Tendon Hattrick 9.7mm Review from Rhosyln Frugtniet

TENDON Hattrick 9.7 rope review by Athlete Rhoslyn Frugtniet


Last Autumn I made my maiden trip to Yosemite Valley. I was incredibly excited as this was a big bucket-list destination, but I was equally quite intimidated! My big wall experience was fairly minimal, and it had been a few years since my last multi-pitch or proper trad season, so choosing the right equipment felt especially important -  I wanted something that would help build confidence mentally, without ever compromising on safety.


I turned to Tendon and settled on the Hattrick 9.7 single rope. At 9.7 mm, it sits in a perfect middle ground: thinner than traditional heavy-duty ropes, yet still robust enough to handle repeated, long, demanding days on the rock.
The Hattrick 9.7 quickly proved itself to be an impressive piece of kit. Initially, I was a little apprehensive - it’s the thickest rope I’ve owned in a long time, and I worried it might slow me down or feel cumbersome on long walk-ins, (this was especially on my mind given that my boyfriend, Tom, is a bit of a mountain goat and hard to keep up with at the best of times!) Thankfully, at just 58g per metre- weighing a touch over 3.5 kg in total- the rope felt surprisingly light in my pack. The slightly thicker diameter also gave me an added sense of security, particularly during 40-metre abseils, pendulum swings between ledges, and hanging belays.
One of the main reasons I settled on the Hattrick was Tendon’s ‘Secure Technology’, which significantly reduces sheath slippage. Over the course of the trip, this feature really stood out; we used the rope almost every day, whether climbing on sport or multi-pitch routes (up to 16 pitches!!). Despite the heavy use, we didn’t need to cut the rope a single time throughout the trip- there was barely any sign of sheath damage or core shift. Knots were easy to tie and untie, even after multiple clovehitches at belays and multiple falls onto fig-8’s. The rope handled abrasion from Yosemite’s rough granite impressively well, and the bonded sheath meant that even when the outer layer took some wear, the core integrity remained solid.

In use, the Hattrick handled beautifully. It fed smoothly through both a Grigri and an ATC, even on wandering 40–60 meter pitches. Clipping felt easy and secure, and the rope stayed manageable when coiling or flaking at belays.

Safe to say, I didn’t go easy on it!! Over the course of the month-long trip, the rope took repeated falls, was coiled and stuffed into packs daily, dragged through dirt at the base of crags, and even caught a few of those slightly heavier climbers (cough, Tom, cough) — all without complaint. In an environment where durability matters just as much as handling, the Hattrick struck a balance that makes it easy to focus on the climbing instead of the cord tying you in.