Trango Antidote Review

The Trango Antidote is a standard rope bag for anyone looking for a dependable, easy to use bag. We found it to be very similar to the Metolius line up like the Dirt Bag II and the Ropemaster HC. It features a large tarp, a tarp window, and a small outer zippered pocket for small easily lost items. Although tarp windows may seem a bit odd, we found it extremely useful when looking through our gear closets to try and find a specific rope.

Performance Comparison

Rope Cleanliness

With a large rectangular 48" x 60" tarp, the Antidote had no problem keeping our rope out of the dirt. Although not as large as some of the other rope bags we tested, we did not find it to be detrimental to the overall usage of the bag. The design of the tarp is rectangular in nature, and the longest comparative to the width of all the bags we tested, which didn't impact the performance either positively or negatively.

Ease of Packing the Rope

The Trango Antidote packs much like any other standard burrito style rope bag on the market. Once the tarp is rolled and stuffed into the bag, an elastic cord is cinched around the opening of the bag, and then finally secured with two compression straps. We thought that the Antidote was very much in line with the Metolius Ropemaster HC.

Ease of Packing the Bag

The Trango Antidote is slightly easier to pack into a larger pack comparative to the Petzl Kab as the nylon it's constructed out of isn't nearly as stiff, but not as easy as the Black Diamond Full Rope Burrito. Although it might require a bit more shoving, it packs relatively easily.

Ease of Transport

The Antidote features two adjustable backpack style straps that can either be worn sling-style or as a backpack. It also features a single reinforced grab handle on one end of the bag for shorter moves. Thanks to the backpack style straps, allowing it to be worn as a backpack, the Trango Antidote is great for both long (25-30 minutes) and short (<5 minutes) distance approaches. We do think that the Metolius Speedster is more comfortable as it is made to be an actual backpack. However, any kind of approach over 30 minutes, we'd suggest packing the Antidote into a larger pack.

Extra Features and Usability

The Trango Antidote features an outer zippered pocket for your small items, metal buckles on the compression straps, and a tarp window to see what cord you have stored inside. The fabric used to construct the Antidote is not as burly as the award-winning Petzl Kab but our testers found that the Antidote held up just fine to regular wear and tear.

Best Application

The Antidote is a basic rope bag for those looking for an affordable, yet solid option.

Value

The Antidote is standard burrito style rope bag. It has some basic extra features such as a zippered outer pocket and tarp window, but nothing groundbreaking. At a slightly lower price than the Metolius Ropemaster HC and Black Diamond Super Chute it serves its purpose as a solid choice for anyone looking for a basic rope bag.

Conclusion

The Trango Antidote is a great choice for climbers needing a solid, dependable rope bag. It has a large tarp that does a great job keeping the rope clean and an easy burrito style system to load the rope into. It has a grab handle on one end for short moves, and a two padded shoulder straps for carrying over longer distances. A rope window and zippered outer pocket make for great, usable extras.