miles277•5d agoMost Upvoted

That cheap rope I bought off Amazon cost me way more in the long run

Back in 2019 I figured I'd save some money and bought a 200 foot spool of arborist rope from some no-name brand online. Paid like 40 bucks for it, thought I was being smart. First big job up in a red oak near Portland, that rope started fraying halfway through the climb and I had to abort. Lost about 300 bucks on that job plus the rope cost, now I only buy from a proper supplier. Anyone else ever get burned by budget gear?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_ben5d ago

Man that sucks. Always test new gear on the ground before trusting it with your life.

tessa3945d ago

Whoa hold up, let's think about this a different way. The real cost wasn't just the rope and the lost job. That fraying could have turned into a fall. A bad fall means hospital bills, time off work, maybe permanent damage. That $40 rope could have cost you your whole career or worse. Gear companies charge what they do because the margins on this stuff are tight, and the cheap stuff skips on critical testing. Saving a few bucks isn't saving anything if it gets you killed.