Climbing rope lifespan comes down to a few factors:
Frequency of use:
Rarely used ropes with no signs of wear- up to 7 years
Never used-10 years is the maximum lifespan.
Used once a month-up to 5 years
Regular use (several times a month)-Up to 3 years
Number of falls: Every rope is rated for a certain number of falls. This number should not be exceeded.
Sign of wear: These may include rope stiffness or loss of elasticity, flat spots, whitened or faded coloring from chemicals, heat, or sunlight.
If you’re wondering how often an arborist rope should be replaced, ANSI regulations require arborist ropes used for daily tree work to be replaced yearly.