Archive
Spot Garage Sale – Used Holds and More!
So, we’re selling some used holds at this garage sale. If you’ve been waiting to get your hands on some holds for your home wall, come on down and get ‘em!
We sell holds for various reasons and many of the holds we sell are perfect for home wall usage. Our used holds are a way better deal than new holds, and you’ll find some super classics that aren’t available anymore. There will also be all kinds of other stuff. See you there!
Red Point Climbing Holds – The Review – UPDATED
Ok, so in mid-February we got a small shipment of Red Point Climbing Holds to check out. In case you didn’t see the first post or haven’t been into the gym, here’s what they sent us:
The holds are, from the top of the picture:
Purple screw-ons : Golf Ball Mini Jugs
Smaller Green Blobby Things : Commundum Pinches
Green Angled Pinches/Slopers : Tusks
Large Orange Blobs : Ergo Jugs (aka “Big Paws”)
Below are our impressions of each.
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Golf Ball Mini Jugs
They point out, rightfully, that these are great for home walls. Obviously we don’t put screw-ons into our walls at The Spot (our walls are concrete, except the Beach, which is mostly fiberglass), but we do put screw-ons onto other holds and on volumes. We got two of this set and on our first setting day with them Jon screwed one onto a large sloper to make the mantle on the slab.
This one worked just fine
He tried to screw the other one onto another sloper but as he put the 2nd screw in…
The hold broke like the piece of Prinz hold we broke off, that is, it looked like shorn plastic. The broken area is all white like it stretched apart. When it broke it made a loud crack though, so maybe it is a bit brittle or, as Jon suggested, maybe the 2 screw holes in the same approx horizontal line made it weaker. Urethane should flex when screwed in, and this just cracked. Also, in general the edges of these seem thin/delicate/brittle and so for a high-use facility they may not be the best choice.
The Yay
Very small volume, meaning cheaper for them to make, lighter to ship, less expensive for you, and less wall-space used, but still a nice crimp/mini-jug edge on each. Rounded lips for tendon comfort. Probably excellent on a wooden wall.
The Nay
Ian took a bite of one of the edges of one (Powell, not Dory) to test the strength of the urethane, and I’m sad to say he did get a little chunk out of it. We don’t usually bite test our holds so I’m not sure how telling that is. I am planning to throw one at the concrete floor eventually (our standard strength-test) and see how it does. I am loathe to destroy one though so I’m hoping that, like the Prinz holds, it won’t break. (UPDATE – as noted above one already broke, so I threw the broken piece on the floor to see what happened. It did not break further when chucked at the floor.)
UPDATE #2 – Red Point has noticed this problem and shared this:
As of now, we have pulled our screw on mini jugs from our lineup, as we had one break on us at the local gym. We like the idea of them, being small low profile and cost effective, so we will have a new set reshaped for us that has a thicker profile so no more cracking, more material for the screw, and less torque on the material.
We like the idea of small, low profile, cost effective and comfortable finger jugs as well, so hopefully the new shapes will be slightly more durable. We also like Red Point addressing the issue asap. Nice job guys!
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Commundum Pinches
I would have described these as crimps at first, though they are very comfortable to pinch and both of the ones we got offer a nice thumb catch.
The Yay
Neat, comfortable, unique little pinches. Don’t take up much wall space but offer lots of grabbing options. Hard to match. Positive so you can pull off them. Fine on vertical, positive enough for overhanging, possibly even a roof if you were uber burly. Would be great feet on a roof as well.
The Nay
The two downsides I saw at first are 1) Martini bolts (a big no-no at The Spot though we will use them sometimes and did find a couple to put these holds on and try them out), and 2) thin-edged base plates. The thin edges are a problem because they can chip; however, the urethane of these should stand up to our rough handling. I am nervous about them though because of what happened with the jib. UPDATE as of April 8, 2012, nearly 2 months after we got them, these are still holding strong.
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Tusks
The Tusks were the most instantly interesting of the samples because we don’t have, nor have we seen, anything quite like them before.
The Yay
They seem usable as either pinches or slopers, depending on how you put them. At the moment they are on the vertical wall, but I am excited to try them out on some slightly steeper angles on compression problems. Nice rounded edges mean comfortable for your tendons. Angle change means they’re hard to match. Can be used for left or right hand. Nice edge transition from hold to wall.
