Yale Imori

[Steve Bullman]

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 fibres 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 minimise excessive elongation while providing a superior unsurpassed grip for the climber.

11mm ropes have been on the market for a few years now and have always received mixed reviews. They are smaller and lighter which offers many benefits, but this often means the arborist finds it harder to grip than a traditional 12-13mm rope(although grip will naturally develop in a short space of time). 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) or mechanical devices such as the Petzl ZigZag or art devices the difference is remarkable, with less weight to pull when slack tending, rope drag around the tree is reduced significantly, particularly noticeable on larger trees…..and indeed, unless you have used an 11mm rope and subsequently moved back to a 13mm rope you probably wouldn't 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 have had a couple of years climbing on the Yale Imori since my original review and am still generally happy with the rope.  It does have a tendency to stay damp longer, possibly due to how the fibers have been fluffed up.  I have tackled some pretty big trees during my time on this rope. 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 definitely prefers a harder friction hitch cord as i've found some of the softer double braids do grip a little too much and generate a fair amount of heat.  I have unfortunately not had a chance to try the rope with mechanical hitches as yet.  Watch this space though!

To summarise, The IMORI should suit the needs of climbers using all the currently available rope sizes, but in my opinion is particularly aimed at 13mm users. I would suggest anyone who struggles with narrow diameter tree climbing lines may be interested in trialling the Yale Imori.

View full review

[Steve Bullman]

Just in the process of transferring some old reviews across..

 

anyone tried the Yale imori with a petal zigzag?

[nath]

Yes.  Its ok.  Prefer my blue tongue though.

[Gray git]

Yes but found it a bit sticky and not a smooth rope to use although it was my favourite for the hitch climber, going up was fine as it's a nice rope to handle with plenty of grip but would never self tend but coming down always found it a bit jurky and hard to get smooth rope flow through the zigzag.

[Steve Bullman]

That’s much how I imagined it would handle

[john p]

Ive been happy with imori/zigzag combo for a few years now, that said I haven't tried a different rope with the zigzag so maybe I don't know what I'm missing?

[Tommy_B]

I had some and it milked horrendously. Quite liked it as a rope though. Felt fatter than it actually was

[Steve Bullman]

9 minutes ago, Tommy_B said:

I had some and it milked horrendously. Quite liked it as a rope though. Felt fatter than it actually was

That’s surprising.  I had no milking problems at all 

[Rich Rule]

I had some when it was first launched.  We did a week of emergency work in woodlands in Bexleyheath.  There had been heavy snow fall and we were removing the hangers over paths before the xmas break.  Everyday it was soaked.  I daisy chained the rope and hung it to dry in my workshop.  It was still damp after a 2 week break over the xmas period.

 

Never really climbed on it after that.  It did feel good in the hand though when it was dry.  But I agree you need hard hitch cord that doesn't flatten out.  I found it too grabby and would lock up.  Maybe my weight, i aint fat just big boned, but it worked better with harder cords.

[Tommy_B]

1 hour ago, Steve Bullman said:

That’s surprising.  I had no milking problems at all 

I might have just got a duff batch. Got about 2 ft out of it