Rodcle Cordyneema Pull Cord

[tobolov]

Hey all,
I recently picked up a 100 meter Rodcle Cordyneema pull cord from CanyonZone and am looking to pair it with a fiddlestick. The question I have is whether I need to terminate one of the ends of the pull cord with an eye splice as you would with a standard dyneema pull cord. The reason I ask this is the Rodcle Cordyneema has a dyneema core, but a nylon polyamide sheath (which I think eliminates the concern of dyneema's low coefficient of friction). Diameter is 3.8mm.

I asked the staff at CanyonZone, and they mentioned that a figure 8 would be fine.

Whatcha all think?

[T2]

Putting an eye splice in the end of a kernmantle rope or cord (one with a core and sheath) is much more difficult that putting a splice in normal 12 braid Dyneema pullcord. There are some good video tutorials online, but if I were you I wouldn't bother.

There's not going to be any issue just creating a loop with a figure 8 and then girth hitching the pullcord to your fiddlestick. The nylon sheath will provide plenty of grip for the knot to hold. Even with pure Dyneema rope / cord, I find a figure 8 provides quite a lot of grip. I used that before I started splicing my pullcords and never had a knot come undone, even with some hard pulls.

I think the bigger issue you'll run into when using a nylon-sheathed pullcord with a fiddlestick is that on tough pulls / those going over sharp edges you will quickly damage the sheath. The thinner the rope, the thinner the sheath, so you've probably got less than 1mm of nylon sheath making direct contact with the rock. It will wear quite quickly. The reason most people use Dyneema pullcords with fiddlesticks (beyond being easier to splice) is that Dyneema is much, much more abrasion resistant than nylon, so having the Dyneema in direct contact with the rock will ensure your pullcord lasts longer.

I think you'll find the Cordyneema is designed more for European settings, where they are generally not using fiddlesticks but instead pulling a block from a bolted anchor. It's quite a different motion to the sharp pull on a fiddlestick, as well as involving less abrasion as they're coming from optimal anchors close to the edge, rather than the natural anchors usually fiddlesticked.

I would be curious to hear how it does perform in Australian conditions.

[T2]

FYI, this video is a good example of putting an eye splice in a kernmantle rope. Be aware that a thin cord will be much more fiddly. Rope and cord used in canyoning also often has a tighter weave, which makes doing these sorts of things much harder.