Best Rope Bags of 2022

BEST FOR: LONG APPROACHES

The Metolius Speedster is a backpack-style rope bag that is extra comfortable to carry on long approaches, thanks to the padded shoulder straps. The center zipper makes is simple to stuff a 70m rope and large integrated tarp inside, along with your other necessary gear, including shoes and a harness. The exterior zippered pocket gives you easy access to smaller items, like keys and crag snacks.

Because the Speedster is designed to be carried on its own, it is a little unwieldy to stuff inside another pack. You might be able to make it fit with some effort, but there are better choices if you plan to carry your rope bag in your pack.

BEST FOR: EASY PACKING

The Black Diamond Super Chute is designed with the ease of packing and unpacking your rope in mind. You can roll it all up in the burrito-wrap style, or use the tarp as a funnel to stuff the rope back inside the bag. Either way, it’s simple to quickly pack and carry your rope to your next climb with this bag.

The Super Chute also has an extremely large carrying capacity, so you can haul your 70m rope, shoes, a harness, and a rack of quickdraws without a problem. However, the tarp of the Super Chute is on the smaller side, so you have to be a little more aware to keep your rope off the ground when you’re using it.

BEST FOR: ALL-AROUND

The Metolius Rope Master HC is a classic rope bag that doesn’t offer a lot of extra features, but does its job extremely well. The Ropemaster HC is a burrito-style bag with an integrated tarp, so to pack up your rope, you simply roll it up and stuff it inside. 

The “HC” stands for “High Capacity, allowing it to easily fit a 70m rope along with some miscellaneous gear, such as shoes. Plus, the padded shoulder strap makes it quite comfortable to carry the bag on a long (or short) approach.

The one special feature the Ropemaster HC has is a clear vinyl window, which might not seem like much at first, but is the perfect simple way to quickly identify which rope is in the bag without having to open or unpack it.

BEST FOR: STUFFING IN YOUR PACK

The Black Diamond Full Rope Burrito Bag is a simple, lightweight rope bag that is perfect for stuffing in your regular pack. The elastic closure makes it very easy to roll out your rope on the included tarp, then stuff it back in when you’re ready to move to the next climb or head home.

Other than fairly standard color-coded tie-in points to keep track of your rope ends, the Full Rope Burrito Bag doesn’t have any special features. Also note that the carrying handles, while nice for moving from climb to climb, are not comfortable for transporting long distances. But that simplicity is what makes this rope bag fit well inside your actual pack. So if you have a large pack and want to consolidate all your gear on the approach, the Black Diamond Full Rope Burrito Bag is an excellent option.

BEST FOR: DURABILITY

The special proprietary fabric of the Deuter Gravity is made to withstand the elements, from wet weather to sharp rock. It’s also quite lightweight, making it a good choice for alpine or multi-pitch missions, and it’s great for a day of cragging, thanks to the handles on the rope tarp, which make it easy to move. Another nice feature is that the rope tarp is not fully integrated into the bag so you can take it out and use it separately.

BEST FOR: VALUE

The Trango Antidote offers a lot of useful features at a really good price. An extra large integrated tarp keeps your rope clean and out of the dirt, and it’s easy to wrap up and stuff back inside. A clear window on the bag helps you identify which rope is packed away, and a small zippered pocket on the outside of the Antidote is the perfect place to securely stash your essentials.

The padded straps on the Antidote are convertible, so you can carry this bag like a backpack or over the shoulder like a sling, and you can even completely remove them if you’d rather stuff the whole thing inside another pack.

BEST FOR: GYM CLIMBING

The Black Diamond Gym Solution 35L is exactly what it says it is – an ideal rope bag for gym climbers. It’s a tote-style bag that can hold your gym rope and has a separate elastic pocket in the main compartment to keep your shoes, harness, water bottle, and more. A large exterior zippered pocket can store the essentials, such as a phone, wallet, and keys.

Made of durable waterproof fabric, the Black Diamond Gym Solution will keep your stuff dry in the rain when you’re commuting to the gym, but this bag is not meant to be an outdoor climbing bag and won’t function well at the crag.

BEST FOR: SPECIAL FEATURES

The unique features of the Mammut Magic Rope Bag are the reason this bag is dubbed “magic.” Not only does it convert from a rope bucket into a mat for lounging at the crag, it even has a shoe cleaning patch, so it keeps both your rope and shoes free from dirt.

The Mammut Magic easily enfolds your rope in its bucket-style design, but it is pretty bulky for long approaches – this is not a rope bag for alpine climbing. However, the internal zippered pocket keeps your stuff secure, and you can rack all your gear on the internal straps, so if your approach is short, this is a fantastic rope bag.

BEST FOR: SERVING AS A DAYPACK

Designed in a backpack style, the Petzl Bolsa can be your only pack for a day of cragging when you don’t need to carry much gear. The Bolsa can fit a 70m rope, as well as shoes, a harness, and quickdraws, which is all you need when you’re heading out for a light day. Though the shoulder straps aren’t padded, it’s still more comfortable to carry on long approaches than a sling style bag.

The tarp of the Bolsa is quite large, and it’s easy to get your rope back inside the pack thanks to the funnel-style design that directs the rope right where is should go. Along with tie-in points for rope ends, the tarp also has handles on each corner so you can quickly scoot the tarp to a nearby climb without completely packing up.

BEST FOR: EASE OF USE

The center cylinder of the Edelrid Caddy Lite is like a magnetic force that pulls the rope into it, making it incredibly easy to pack up your rope when you’re ready to go. The tarp itself is extra large, and the bag can easily handle an 80m rope. With four tie-in points, you’ll never lose track of your rope ends, and you can also use these loops to secure the tarp in place in windy conditions.

The Caddy Lite is made of super lightweight ripstop nylon, so it will barely add any extra weight on long approaches. However, in order to keep it so light, the shoulder strap doesn’t have any padding, which can be uncomfortable.