The Yale XTC – 16 Strand is a professional grade climbing rope specifically intended to meet the demands of professional arborists. There are four variations of the 16 Strand, namely, the XTC White, Plus, Spearmint, and Fire.
The XTC White features an extremely tight cover braid of 16 strands of Dacron polyester molded and twisted over “Para-ep” Olefin that constitutes the bundled parallel core strands. There is no need for break-in cover adjustment.
The rope is kept firm and round by a high-twist core of torque balanced polyester. It resists abrasion, moisture, and snagging making it excellent as a climbing rope and bull rope. It is flexible and mates well with prusik loops and friction hitches. Also, its absorption of energy is remarkable.
The XTC Plus, Spearmint, and Fire differ from the XTC White only in their mantles.
Half of the cover strands of the XTC Plus and Spearmint are made of extrusion-dyed polyester. This gives the ropes permanent colors that do not fade with extended use and exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Arborists and recreational climbers use these colored ropes if they have to use several lines and may need color coding to avoid confusion. The XTC Plus is colored white and red while the Spearmint is in white and green.
The most visible of the Yale XTC – 16 Strands is the XTC Fire. The rope is emblazoned with the colors of fire —red, orange and yellow. All strands are in these three colors and this, arguably, makes the rope the most visible not only among Yale’s own ropes but even in the entire industry.
The rope comes in ½-inch diameter with an average break strength of 6,200 pounds. It has a working load of 620 pounds and a knotted strength of 4,200 pounds. It weighs 7.5 pounds per hundred feet.