The world's most in-depth and scientific reviews of outdoor gear

Edelrid Boa Pro Dry Review

A good rope for those not looking to spend too much.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Price:  $210 List | $219.95 at Backcountry
Pros:  Not too expensive, available in a bi-pattern weave
Cons:  Only average catch and handling with poor durability
Manufacturer:   Edelrid
By Cam McKenzie Ring ⋅ Senior Review Editor  ⋅  Sep 11, 2017
  • Share this article:
62
OVERALL
SCORE

RANKED
#14 of 16
  • Handling - 35% 7
  • Durability - 25% 6
  • Weight - 20% 4
  • Catch - 20% 7

Our Verdict

The Edelrid Pro Dry is a 9.8 mm rope that handles and catches well, but not exceptionally so. It feels very supple initially but stiffens up a bit with use. It also got very dirty, noticeably more so than many other ropes in this review, even despite the dry coating, which usually helps protects a rope from taking on too much dirt. We noticed a lot of sheath fuzz as well by the end of testing. For a great overall rope that doesn't soak up the dirt, check out our Editors' Choice winner, the Mammut Infinity.


Compare to Similar Products

(change comparison)
 
This Product
Edelrid Boa Pro Dry
Awards  Editors' Choice Award  Top Pick Award Top Pick Award 
Price $219.95 at Backcountry$259.95 at Amazon$124.95 at Backcountry
Compare at 3 sellers		$130.00 at Backcountry
Compare at 2 sellers		$241.63 at Amazon
Compare at 3 sellers
Overall Score Sort Icon
100
0
62
100
0
77
100
0
76
100
0
76
100
0
74
Star Rating
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Pros Not too expensive, available in a bi-pattern weaveSkinny for its diameter, durable, great catch, smooth handlingDurable, excellent feel and handle, soft catchesLight, durable, super soft and supple handleGreat handling, durable
Cons Only average catch and handling with poor durabilitySlightly stiff, middle mark wears off quicklyPriceyNot durable enough for heavy duty sport climbing, a lot of stretch when secondingHeavy for the diameter, high impact force rating
Bottom Line A good rope for those not looking to spend too much.The top-performing do-everything rope that is also a crowd favoriteOne of the best ropes you can buy, striking a perfect balance between low weight and durability.The perfect light and skinny rope for climbing high above the groundA great rope for advanced sport climbing.
Rating Categories Edelrid Boa Pro Dry Mammut Infinity Sterling Evolution Helix Petzl Volta Maxim Pinnacle
Handling (35%)
10
0
7
10
0
7
10
0
8
10
0
8
10
0
9
Durability (25%)
10
0
6
10
0
9
10
0
8
10
0
7
10
0
8
Weight (20%)
10
0
4
10
0
6
10
0
6
10
0
8
10
0
5
Catch (20%)
10
0
7
10
0
9
10
0
8
10
0
7
10
0
6
Specs Edelrid Boa Pro Dry Mammut Infinity Sterling Evolution... Petzl Volta Maxim Pinnacle
Diameter 9.8 mm 9.5 mm 9.5 mm 9.2 mm 9.5 mm
Weight (g/m) 63 g/m 59 g/m 59 g/m 55 g/m 61 g/m
Certified Use Single Single Single Single, Half and Twin Single
UIAA Fall Rating 10 8-9 7 6 7
Impact Force 8.9 kN 8.4 kN 8.9 kN 8.6 kN 10.3 kN
Static Elongation % (in use) 8.3 6.5 7.2 7.5 5
Dynamic Elongation % (first fall) 34 30 31.9 33 26
Sheath Proportion % 39 40 41 42 36
Dry Coating Option Pro Dry Mammut's Dry Treatment DryXP Duratec Dry Endura Dry 2x treatment
Middle Mark or Bi-Pattern Option Middle mark Bi-Pattern or Middle Mark Middle Mark and Bi-Color Option Middle Mark Bi-pattern option
Lengths Available 50m, 60m, 70m, 80m 50m, 60m, 70m, 80m 40m, 50m, 60m, 70m, 80m. DryXP: 60m, 70m, 80m 50m, 60m, 70m, 80m 60m, 70m

Our Analysis and Test Results

The Edelrid Pro Dry 9.8 mm weighs 63 g/m and is rated for 10 falls. It is available in a wide variety of options, including a bi-pattern weave, standard or dry coated, and the new "Eco" version, which uses leftover yarns from previous productions. You can also purchase 200 meters of it, should you need that long a rope!

Performance Comparison


Testing out the Boa. This rope performed reasonably well but didn't stand out in any one category or application.
Testing out the Boa. This rope performed reasonably well, but didn't stand out in any one category or application.

Handling


We were impressed by the hand feel of this rope when we first opened it. It felt soft and silky, was easy to feed, and not too kinky. Then we used it a bunch, and it stopped feeling quite so smooth. Some ropes tend to stiffen up with use, and this felt like one of them. It was nowhere near as stiff as the Edelweiss Curve Unicore Supereverdry, but it wasn't as easy to clip with and feed out slack as our Top Pick for Sport Climbing, the Maxim Pinnacle.

This rope handled reasonably well - it was very supple at first but did stiffen up a bit with use.
This rope handled reasonably well - it was very supple at first but did stiffen up a bit with use.

Catch


The numbers on this rope suggest that it should have a nice and soft catch (8.9 kN impact force and 34% dynamic elongation), but it didn't feel noticeably different than many of the other ropes in this review. This rope does have the highest fall rating (10) of all the models that we tested. That means that it can withstand 10 Factor 1.77 drop tests before failure, which is impressive (all of the others range between 6 and 8). That being said, most climbers are never going to put even one fall of that magnitude on a rope, and most manufacturers recommend retiring your rope regardless if you ever do experience such a harsh fall.

Weight


This line weighs 63 g/m, which is similar to most of the other 9.8 or 9.9 lines in this review. If you want to save a few ounces and don't mind a skinnier rope, the Mammut Infinity and Petzl Arial are lighter and will weigh about half a pound less in a 60 m length.

Durability


We had to give this rope a relatively low score for durability. The sheath was showing quite a bit of fuzz after eight days of climbing, and it was particularly dirty, without us using it anywhere that we didn't use the other lines in this review.

Can you spot the middle marker? This rope got very dirty very quickly even when used in similar conditions to other ropes. There was also quite a bit of sheath fuzz and some glazing but no significant damage.
Can you spot the middle marker? This rope got very dirty very quickly, even when used in similar conditions to other ropes. There was also quite a bit of sheath fuzz and some glazing, but no significant damage.

We liked sport climbing with this rope but it got really dirty after a month of bolt clipping in Ten Sleep WY.
We liked sport climbing with this rope, but it got really dirty after a month of bolt clipping in Ten Sleep, WY.

Value


This rope retails for $209 in a 60m dry version and only $150 for a non-dry. This makes it fairly affordable when compared to some of the $260 and up models out there. We did prefer the $210 Beal Booster III, our Best Buy winner, over this model, as it showed less wear than this one.

Conclusion


The Edelrid Pro Dry is not a bad rope, but it just didn't stand out enough in any one category or for a particular application to win an award.


— Cam McKenzie Ring