NEW 2018 BlueWater Ropes - Argon, Xenon, Neon 

Heh. Solid point. Perhaps a bit extreme of an example, or at minimum a misuse of the word "friend."

I agree - a bit extreme. Also not sure why they recommend Sharpie because every other rope manufacturer I’ve used has said to only use specialised middle-mark paint. Heh, maybe I’m being too picky.

As to Sharpies, quite a few rope manufacturers we've talked to say the Sharpie Rub-A-Dub laundry marker (less toxic, still permanent) is a viable option. To your point, it's definitely worth an added clarification: Most other Sharpies have xylene in them which is a solvent and could contain ethylbenzene (another solvent common in paint thinners and varnishes), and is not recommended. FWIW Black Diamond did a QC Report about Sharpie Middle Marking and couldn't find any degredation of the rope after using a Sharpie and doing drop tests, but they did conclude it's impossible to know how the chemical formula changes over time so there is still a risk and thus why most manufacturers don't explicitly condone using markers: www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_US/qc-lab-can-i-use-a-sharpie-to-mark-the-middle-of-my-rope.html

That’s worth knowing, thanks. I’ll also have a look at the report 👍

An asshole friend 🙄