in rock climbing, and spent most of my time tree climbing. It was an "Oh duh" moment when I finally understood the difference between having the strength in the cover of the rope vs the core. If you ever cross over and modify your climbing system (no matter if you got from tree climbing to rock climbing or vice versa) you will probably get the ... what the bleepity bleep do you think your doing? Knowing your rope is essential and not everyone you encounter while tree/rock climbing or caving will be aware of the differences!

Ropes:
Of course, not too many tree climbers use the dynamic (springy) ropes that rock climbers favor, because they seldom if ever climb above their tie-in points. A really springy rope would waste a lot of energy during a climb, but a bit of spring is nice to soften the little falls that sometimes happen when going from branch to branch.

... Another point worth considering.

I love caving, dabbled in rock climbing, and spent most of my time tree climbing. It was an "Oh duh" moment when I finally understood the difference between having the strength in the cover of the rope vs the core. If you ever cross over and modify your climbing system (no matter if you got from tree climbing to rock climbing or vice versa) you will probably get the ... what the bleepity bleep do you think your doing? Knowing your rope is essential and not everyone you encounter while tree/rock climbing or caving will be aware of the differences!

I'm one of those cross-over-types. I started in rope rescue, went to rock climbing, and now trees. All three are different but still the same in some aspects.

*Rope is one of the differences. Static rescue rope is generally 90% core (kern) strength and 10% covering (mantle). The core strands are straight or very slightly wavy, making the rope have very little stretch. I would NOT want to take a fall on static rope. Dynamic rock climbing rope, on the other hand, is made with very wavy or even coiled or twisted core strands - the outer covering gives the rope more of it's strength. Almost 50/50 in some ropes. Tree climbing rope, to me falls somewhere in the middle.

If you started a rappel on dynamic rope, and it stretched only 10 inches when you loaded it, it would be considered pretty stiff. If a rescue rope stretched the same 10 inches, it would be considered very stretchy. My tree climbing rope falls some where in the middle. It stretches about 10-15 inches every time I load it to do a bounce test, or begin a climb. And I think that's just about right. Keep in mind, that in order to stretch 10-15 inches, there is usually 50 or 60 feet of rope out to the TIP and back. Come to think of it, doesn't Peter call tree rope "semi-static" in the basics video.


The fact is, you can climb trees with static or arborist rope. You could do a pick-off rescue with any of the three types, but I would NEVER rock climb, above my anchor, on anything but a good dynamic rope.

*The above statement is a general statememt. Some ropes do have more or less stretch than the label, static, dynamic, multipurpose, would imply.