The Nay
Not super comfortable on the vertical. Kind of hard to find a really nice way to use them, though we did turn one as a sidepull/undercling and it seemed good that way.
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Ergo Jugs
I henceforth dub these jugs the “Big Paws” because if you’ve got big paws you’ll find them to be very comfortable.
The Yay
These medium-sized jugs are not super incut the way you might expect all jugs to be, but they are incut enough to be usable on a variety of wall angles (at the moment ours are on vertical) and I think they’d be great for a 45 or a woody because the lips are very large, handfuls even, so you can use them as the best holds on the wall without stressing your tendons. They remind me of Maple Canyon split cobbles. The ones we got can be used upside down as slopers with side thumb catches. I really like them.
The Nay
Maybe not as good for kids, and would probably be really hard on any sort of roof. Also, sort of heavy, so probably not the best to set a whole route’s worth so you don’t have to haul a bucket of ‘em up the wall.
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General thoughts
The texture is ok, a medium-sticky that seems sort of full of air bubbles. They are not painful, but a little more aggressive than the super fine texture we generally prefer (just for being able to climb volume without working your skin). This means, for us at least, that they aren’t instantly aesthetically as pleasing as a finer-textured hold (aka Teknik or Kilter) but that doesn’t mean they aren’t great holds that we and our customers will enjoy climbing on.
Integrity: I’ve been saving this review until we had a better idea of how the hold material would hold up, and so far they’ve been great. All besides that first jib have survived a set/strip/wash/set cycle. The texture still seems good, not polished, not painful, and there are no problems to note.
It was great of Red Point to send us a small variety so we’d be able to get an idea of their line and their direction as a company. If all they’d sent were the screw-ons and martinis, we’d not be very psyched. Instead we got those things plus some sweet pinches and jugs as well.
Another nice thing – though (according to their website) they’ve done some experimenting with their line, they sent us some nice, simple shapes in single colors. Though we do not set by color, we find single-color holds far more aesthetically appealing than multi-color holds (with the exception of DRCC, who do amazing multi-color like nobody’s business).
Packaging: They were wrapped in paper (recyclable) and packed tightly in a box lined with some cool air-pac stuff that looked like a new take on bubble wrap.
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Overall
Good presentation for a good initial impression.
I’d definitely buy the Ergo Jugs and if we had a wooden wall the Golf Ball Mini Jugs. For the rest choose according to the needs of your training/wall/facility. A good start from a promising young company.
Also, we didn’t get ‘em, but they make these:
Red Point Climbing Holds Single Dingles
Wanna see the rest of their line?
or find them & other companies on The Big Hold Company List.
Orogen Designs – The Review
This review is a bit overdue, as I was in Hueco for nearly 2 months and we got these holds at the start of it, just in time for the Highlines & Highballs comp. I was excited to use them in that comp and again for Gladiator Finals, and I’ve been using them in the reset as well.
What we got
Right side – 6 Blocky Purple Holds - Olivine Series 1 Crimps
Middle – Top Large Purple Hold - Pahoehoe Jug
Middle – Lower Large Purple Hold - Low Volume Sloper
Top Left – Single Orange Blob Pinch - Cobblestone
Left Side – Orange and Green Feet - ORONITE Footholds
Left Side – Green Disc Feet - Ovoid Footholds
Bottom Screw-on - OROgranum Screw Ons
Another Angle:
My first impressions were lukewarm. The holds looked cool enough, but nothing spectacular. First impressions aren’t usually accurate though. Read on.
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Olivine Series 1
The Yay
These are my favorite of the Orogen samples, and I find myself reaching for them again and again. Similar to the blocky pinches in the Teknik line, but a bit smaller & lower profile. Very comfortable, the edges look harsh but are actually pretty smooth and just fine on the tendons. Good hold-wall transition. We’ve had them for 3 months and no breaks yet. Recommended.
The Nay
Very subtle and many of the other setters aren’t very inspired by them. Once you start using them though…great!
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Pahoehoe
We got the bottom one.
The Yay
Like the Olivine, a bit subtle in the edge, which is a comfortable block cut. I really like this jug. Good for a range of grades on a range of angles.
The Nay
Kinda heavy. Seems like it might be brittle, though no breaks so far.
