The most important decision you’ll make when purchasing a jump rope is the type of cable you choose to go with it.
Handles are important, but using the correct type of cable makes all off the difference when jumping rope. This guide will help you pick the correct cable for different types of jumping and skill levels.
Ultra Thin Cable
Diameter: 1.2mm
Description: This is the newest and fastest of all cables on the market. When you first try the ultra thin cable you'll have a sensation that you're turning an invisible rope. The cable is very difficult to feel. However, the top jumpers in the world are using this cable to set speed and double under records (with much practice).
Pros:
Coated with PTFE material that provides superior impact and wear resistance
Low sliding friction
Turns with extreme ease
Cons:
Hard to feel the cable turning because of its low weight
Can fray at the ends of the cable
Wears quickly due to its thin coating
Expensive
Can kink
Leaves marks on your skin when being whipped after a miss.
Sharp learning curve to master control
Does not do crossing moves well
Recommended for: Competitive athletes (CrossFit & Jump Rope) who need speed above all else.
Bare Cable
Diameter: 1/16” (1.59mm)
Description: This is the mostly widely used cable in speed and multiple under competitions around the world. The bare cable has been the mainstay for high level athletes at competitions for over a decade. As it turns, the cable has a very light and responsive feel. This is a very fast cable.
Pros
Turns with great ease
Inexpensive
Cons
Wears quickly due to lack of coating on the cable
Frays easily which can make it hard to work with.
Leaves marks on your skin when being whipped after a miss.
Does not do crossing moves well
Recommended for: CrossFit athletes and competitive speed jumpers.
Nylon Coated Cable
Diameter: 3/32” (2.38mm)
Description: Nylon coated cables are commonly seen being used by CrossFit athletes doing double unders. This cable is slower that the Ultra Thin and Bare Cables, but still is plenty fast. There is a greater "feel" to this cable when spinning the rope than that of the previous two cables, which leads to greater control and less misses. We need to make note that most companies coat this cable with PVC, which causes the cable to wear much faster. Look for nylon coated speed cable.
Pros
Excellent wear resistance on smooth surfaces (ie hardwood floors)
Turns with ease
Lots of color options
Fray resistant
Inexpensive
Cons
Can kink
Leaves marks on your skin when being whipped after a miss.
Does not do crossing moves well
Recommended for: Anyone already proficient in double unders
PVC Coated Cable
Diameter: 1/8” (3.18mm)
Description: The PVC coated cable is becoming extremely popular of late with freestyle jumpers and CrossFit athletes. Freestyle jumpers love this cable due to its quickness and ease of turning. Yet, the cable is flexible enough to easily do crossing and power moves. Athletes learning double unders find this cable super helpful because it turns quickly and has a good feel to it. This will decrease the double unders learning curve. We find many double under workshops are using this cable exclusively for teaching purposes. The PVC Coated Cable is also being used as the cable in speed double dutch competitions. In fact a Chinese team recently used a Speed Cable Double Dutch rope that uses this cable to set a new speed record with it.
Pros
Easy to feel the cable turn
Long lasting
Easy to do crossing and power moves
Cons
Can be a little too fast for Freestyle Jumpers
Can be a little to slow for double under athletes.
Recommended for: Learning double unders.
Outdoor Rated Cable
Diameter: 1/8” (3.18mm)
Description: We designed this tough cable for the athletes who have no other choice but
to jump rope on rough or outdoor surfaces. Any other type of cable will last only a very short time on outside surfaces. The Outdoor Cable has a super tough nylon coating, which makes it stiffer than the PVC coated 1/8” cable. It has the heaviest feel of all of our cable ropes.
Pros
Tough, long lasting coating
Heavy weight
Cons
Too stiff for crossing moves
Slower than all other cables
Recommended for: Double unders or speed jumping on outdoor or abrasive surfaces.
Blog Post Courtesy of ELITESRS
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