When selecting the suitable rope for your needs, keep a few things in mind. For example, nylon rope is often more potent and durable than polyester rope. However, the polyester rope is often less expensive and easier to work with. So which should you choose? The answer depends on your specific needs.

Both nylon and polyester rope are great for various purposes, but which is better for your specific needs? This article will compare the two types of yarn and help you choose the best option for your needs. We’ll also give you some tips on caring for both nylon and polyester ropes to get the most out of them!

Which is better nylon or polyester rope?

Both types of rope are lovely for all kinds of outdoor activities.

Flexibility

A few things make nylon rope flexible, and the polyester rope isn’t.

First of all, how ropes are made is different for both types. Polyester has a “rip stop” finish on them to help prevent fraying. This protects the inside from external damage when you pull on it too hard or stretch it out over time (like sitting around). Nylon doesn’t have this feature because the individual strands are put together by twisting them in different directions repeatedly. The result is a strong enough rope to support strain but has virtually no internal structure for you to damage the rope at all, making it more stretchy.

Both ropes can last between 10-50 years under regular use, so we have plenty of generations to choose from once they’re obsolete. So while nylon looks like polyester after an hour or two, it’s significantly more durable than that.

Width

Polyester rope is much thinner than nylon rope – about half as thick. Because of this, the thickness of ropes can make a difference in how well you can grip them or rig these things up for different purposes (like making a tow line) without looking silly and being unable to tie knots properly with them. However, since there are so many types of use strings available in both types of rope, it’s impossible to be too limited by the width. If you want longer lines for something more involved (like an aerialist or tightrope walker), that can change your answer on which choice is better.

Grade

There are three different types of grade-level ropes – “A”, “B” and “C”. The highest quality has a solid core, a smooth outer surface, good stretch without twisting near the center weight (resistance) of the rope and a steady breaking strength (strength when pulled). The next best has all the characteristics of “A” except that it’s not as smooth on both surfaces. Lastly, there is what we would call an intermediate grade – usually with more twists in its core and slightly less than peaky surface texture.

Here you’re looking at a top-notch burly /middle-of-the-road nylon harness.

In the nylon category, there are different grades of polyester rope – standard, heavy-duty and regular. In this case, we’re looking at a “heavy duty” rope because it’s thicker than normal and has some physical properties (smoothness and breaking strength) that make belaying faster, easier and safer for the climber using it. The only thing is you have to be more careful with this kind of rope so that you don’t take the “shock” out of it.

Sunlight

There are different classifications of sunlight, too since it depends on the thickness and strength of ropes you’re considering (there is a wide range ). I’ll have to do some research on this; however, heavy-duty nylon isn’t rated by their number – there aren’t any rating systems like that. It’s more related to experience, but they will get themselves a “grade” scale in order not to be beaten around with stronger rope from something that looks either worse or better than it actually is (supermodels know how to disguise themselves and if you’re not correctly mentally prepared for what’s passing your visual range, you can be fooled).

Strength

The strength (breaking length) of the rope plays a major role in your choice. If you belay right on edge and need to pull down hard after an accident, this is vital – anything less than 8mm and even 10mm might be overkill. However, if most times you only have little falls with minimal effort, then weak rope wont matter much for long. Obviously strong ropes are more expensive, so choose what suits your needs.

Which is the right option: nylon or polyester?

I have taken a brief look at both materials and weighed the pros and cons. Here’s my verdict:

Polyester ropes (Dyneema) are undoubtedly strong – they are rated to 100kg, so that exceeds anything you’re likely to need.  However, due to their clarity, it can be hard for someone on belay not to see what has happened before if the rope starts coming down without warning (especially when visual aids are absent). If you expect this behavior in the wild, consider adding a stick to make sure you get some warning.

Nylon ropes (spectra or Dacron ) are more common and far less expensive – perfectly suitable if all your rope needs is safety twice the strength of normal rigging equipment. If not, then slightly cheaper alternatives such as Dyneema (underrated) will serve nicely! Also, they aren’t likely to brake while still loaded with being belayed.

Final verdict

Nylon is a stronger rope than polyester, which makes it better for use in high-stress applications such as construction sites and maritime navigation. Polyester, on the other hand, is softer and more versatile, making it a better choice for applications such as abseiling and climbing. Additionally, nylon has a longer lifetime than polyester rope, so it’s ideal for applications where extreme durability is required.