New-Old-Stock (NOS) Edelrid Perlon Bergseil climbing rope. Offered in a standard size available at the time, 11 millimeter X 45 meter, this rope was heavy but an excellent choice for walls or traditional rock climbing. We have dated the rope to 1979 using the serial number and the “list of innovations” found in the attached booklet.
Many older ropes and accessory cords are advertised as being “Prelon” instead of the now more common “Nylon” and this is largely due to the origin of the products in question. Perlon was a trade name used in Germany. The chemical company I.G. Farben applied it to get around any patent issues with Dupont who had led the research into synthetic polymers and developed Nylon in 1935. The two materials are different but only slightly. The main difference is how they are manufactured and how the polymer bonds set up. Appearance, handling characteristics and strength of the finished product are very comparable.