[hogwarden]

 I `ve tried Cobra/Blue lake/Fasold and whilst they are all good eating and crop well I `m seeking a climbing bean that will give fine small diameter gourmet style  beans which seem only to be available as Dwarf varieties like Nautica etc.- your recommends would be good and I don`t mean just pick `em when they are smaller!  

[arugula]

...your recommends would be good and I don`t mean just pick `em when they are smaller!  

Why not? 

[mattwragg94]

what about chinese yard long beans? - ive never grown them myself, but ive heard that they are hard to grow, as they need warmth. But from pics they do seem to have a smaller diameter than normal french beans!

[Headgardener22]

Tried them for three years then gave up. The plants started to grow then wilted off. At the same time as the Blue Lake were rushing up the poles.

[compostqueen]

I like Cosse Violette, purple tender climbing bean    I ordered some today in fact 

[angelavdavis]

I have grown a blue climber, Blauhilde this year and have been really impressed.  Excellent flavour, vigorous growth and been producing pods for two months now.  Lovely purple flowers too. 

[Auntiemogs]

I like Cosse Violette, purple tender climbing bean    I ordered some today in fact 

Ditto for the Cosse Violette.  They don't have the 'snap' of Blue Lake but are tastier and about  6-8" long and a lovely deep purple colour.  Just frozen some for later nommage. 
You can buy them online from Realseeds. 

[compostqueen]

They guy on the next plot to me grows Blauhilde and he swears by them 

The Cosse Violette stays tender even when it gets big 

[shokkyy]

They guy on the next plot to me grows Blauhilde and he swears by them 

The Cosse Violette stays tender even when it gets big 

I did one wigwam of each this year. Sadly, I think I was a bit ambitious with the number of plants. It's like an Amazonian jungle at the top of the canes, and they've escaped from there and found the wire fence around the bed, and now they're racing down that as well. Bizarre, because last year I planted exactly the same number of Blauhilde on those canes and didn't have this problem. While they're certainly late this year, they're obviously feeling a lot more enthusiastic about life now they've taken off. I just have to find a way of hacking my way into the jungle so I can actually pick the beans. Being purple doesn't help that much when the stems are purple too.

[angelavdavis]

They guy on the next plot to me grows Blauhilde and he swears by them 

The Cosse Violette stays tender even when it gets big 

I did one wigwam of each this year. Sadly, I think I was a bit ambitious with the number of plants. It's like an Amazonian jungle at the top of the canes, and they've escaped from there and found the wire fence around the bed, and now they're racing down that as well. Bizarre, because last year I planted exactly the same number of Blauhilde on those canes and didn't have this problem. While they're certainly late this year, they're obviously feeling a lot more enthusiastic about life now they've taken off. I just have to find a way of hacking my way into the jungle so I can actually pick the beans. Being purple doesn't help that much when the stems are purple too.

I used the recommended X shaped canes this year and it has been perfect for my blauhilde crop.  They dangle down handily for picking!