Mammut 9.5 Crag We Care Classic Review

The Mammut Crag We Care Classic 9.5 is a supple, durable, and versatile rope that also has decent features and an acceptable weight. The rope is on the heavier side at 59 grams per meter, or 7.8 pounds for a 60-meter rope. That said we don't recommend it for alpine use. Otherwise, this rope is fantastic across the board.

Performance Comparison

Handling

The Mammut 9.5 Crag We Care Classic has a soft and supple feel that is a pleasure to use. It's soft enough to tie knots easily and clip to quickdraws and carabiners with ease. It isn't too soft either, and conveys a sense of confidence to the user. Our testers praised the supple feel from day one. Throughout our testing, the rope maintained a round cross-section, rather than flattening into an oval, like many competitors.

The sheath is tightly woven, which helps it maintain a consistent and confidence-inspiring feel even as it wears. The rope is rather slippery when new so extra care was needed during belays. This was one of our favorite ropes to use, largely due to its exceptional handling.

Durability

The Mammut 9.5 Crag We Care Classic provides excellent durability, and it's a favorite of rock climbing guides who need their ropes to withstand abrasion. The 9.5-millimeter diameter helps it roll over crystals that skinnier ropes get caught by. The tight sheath weave also helps it avoid snags. Furthermore, forty percent of the rope is sheath by weight. That equates to an impressive 24 grams of sheath per meter, which is more than most competitors. In our tests, we were impressed by how well this sheath resisted the abrasion from repeated lead falls and top-roping while showing hardly any fraying.

One durability downside is the impermanence of the middle mark. Like many ropes, this one features two dark marks at the middle that soon wear off. Unlike other ropes, however, this one isn't available in a bi-pattern so you need to be willing to reapply your own middle mark.

Versatility

This is one of the more versatile ropes out there. It is thick and durable enough for daily use at the top-roping crag, and it also is supple enough for demanding leads. It makes a great sport climbing workhorse, allowing you to fall repeatedly and work routes without worrying about undue wear and tear on your rope. It's a bit too heavy to be used for the most demanding sends, especially on long routes, but most of the time, it's a good single-pitch companion. We also like to use it on moderate multi-pitch routes that don't test our abilities, where a durable rope is preferable to a lighter one. It's even thick enough to use in the gym rope and on aid climbs, which put a lot of wear on the rope. If you opt for the dry treatment, it's a good rope for top-roping iec climbs.

Although it's not out of the question, we don't like to use this rope for alpine climbing. It's a bit too heavy for us to carry it deep into the backcountry. For pretty much every other type of climbing, this rope excels.

Features

The Mammut 9.5 Crag We Care Classic has bare-bones features. It has a distinct middle mark that is easy to see at first, but it wears out over time. There is a UIAA-certified dry treatment option, but no bi-pattern sheath design. It comes in a variety of lengths from 40 to 80 meters, which makes it easy to find a length that works for your style of climbing.

One unique feature of this rope is that it is made from unused sheath yarns from the production of Mammut's other ropes. The resulting sheath colors are unique and often rainbow-colored, but you don't get to choose the color of the rope that you order. While many climbers don't mind this, and actually find it exciting to see what color rope arrives in the mail, other climbers might want to control their rope choice. If you care deeply about the color of your rope, it isn't possible for this product.

Weight

The Mammut 9.5 Crag We Care Classic weighs in at 59 grams per meter. That's on par for an all-around rope with a 9.5mm diameter. For a 60-meter rope, that's 7.8 pounds, or 3.54 kilograms. This is on the heavier side of the spectrum, especially considering the low weight of the newer skinny ropes on the market.

This rope has an ideal weight for day-to-day cragging and some multi-pitch routes. It's also a lightweight and nimble alternative to work-horse style ropes that are much thicker, heavier, and less supple. However, this rope is too heavy to keep up with modern lightweight ropes for alpine climbing, hard multi-pitch routes, and long single-pitch sport climbs.

Should You Buy the Mammut 9.5 Crag We Care Classic?

This rope represents the best deal on the market, by a long shot. It performs well across the board, and only loses points for lack of alpine versatility and a slightly hefty weight. Since most climbers spend the majority of their time at the gym, single-pitch crag, or climbing moderate multi-pitch routes, this rope is perfect for most users, and will save you some money compared to other high-performance ropes. The only people who shouldn't buy this rope are those who are looking for an alpine-specific rope or one that can help shave some grams for long, demanding multi-pitch routes.

What Other Climbing Ropes Should You Consider

The Mammut 9.5 Crag Classic is a mirror image of this rope, but it has a more traditional color pattern, and costs just a few dollars more. If you're looking for a lighter rope for long routes, we love the Beal Joker for multi-pitch climbing and the Sterling Aero 9.2 Xeros for all kinds of climbing. The Beal Opera is the lightest rope on the market, and perfect for alpine climbing. If durability is your primary concern, the Sterling Velocity XEROS 9.8 is our favorite workhorse-style rope.