Rope quality question

[Randy Dandy]

I talk to a rope company Friday and today did some looking at TSC and Lowes. Just about all that Lowes and TSC carry is "Poly" rope when getting into the larger diameter ropes. They had some smaller nylon rope but most of it was prepackaged and not sold in bulk and was definitely more expensive. This rope company I talked to carries premium nylon 3 strand and nylon double braid. But the cost of the nylon is 3 to 5 times as expensive. What I also like about the rope company is they can (at theyre factory) incorporate a stainless steel thimble that will look like this
http://www.ropeinc.com/images/rope-anchor-top.jpg
Rather than me attaching the ropes together and besides that it would slip right in to my shackle. This is what I bought today

What I was wondering now that I have talked about everything but what I was suppose to is that are these people shooting be a line of BS or is nylon better and last longer than Poly rope ? Or will the poly rope work just fine for the next few years ? I was thinking that Im probably going to get what I pay for...right ?

[Randy Dandy]

I forgot to mention that the rope itself will be used as a swimming swing rope and will be left outside exposed to the elements.
Thanks

[Windy in Kansas]

Over the years I've learned that the poly does indeed deteriorate much quicker from sunlight exposure.

[watcher]

If its what I'm thinking of polly rope will start to get brittle and have nice little pieces which will make hanging onto the rope like grabbing a thorn vine. This is going to be a one time thing, go for some good rope.

If you have any kind of boating industry (barges and the like) call them and let them know what you are looking for. They just might have a section line which is too far gone for them to use (safety factors) but would be perfect for you they would be willing to give you for free.

[sewtlm]

Nylon is what they use for marine applications.

[Randy Dandy]

That sounds great. Thanks for all the help. Sounds like the guy at the rope company wasnt kidding when he said nylon would last longer for this situation. Besides I want them to professionally attach a thimble at the end of the rope there at the factory.
I will give an update when it starts to all come together.
Thanks

[texican]

I have nylon sling material that has been left out in the weather for over twenty years, and it's still as strong as ever... (from my rock climbing days)... found one piece here last year that had somehow got buried out by the chicken pen... threw it in the washing machine, and it appears to have it's original strength...

If I leave poly rope out in the weather a year, it's apt to fall apart... I'd definitely not trust it for anything that's important...

[hotzcatz]

Poly is useless rope unless you need the stuff to float for any reason. It doesn't last that long and isn't very strong and it is prone to breaking. For kids on swings, I wouldn't use poly.

Double braid nylon has a lot less stretch than twisted nylon so choose whichever one would be most suitable for your application. When towing boats or putting in a dock line we'd usually use twisted since we wanted a bit of stretch in the line. When setting a spinnaker, we'd use double braid since we didn't want the line to stretch.

You can put a thimble in either end yourself and it is pretty easy, there are probably library books on it or you can find them online. It might be a bit easier to put thimbles on twisted nylon than double braid although neither one is rocket science. If you don't have the fids (pointed plastic ends for the line) you can just tape the ends of each strand of the twisted nylon. To put a thimble on double braid you use a long thin rod to push the core of the double braid through the outer sheath. If you have a marine store in your neighborhood, you can probably buy all different grades and types of rope and a variety of different thimbles, too.

[Old Vet]

For a swing I would look at Cotton or hemp. You can buy cotton rope for just about as cheep as nylon or poly and it will las much longer and will not rub the skin like either one of the other ons will. If you have problems finding it go to Home Depot and they have it in bulk roles.