Static rope

A static rope is a rope that is not designed to stretch when placed under load, in contrast to a dynamic rope. Static ropes have a wide variety of uses, for instance in fire rescue operations and caving.

Static ropes have some applications in climbing, though lead climbing, for instance, is always done with a dynamic rope, since a fall on a static rope is stopped too quickly and may lead to serious injury. Abseiling, however, is best done with a static rope or, alternately, with a dynamic rope with low elasticity.