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Low Volume Slopers
We got the one on the bottom right.
The Yay
Smooth lines, makes a nice hand position, a challenging foot, good on volumes or around an arête. Connor uses it often.
The Nay
The edges are chipping during our normal hold shoveling/dumping/washing. The chips aren’t major, though they do affect the look of the hold. This is so slopey it would be difficult to use without opposition. Kinda heavy.
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Cobblestone
The Yay
I’m not going to lie, I have feelings for our Cobblestone pinch. We only got one, but I like it a lot. It’d be the 8 o’clock hold, if you were wondering. Why do I like it? Small, fat, comfortable.
The Nay
This thing is sweet. The orange urethane seems stronger/more flexible than the purple holds (everything we got that is listed above this).
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Oronite Complete Footholds
The Yay
These are fine, nothing spectacular but good to go. Rough edges on purpose which is nice in a foothold because it’s uncomfortable to grab but good to stand on.
The Nay
Martini bolts.
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Ovoid Footholds
The Yay
Again, nothing groundbreaking, but useful.
The Nay
Martini Bolts.
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OROgranum Screw Ons
We aren’t big screw-on users at The Spot, because we can’t & won’t screw into our walls (mostly concrete, some fiberglass). However, we do use screw-ons on volumes and other holds.
The Yay
Small and rough, so good for adding a positive foot that won’t be used as a hand. Will fit well on/around other holds. Seem good for what they are are probably cost effective as well.
The Nay
Not our favorite style as most of the jibs we use are hand jibs and need to be smooth.
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General Conclusions
The texture is great–fine, comfortable, hold chalk, not slick (except the feet, the neon urethane is slicker).
The dark color of most of the sets we got makes them easy to overlook, but I find myself seeking them out because I know they will be fun to climb on.
I think that, despite my earlier positive comments about the uniqueness of their hold-presentation on their website, Orogen is actually doing themselves a little bit of a disservice by presenting everything in this particular color of green. The reason? It is difficult to tell what is going on from the photos. The photos of the holds that we have still look different to me than the actual holds we have, and I think it’d be hard to discern the holds’ lines enough to know clearly what to order. For example, on the website the Pahoehoe jugs look…mediocre. I probably wouldn’t order them from the picture. But they sent us one to test and it’s great! The edge radius is comfortable, the jug is incut enough to use on steep roofs but round enough for lesser angles…overall it’s just a nice hold. On that note, since the sets they sent us were good, I will assume their other sets are good enough to take a chance on as well.
See ‘em all on their website : Orogen Designs
Wanna see more hold companies? The Big Hold Company List – North America
New Holds – Habit & Uncarved Block + Quick Update UPDATED
We got a sweet tester care package from a company called Habit. Habit is selling all kinds of climbing gear and pouring holds from a few different companies, including Uncarved Block (the ones with the little Ying-Yangs) from Australia, and Habit-brand holds. The holds are being poured in Salt Lake by our friend Leif and his company Proxy Productions. Habit sent us a ton of holds, as well as self-tapping screws and a couple of t-shirts. Thanks guys! We are excited to see how the holds work for us.
Check out their site here - Habit Climbing
Impressions so far:
Texture – Very nice. Fine and comfortable. Held chalk well. Not slick.
Mix – Urethane blend. Threw one at the concrete floor and the edge chipped a tad but overall sturdy. Did not break.
Logo – The plastic ying-yang is a little weird. Not interruptive, but maybe an unnecessary expense? We think they should try googly eyes instead.
Shapes – Some are awesome, some seem a little awkward. Excited about the green jibs. The black pinches and small rounded edges are cool, as are the red blocks (which look sort of unoriginal but are actually really interesting and comfortable and I’ve never felt any quite like them before.) The roof jugs (big, blue) are comfortable and cool. The big blue slopers seem…ok, not amazing. The two gray holds a the top left are really cool. I will write the real names for each of these sets when I write about them in more detail, but if you are around the Spot, we set with some of them on the Beach today. That brings us to…
Quick Setting Update
We set a bunch on the Beach today. We are setting on the Beach again tomorrow, and probably Wednesday as well. I will update again in the next 2 days. UPDATE from Tuesday – more Beach problems!!!
Check out the Habit and Uncarved Block holds and let us know what you think!!!
