Yale IMORI review

Yale Cordage is proud to announce the arrival of IMORI - pronounced as EEE-MOR-LEE which is Japanese for Newt but also means "Good Forest"

Yale Cordage has developed and incorporated a new type of taslanized (textured) fiber into the rope structure which provides bulk, and therefore an enhanced grip for better ergonomics. This fiber is blended with a 100% solution dyed filament polyester into the construction. This unique blend allows the fibers to be exposed on both the outer sheath and also on the inside of the sheath providing more friction to the inner core which helps to minimize excessive elongation while providing a superior unsurpassed grip for the climber.


Product Name: "The rope with no name" Manufactured By: Yale Cordage Country of Manufacture: United States of America Rope Diameter: 12mm Tensile Strength: 2950kg Weight Per Mtr: 105g Construction: Double Braid Approved Standard: EN 1891 Type A

So what does this mean to the end user?

11mm ropes have been on the market for a few years now and have always received mixed reviews. They are smaller and lighter, but this often means the user finds it harder to grip than a tradiition 12-13mm rope(although grip will naturally develop if persevered with). You may think in the grand scheme of things that a lighter rope really wouldnt make much difference when climbing. This can be true, depending on what type of climbing system you are using. For the advanced hitches(valdotain, knut, distel etc) the difference is remarkable, with less weight to pull when slack tending, rope drag around the tree is reduced significantly, particularly noticable on larger trees.....and indeed, unless you have used an 11mm rope and subsequently moved back to a 13mm rope you probably wouldnt appreciate the difference.

Yale may just have overcome this hurdle thanks to the unique manufacturing process with the Yale IMORI tree climbing rope, which now offers climbers the lightweight feel and performance of a 24 strand line but with the grip of a 13mm. IMORI comes in 2 colours, Orange and green, giving those users wishing to colour co-ordinate their ropes a little extra scope.

I've been climbing on this line for 3 months now and have tackled some pretty big trees during that time. Milking has been minimal(if at all), and the general feel of the rope lives up to what id expect from any Yale line. The IMORI definately prefers a harder friction hitch cord as ive found some of the softer double braids do grip a little too much and generate a fair amount of heat.

To summarize, The IMORI should suit the needs of climbers using all the cuurently available rope sizes, but in my opinion is particularly aimed at 13mm users. I would suggest anyone who has previously been put off by narrow diameter lines may want to revisit following this latest offering from Yale.