Handling
The Petzl Arial was a popular rope with testers for its handling characteristics, sharing the highest score for handling in this group of midsize ropes tested with the Sterling Helix. The Arial has a soft, supple feel from day one and maintained that good feel for tying knots and working with belay devices throughout its life. Petzl credits the EverFlex treatment they use, a thermal treatment that stabilizes the core strands with giving the rope the ability to maintain its good handling after extensive use.

Resistance to Dirt
All Arial ropes come with Petzl’s Duratec Dry treatment to help make the rope resistant to dirt. While the treatment worked well in the short term to keep the rope clean, after extended use and abuse while testing the Arial got dirty and lost its bright orange color. Hence, in the long run, the Arial proved less resistant to dirt than the best ropes tested in this group. The dirt and aluminum oxide picked up on the sheath also made it harder to find the middle mark.

Durability
The Arial held up really well during testing and while it didn’t score the highest marks in terms of durability, it came in a close second. Despite the dozens of days the rope was used on ice, sharp granite and on desert sandstone, the Arial’s handling characteristics were well maintained. The sheath shows obvious signs of wear with some fuzz and looks a little worse off than other ropes but the core maintains it’s consistent feel upon inspection. The Arial also performed well during in-house testing, showing fuzz on the sheath during the abrasion test and a modest amount of core exposed during the sharp edge test.

Features
The Arial comes with a black middle mark to aid in finding the halfway point of the rope. When new, this middle mark proved useful but over time that middle mark became significantly faded and in conjunction with the dirt the rope picked up it was hard to find. Petzl bonds the core and the sheath together in a process called an UltraSonic finish to prevent frayed ends and this proved very effective. Most of the ropes tested show signs of sheath slippage and frayed ends, particularly where we cut off a section of rope for isolated testing, but the Arial didn’t suffer a similar fate. Many users will also appreciate the ClimbReady coil, making it easy for the Arial to be pulled out of the plastic and used without having to go through an arduous process of unwinding to prevent twists and kinks. All Arial ropes come standard with a Duratec Dry treatment that worked well while ice climbing and it’s available in three popular lengths, 60, 70 and 80 meters. No bicolor option exists with the Arial.

Versatility
The Arial proved to be a good all-around rope for rock and ice climbers. The standard and effective Duratec Dry treatment worked well in keeping the rope from icing up on wet and cold days of ice climbing and the rope is small and light enough for some climbers to give it a go on snow and alpine objectives. The Arial’s versatility is increased by its ability to work well in both sport and trad climbing owing to its good durability and popular handling.