Look, I know your rope, and all your climbing gear live in that plastic bucket. You’ve tried giving it a shoulder sling, you pretend it’s not awkward and painful on that long, scrambling approach to the crag, and you try to turn a blind eye to your rope rummaging through the dirt. I get it; you’re attached… but I’m here to tell you there’s another way.

Rope bags are a simple thing. They’re so simple that some people will even argue against their necessity - but the reality is that keeping your rope clean and looking after it will help it last much longer. Who can argue with that? However, rope bag design rarely strays from the usual burrito ‘roll-em-up’ style. Sure, the tarp to keep your rope off the ground is nice, but having to coil your rope only to roll it back into its bag just seems like an extra step right? Hence the plastic bucket - because let’s be real - if we wanted additional steps, we’d go trad climbing.

So allow me to introduce to you the Caddy II, from Edelrid. An ingenious twist on the rope bag that combines all you know and love from your rope bucket, with the portability and outdoor usability of a rope bag - designed to make things easy. 

It’s basically as if your big plastic bucket grew a tarp and a strap. 

What’s Cool

Up to 80m of rope sits neatly in the collapsible bucket-like cylinder in the middle of a large tarp as the climber makes their way, the rope flakes neatly out of the bucket without any messy knots or tangles. When it’s time to pull the rope, it all bundles back onto the tarp that extends on all sides. Once it’s time to move on, grab and lift the four tie-in points on the corners of the tarp and your rope slides right back into the middle, ready to go for the next ascent. Genius. Once bundled, throw the rest of your gear inside, toss the burly, robust bag over your shoulder and move on to the next project.

What’s Not Cool

Personally, I love this thing. However, as much as it may be a gym climber/sport climber’s dream - it’s limited to just that. Due to the shoulder sling design and the somewhat rotund nature of how the rope packs down into the cylinder, the bag is relatively limited in where you’d want to take it. It can’t exactly fit very well inside other packs and would become unwieldy and awkward on longer or harder approaches. That being said, this bag isn’t trying to be anything more than what it is. For sport crags and gym climbing, it’s damn near perfect.

Summary

For remote crags or gear-intensive missions - you might look elsewhere. However, if you’re at the gym, or sport climbing, you quite simply can’t beat it.

Pros:

• Brilliant design for managing the rope

• Robust and ready to be abused

• The large tarp keeps your rope and gear off the ground

• Everyone will ask you what it is

Cons:

• Shoulder sling and shape are awkward to carry

• Limited to easy approach sport crags or gyms

• Everyone will ask you what it is

PRO SHOP at Climbfit Kirrawee

You can purchase the the Caddy II from our PRO SHOP at Climbfit kirrawee for $85.00.