Quick Update – Highballs & Highlines Comp This Weekend! + Reset Schedule + Hold Sale Ending Tonight!
2011 – He didn’t land it, but it was a good effort!
If you’ve been in the gym at all you’ll know that we’ve already started setting for the SBS 8 Highballs & Highlines comp. This comp will be Saturday, and so far we’re really excited about the problems. Also, the highline slacklining is really sweet to watch, and as usual we have food, drinks, beer, a DJ, a gigantic sweet raffle, Pro Finals, etc… Hope to see you there!
Pre-register and breeze through on comp day! – SBS 8 Registration
This means that The Spot will be closed tomorrow for setting. Spot members can climb for free at the BRC tomorrow and Saturday (during the comp).
Sunday The Spot is open as usual.
Monday we will begin the reset, but we are resetting differently than usual. We will be running a mini onsight- style comp for our Youth Team and some of Team ABC. This onsight-style comp will help our kids get ready for Regionals the following weekend. We will be setting the mock comp on the Dojo and Back Hueco, meaning there will be new problems there Monday night, but they will be closed off to public climbing until probably 7 or 8pm (after the mini comp is over).
Tuesday and Wednesday we will set as well, and we should have fill on most of the walls by Wednesday 4pm-ish. We will probably do River/Font on Tues and Front Hueco and/or Beach on Wednesday.
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Also, last chance on our used holds sale. We are selling them through 11pm tonight at $1 off current listed price. If they cost $1 they will now cost .50 cents. If you want ‘em, come get them before they’re gone!
Prinz Holds – Initial Impressions
As you’ve seen on our Big Hold Company List, there are a ton of hold companies all over the world. New ones pop up, and we look at their websites, but it’s hard to tell things like quality, texture, durability, and comfort from online pictures. Shipping isn’t cheap, and, at a gym like The Spot where we break a lot of holds, we don’t usually like to risk an order unless we’ve seen and tried out the holds and know they’ll hold up to our walls.
The sample pack (on the left) and some midsized slopers, and a HUGE SLOPER!
Ryan from Prinz holds called us up and said he’d be driving through and he wanted to drop off some samples. On Saturday I met him at The Spot and checked out what he brought to show us.
Prinz has done something clever that I haven’t seen before (at least in this form). They put together a nice sample set of 5 different holds from different lines. Each is a different color and they’re all packaged in these nice, easy-to-hand-out, store-ready bags. Ryan’s whole trip was visiting gyms, introducing himself, and giving out sample sets to help them get a feel for what Prinz hold has to offer.
To the right of the sample pack are two sets of slopers (one of two medium slopers, one of several smaller slopers) and an awesome huge feature. Ryan brought these for us to review, and we will be posting a review on ‘em once we’ve tried them out and have opinions. Ryan also showed us lots of other shapes, several big slopers and pinches and other stuff that isn’t up yet on their website, but you should be able to see ‘em soon.
Saturday when Ryan dropped them off I picked out one of those green sloping edges and felt the texture. Prinz pours their own urethane blend, and, as we hear over and over from hold companies, Ryan said it wouldn’t break. The texture was fine but the hold felt brittle, like other, weaker urethane blends we’ve seen before, and I said that I thought there was no way it’d go on the wall at The Spot without cracking in half. Ryan wanted to see if we could break it, so we got some bolts and a wrench and went to work.
I picked a moderately concave surface with a bolt in the middle of it, set the hold across it, and began tightening. To my complete amazement the hold flexed into the wall without breaking. It also didn’t weld the bolt and t-nut together (at least not during my short test).
I unscrewed the hold and picked another, more uneven surface. It didn’t break.
Finally, I picked a t-nut that we never, never use because it is ridiculously placed in the middle of a carved hueco were no holds, not even footholds, will fit. Also, we’re pretty sure the t-nut isn’t straight, meaning it’ll pull the hold into the wall unevenly, thus loading it unevenly, thus breaking it. I began tightening, the hold began flexing, then…snap.
It didn’t break in half. Instead, a chip broke off the side. I pulled the hold off the wall and looked at it. The broken area was white, like stretched plastic. A little sandpaper, literally a brief swipe, and the broken area was smooth and comfortable and the hold was not ruined. Here’s a picture of it post-sanding:
The broken area, sanded into a nice thumb catch.
