Sterling Rope Factory Tour

Sterling Rope is unquestionably one of the coolest companies in Maine. They make high quality ropes for outdoor recreation and industrial applications. And they do it in Biddeford, Maine!! Matt Anderson, Sterling’s North America Market Manager for Outdoor Recreation, gave me a tour of the factory last week.

Sterling makes their dynamic (stretchy) ropes out of braided nylon. They start with large spools of super fine nylon made in Slovakia and spin it and twist it into tiny braids. Each rope is made of several braids that are wound together, forming a core, and encased in a protective sheath. The rope’s core assumes about 70% of the rope’s diameter. Thicker, ropes are more durable and have larger cores (with more braids and larger braids). Skinny ropes have fewer braids and smaller braids. Climbers use skinny ropes when weight and handling matter more than durability. All Sterling Ropes have a DryCore, which means that each and every super fine nylon strand has been coated with a chemical that makes it more water resistant. A water resistant core is better because it's stronger (ropes get weaker when wet). Sterling is the only company with DryCore technology.

It all starts with super fine nylon from Slovakia.

Which gets twisted and wound into larger diameters.

And, after more twisting and winding, the core strands are ready. Note that the strands are twisted in different directions, thus the green and pink colors.