REASONS TO BUY
Fits a ton of stuff
Easy to roll up rope
Big tarp
REASONS TO AVOID
No small pockets
Single shoulder strap
Black Diamond Super Chute Review
This bag is a large volume bag that is easy to load the rope into, along with other extras like shoes and harness
Credit: Black Diamond
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Our Verdict
The Black Diamond Super Chute is one of the larger-volume rope bags in our review that handles a rope plus a harness, shoes, 14 quickdraws, and a few extras while out climbing. It uses a tried-and-true burrito-style design that most people associate with rope bags. Even though it has an unimpressive tarp, the Super Chute remains functional and incredibly easy to roll-up and pack away rope bag. It features one shoulder strap that works well for medium-length approaches. The tough yet lightweight pack fabric is supple enough to make the Super Chute easy to pack into a secondary pack for a longer approach. It can handle a lot of gear, but its single shoulder strap limits its standalone value to short to medium distance approaches.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Black Diamond Super Chute | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  Best Overall Rope Bag |  Best Bang for the Buck | Best Buy |  Simple Design That's Easy to Use | |
| Price | $55 List $54.95 at Public Lands | $64.95 at Backcountry Compare at 2 sellers | $39.95 at REI Compare at 3 sellers | $33 List $29.95 at Amazon | $40 List $39.95 at REI |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | The Super Chute features a large usable tarp that is easy to roll and pack into the bag | Excellent rope bag for cragging and long approaches | Exactly as the name implies, this bag is affordable and easy to use for those climbers on a tight budget | This affordable rope bag is perfect for those seeking a simple design that will keep their rope out of the dirt while providing enough surface area and basic features | A sleek and stripped down bag that is incredibly easy to pack and unpack |
| Rating Categories | Black Diamond Super... | DMM Classic | Metolius Dirt Bag II | Edelrid Liner | Black Diamond Full... |
| Packability (30%) | |||||
| Carrying Comfort (25%) | |||||
| Rope Protection (25%) | |||||
| Ease of Use (20%) | |||||
| Specs | Black Diamond Super... | DMM Classic | Metolius Dirt Bag II | Edelrid Liner | Black Diamond Full... |
| Bag Design | Burrito | Burrito | Burrito | Burrito | Burrito |
| Tarp size (inches) | 48" x 57" | 43" x 51" | 52" x 58" | 40" x 44" | 40" x 40" |
| Accessory Pockets | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Number Shoulder Straps | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Compression Straps | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Metal or Plastic Buckles | Metal | Plastic | Plastic | Plastic | None |
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Our Analysis and Test Results
Performance Comparison
Packability
Packability is one of the highlights of the Super Chute. It's among the easiest of the traditional “burrito” style rope bags to pack a rope away. We liked its spacious main pack, and could easily fit a fat 70m rope, harness, shoes, and 14 quickdraws for long days of climbing. Like the other burrito bags, it has two compression straps that cinch down to reduce dead space. There are more competitive models when it comes to packability but among the models with single shoulder straps, the Super Chute performs well.
Showing a Black Diamond Super Chute with a 10.3mm x 70m rope and 15 quick draws packed inside. A Petzl Attache and a 1 litter Nalgene are used for size reference.
Credit: Ian Nicholson
Carrying Comfort
The Super Chute features a single padded shoulder strap that our testers found comfortable with a 70m rope for about 25-30 minutes. After that, most folks thought it was nicer to carry it in a secondary cragging pack. For shorter more route-to-route moves its voluminous main bag helped to move to routes less than a couple of minutes away but it wasn't as nice as bags that had smaller handles to make these moves even more convenient. For longer approaches, the Super Chute isn't nearly as comfortable as models that feature two padded backpack straps.
Rope Protection
The Super Chute features a 48" x 57" tarp that is slightly below average among rope bags in our review. We did think its tarp size was still fully functional, but flaking ropes required a little more care than with other models we tested, and we must admit we liked bags with bigger tarps better. The Super Chute, more than other burrito style rope bags, further lost some surface area of its fixed tarp as it funneled closer to its bag. We think this design might marginally help the Super Chute to pack up more easily, but it comes at the cost of some tarp real estate. The main bag of the Super Chute is made from thick nylon and we always felt confident that it would keep our rope safe while traveling.
Comparing the size and the usable space between a Metolius Rope Ranger/Rope Master and a Black Diamond Super Chute.
Credit: Ian Nicholson
Ease of Use
The Super Chute comes in a few colors and has some neat small features that make it easy to use. We liked the metal buckles, which stay put on approaches. Another feature that is sometimes overlooked but super helpful is having two small color-coded loops to tie the ends of your rope to. This helps keep the ends of your rope from getting lost, which speeds transitions between routes. The clear plastic window on the outside of the pack can be helpful if you have multiple ropes and can't remember which one is in your rope bag. The Super Chute has no pockets for easy-to-lose items, making it less convenient as a standalone pack. When it comes to ease of use, the main downside of the Super Chute is that it lacks a removable tarp. The fixed tarp can be annoying to move around if you use the main pack as a place to store miscellaneous items that you don't want to carry while climbing.
Showing one of two tie in points for the ends of your rope to help keep from loosing the ends featured on the Black Diamond Super Chute.
Credit: Ian Nicholson
Value
While it isn't among the most expensive models that we tested, the Black Diamond Super Chute is somewhat pricey given its simple design and lack of carrying features. We did like its spacious main pack but the single carrying strap makes it far less versatile than comparably priced models that feature comfortable backpack straps and comparable amounts of space for gear.
A Black Diamond Super Chute with a 10.3mm x 70m rope flaked onto its tarp.
Credit: Ian Nicholson
Conclusion
The large volume of the Super Chute is its biggest selling point, making it a great choice for folks who want to cram as much as possible into their rope bag. It doesn't disappoint, but other models get the job done a little better, utilizing larger rope tarps, comfortable backpack straps, and extra pockets for organization.
—
Ian Nicholson and Steven Tata
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