Our top pick? The Rock Climbing Rope Bag by NiceClimbs
Sometimes it’s hard to keep your rope out of the dirt, and regardless of what you do it’s always bound to get fairly mucky just from running through anchors and brushing against rock faces during a regular session of belaying. Keeping your climbing rope as clean and dry as possible when it's out of the action, though, will prevent the material from degrading as quickly, thereby enabling your rope to continue keeping you safe for many more climbing expeditions to come.
A rope bag usually consists of some outer sac with a large fold-out tarp inside, which is intended for providing a clean, dry space for spare rope on the ground while belaying. The sewn-in tarp, of course, is one of the biggest differentiators between a rope bag and a regular backpack or sports bag. It enables you to tie off one of the ends of your rope, and also offers a simple roll-up method for packing up your rope at the end of a session.
Of course, just as with most other categories of climbing equipment, the rope bags by Black Diamond and PETZL are easy to proclaim as "the best" just by brand reputation alone. However, allow us to guide you through 6 *alternative* rope bag options of equally impressive quality, using those by Black Diamond et al. as benchmarks. Enjoy!
This post contains affiliate links; as an Amazon Associate we earn commission from qualifying purchases.
#1 — Rock Climbing Rope Bag by NiceClimbs
Our rating: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
Best climbing rope bag.
What makes it special? Part of the description for this Rock Climbing Rope Bag by NiceClimbs reads: "just a nice quality rope bag for a fair price", and we couldn't agree more. Featuring everything you could possibly want out of a rope bag - from a 1x1 water repellent tarp with color-coded loops, to backpack-style carrying straps, and plenty of zippered storage pockets for things like your keys, phone, and wallet - this rope bag demands its fair share of attention, especially for its wallet-friendly price.
For the sake of playing devil's advocate, though, there are a couple of reviews (in a sea of overwhelmingly positive ratings) that claim the lifetime of this bag may not be as long as you'd hope, which I suppose is the one downside to opting for a budget option.
#2 — Seilsack Liner Rope Bag by EDELRID
Our rating: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
Best over-the-shoulder climbing rope bag.
What makes it special? This is a simple, no-frills, functional rope bag with plenty of space for up to even 2x 70m length ropes, as well as shoes, a belay device, chalk bag and harness. The large tarp has two tie-in points, and there are two buckles to securely fasten the bag. The only drawback is the lack of padding on the shoulder strap, but unless you're cramming it full, this really isn't too much of an issue as far as we're concerned. We strongly recommend it!
#3 — Rock Climbing Rope Bag by Belay Store
Our rating: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
Best rope bag for climbing.
What makes it special? Accommodating for an 80 meter rope, this high-quality, large climbing rope bag offers a sizeable amount of storage while still retaining the comfortable form-factor of a backpack for easy transportation. As you would expect, it was designed with rock climbers in mind, with the bag being made out of a high density nylon fabric (with a waterproof coating), as well as carabiner loops on the bag itself, and color-coded loops on the tarp.
It seems to dip in and out of stock quite frequently, so make sure you keep it on your watchlist so you can bag one for yourself! (I wholeheartedly apologise for that terrible pun.)
#4 — Black Stealth Rappelling Bag by Rothco
Our rating: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
Best rappelling rope bag.
What makes it special? Rothco is a military & tactical gear supplier that also specialises in making quality outdoor and sports gear for beginners and professionals alike. The Black Stealth Rappelling Bag allows you to deploy your grappling line right from the side of the bag. Webbing on the side of the bag attaches to your carabiners while an internal loop holds your grappling rope. Unlike other conventional rope bags, it does not include a tarp.
It can hold up to around 50m of static rope without much issue, anything beyond that length is a bit of a stretch though as this bag is certainly on the smaller side (due to its primary intended usage as a stealthy, low-profile bag for use in combat situations). The review sentiment is overwhelmingly positive for this bag, minus the size concerns. Another strong recommendation from us.
#5 — Rock Climbing Rope Bag by Psychi
Our rating: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
Best overall climbing rope bag.
What makes it special? Just as with our #1 pick, this is just another simple, functional rope bag, with room for 60m of rope and space to spare. Of course it contains a built-in ground sheet for keeping your rope clean and dry whilst in use, and it has back-carry straps for easy transportation.
It is available in several different colors if that is something you are interested in, but the main reason for it's incredible popularity is durability, reliability, and it's lightweight, comfortable design. If you're looking for simple functionality at a wallet-friendly price point, this is the bag for you!
#6 — Rock Climbing Rope Bag by PHRIXUS
Our rating: ★★★★★
Price: $$$$
Best high-capacity rope bag for climbing and hiking.
What makes it special? This is a large-capacity bag (suitable for up to 80m of rope) with a mesh top to be able to see contained items at a glance. It is made of rip-stop 500D Oxford fabric - a water-resistant, stain-resistant, durable and lightweight material that helps to protect your ropes for any mountaineering or other outdoor activities. As you'd expect, it includes a large built-in folding rope tarp to help you organise your gear more easily, and protect your rope from dirt and excess moisture.
It also has a neat little zippered top pouch for additional storage, and can be carried around like a backpack. Definitely a worthy entry to this top picks list!
Stay up to date with our posts
As part of the SEAMLESS initiative, we're combining our expertise of AI, with the limitless pool of knowledge of our expert writers to provide the ultimate product comparison service.
With over 10+ years of experience in product comparison, you can rest assured that our curation is accurate, fact-checked and most importantly: we will only ever recommend products that truly work.