Linecheck

Educational reference · Not certification

Should you retire your climbing rope?

Answer a few questions. We’ll compare your rope to Mammut, Petzl, and REI guidance — and tell you plainly whether to retire it, replace it soon, or keep inspecting. Educational only — never a certificate.

Open the calculator See the sources
Climbers on a sea cliff linked by a bright dynamic rope
Measure wear against guidance — then inspect by hand.

Official documents & guidance

For climbers checking the source text: every claim in Linecheck points back to a public page or PDF. Citations use [1]–[4] throughout the calculator.

Jump to calculator →
  1. [1] Mammut — Dynamic Ropes User Manual HI-MAM-026-9 (frequency table, discard criteria, storage). PDF · Help — Ropes
  2. [2] Petzl — Tech Tip: When should my rope be replaced? Open Tech Tip
  3. [3] REI — Expert Advice: When to Retire Climbing Gear (frequency bands, fall log, fuzz). Open article
  4. [4] UIAA — About Ageing of Climbing Ropes (Pit Schubert). PDF

[1] Mammut HI-MAM-026-9

Six-row frequency table (unused ≤10 yr … near-daily <1 yr). Immediate discard for factor ≥1 falls, extreme sheath wear, chemicals, heat, core visible.

User manual PDF · Help — Ropes

[2] Petzl Tech Tip

Replace when confidence is gone, sheath too worn, hernia/defect, significant impact, chemicals, or more than ~10 years from manufacture.

When should my rope be replaced?

[3] REI Expert Advice (bands)

REI-style here is a comparison against published frequency bands; year figures are aligned with / close to Mammut’s six-row table, not an independent manufacturer table. REI also covers extreme loads, cuts/flat spots/fuzz, and fall logs.

When to Retire Climbing Gear

[4] UIAA ageing notes

Pit Schubert: ageing is driven by metres of use and abrasion; storage UV is minor vs use; sulphuric acid can destroy a rope invisibly.

About Ageing of Climbing Ropes (PDF)

How it works

Red flags always win. Then age, frequency, and sourced wear factors adjust the reading.

Open calculator →

1 · Flags

Hard fall, visible damage, chemicals / unknown rope historyAny Yes
OutcomeRETIRE NOW

2 · Age, use & context

Year + frequency tableCore
Sheath, storage, gym/outdoor, falls, diameterEnrich

3 · Reading

RETIRE NOW / SOON / INSPECT & MONITORSticky
Still inspect by hand · Follow your IFU

Rope retirement calculator

Answer the short path first. The verdict sticks while you scroll. Citations [1]–[4] match the documents above.

Sources: [1] Mammut [2] Petzl [3] REI [4] UIAA

Red flags

Any Yes means retire this rope now — we skip the age table. Plain English: these are deal-breakers from the manuals [1][2][3].

Fall factor ≈ 1 or greater, or extreme impact.
Sheath cut, core showing, soft/flat spots, glaze, hernia.
Acid, solvents, heat, or undocumented past use/ownership — not the same as unknown manufacture year.
Manufacture year
Sets use to “Never used / stored.” Mammut: unused rope under good storage still ages — max about 10 years [1].
2023
20152026

Age ≈ — years · window ≈ last 11–12 yr (tables top out ~10)

Frequency of use
Once a month
Never / storedNear-daily

Light regular · Mammut max 5 years [1]

Guidance table

More about this rope Sheath wear, storage, gym vs outdoor, falls, diameter — optional
Wear & context

Optional details from published guidance. Skip if you’re unsure — the short path is enough.

None / clean
CleanExtreme fuzz

Heavy fuzz can retire now (Mammut extreme wear / Petzl sheath too worn).

Good (bag, cool, dry)
GoodPoor / car
Mixed
MixedMostly outdoor
Few / none
FewMany

Short of a hard/extreme fall (that’s a red flag above).

Mammut: small diameters damage over sharp edges faster outdoors.
Close-up of a blue dynamic rope through a belay device on rock
Inspect sheath and handling every session.
Climber on a limestone overhang with a red dynamic rope
Hard falls and unknown history are immediate red flags.
Back to calculator →

Notes

Open calculator →

Is this a safety certificate? No. Linecheck is an educational reference. It never labels a rope Safe, Certified, or cleared to climb.

Why are red flags first? Manufacturer consensus: extreme falls, visible damage, chemicals, heat, or unknown rope history (not merely an unknown year) override age arithmetic. Any Yes → RETIRE NOW.

What do the wear & context controls do? They apply conservative qualitative multipliers (sheath fuzz, storage, gym/outdoor, fall log, thin diameter outdoors) from Mammut, Petzl, REI, and UIAA. When several cut together, Linecheck may combine and cap them at about 70% of the guidance-table years — the tool’s conservative adjustment, not a manufacturer figure. That floor never lifts a red flag or extreme/heavy sheath “RETIRE NOW.”

What does awaiting mean? Without a valid manufacture year the lifespan table cannot run.

Why Mammut as default? It publishes an explicit six-row frequency table (HI-MAM-026-9).

What does REI-style mean? REI-style is a comparison against published frequency bands; the year figures are aligned with / close to Mammut’s six-row table, not an independent manufacturer table. REI’s article lists approximate bands — we encode upper ends where REI gave a range.

Does UIAA set a lifespan? UIAA 101 / EN 892 test new ropes. They do not set a universal in-service lifespan.