Then we threw it at the floor and walls for a while. The edges dented a bit, but no brittle chipping. I was extremely impressed, especially considering that I thought the hold would easily break. We’re going to set with them next week, and we’ll share those impressions, but so far the holds have far exceeded my expectations.
One more note, you may recognize the upside-down bomb on this hold. The bomb is the Prinz logo. It used to belong to Bomber Holds, out of Southern California, but Prinz, out of Northern California, purchased the logo and some of the shapes from Bomber. Bomber doesn’t exist anymore, and Prinz is an independent company run by completely different people, but if you are looking for old Bomber shapes ask Prinz and they might be able to pour them for you.
That’s all I’ve got for now, more updates after setting and climbing on the holds.
Check out the Prinz website: Prinz Climbing Holds — Home
New Site for Prinz Climbing Holds
I just got off the phone with Ryan over at Prinz Climbing Holds and he’s sending us a Prinz sample pack and a few holds to review. Prinz is a small company based in Northern California and they’re pouring pure polyurethane. It’s been a few months since I’ve looked at their site, and they’ve progressed quite a bit in that time. This hold in particular looks very worthy:
Awesome!
Ryan tells me there’s more on the way, and if their newer shapes are any indicator Prinz is a company to keep an eye on. I’ll report back when we’ve tried the holds out, but til then check out their new site and order your own nearly-free sample pack - Prinz Climbing Holds.
New Hold Company on the List – 3D Climb
http://www.3dclimb.com ~ stian@3dclimb.com ~ 47.45.06.82.70 ~ Norway
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Out of Norway and focused on the style of Fontainebleau comes 3D holds. Here are some of the shapes from their site
Catalog - 3dclimb.com/Katalog_3DClimb.pdf
Anyone have any experience with ‘em?
Setting Update for 8/25 & 8/26 + New Teknik + Rate Boulders + LOBSTER TAIL!
So we reset the Dojo. Also, Danny fixed a bunch of t-nuts, and Danny and Jonny mounted a tricky expedition to cut a Motivation Volume off the wall without damaging it too badly. They did damage the sawblade, but the volume came out of it alright. There are problems going out the roof from 3+ to 5+, including several jug hauls of varying difficulties, an extremely tensiony crimp masterpiece from Jonny and a powerful and dynamic boulder from Dave. The bulge and vertical wall have problems of all sorts. Here are some pictures:
Lubar atop the new left dojo
The new Dojo cave. Rich is staring at the lobster tail in awe. Jon…?
New right dojo. What is that big white hold? A lobster tail?! Scroll down to find out more.
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New Teknik!
So cool. Look for this on the left bulge and on one of the problems of the week (see below for details)
Sweet! Look for these on two problems, one on right dojo vert wall, one on left dojo bulge.
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Rate Boulders
We’re continuing our new boulder rating experiment. Jay Jay has tagged two boulders from last week’s River set and two from this week’s Dojo set. Incidentally, these are also last week’s problems of the week. They are all hard this week, next week we will have some easier boulders as well. Check ‘em out, fill out the sheets (available at the front desk) and drop them in the “suggestions” box on the wall between the bathrooms. We always appreciate other feedback as well. Thanks!
River POTW’s
#6 Left river, pink crimper problem, 5 by Jonny.
#5 Right River, red with arrow, 4+ by Jackie
Dojo POTW’s
#7 Left Dojo Neon Pink 5+ by Dave Wetmore. Tricky! Check out that bloctite feature!
#8 Neon Green 4 by Jay Jay
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LOBSTER TAIL!
That’s right, we’ve got our mitts on a brand new urethane blend Lobster Tail. This old Pusher dual-tex feature has been out of production for some time, and it used to be SUPER heavy. Well, now it’s back, and between urethane and a semi-hollow back it’s much lighter than the originals were. Check it!
Lobster Tail!!! Looks huge-r when anyone but Jon is grabbing it.
New Hold Company – Bee Hive Climbing
http://www.beehiveclimbing.com ~ beehiveclimbing@gmail.com ~ Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
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This company out of Nova Scotia is the newest addition to The Big Hold Company List and The Big Hold Company List North America. Check out their website to see more, but here is their sample set:
Bee Hive Climbing Holds Sample Set. There is no visible bolt hole but apparently the center skeleton thing will have a bolt hole and is a hand or foothold.
