what climbing holds can you buy for $200 (v1.1)

Right, way back in 2008 we ran a question that we sent out to a bunch of hold company's and then we published the results. As the climbing market has got much larger in the two years since we originally ran this we decided to run it again. We pretty well emailed EVERY company around… some people flat out didn’t respond, some people didn’t want to take part (They told us)

This is going to be a long long post... let's lay out what we've done

The Email:Some of you may remember that way back we asked what we called the $200 question, this was asked to a bunch of people about what you’d send to people if they had $200 to spend on holds. (We ran this in Feb 2008), we had a bunch of answers and as the market has progressed a lot since then we've decided to run it again! This time it's a little different, we're being a little more thorough this time with the questions, they're a little more specific and will take a little more answering. Please include images of the holds you're talking about with your replies (to save us having to go and dig through your sites / my hard drive for them.)

FYI: You are being timed on this, we're acting like a customer so we are expecting timely responses (One week is the time limit! From the second I press the send button) Results will be posted within the next few weeks, any company that has been emailed but hasn't replied within the time limit will be included in the results, but we’ll mention that you were late with your reply

Scenario:If someone called or emailed you wanting to buy holds and they had $200 (or the equivalent in whichever country you're in) to spend on holds, excluding shipping, but didn't know your company OR your brand what would you send them??? (Retail prices not wholesale prices) There are three different climbers that need help:

Q1a) Beginner climber: Home wall of 15 / 30 / Vertical and small roof section. They'd like part of the budget to be spent upon foot holds

Q1b) Intermediate climber: Home wall of 15 / 30 / 45 / Vertical and medium sized roof section. They're climbing at a higher grade and they'd like to work on their technique

Q1c) Expert climber: Home wall of 15 / 30 / 45 / large roof and small vertical section. They'd like part of the budget to be spend on jibs

Q2) Do you have a "Hold of the month club?", if you do how much is it per month and what should people expect to

Copyright ClimbingHoldReview.com 2010. All Rights Reserved, reproduction by requestV1.1 30 July 2010

get from it??

Q3) Do you have starter kits listed upon your site for someone that's building a home wall?


Results:What you're about to see is the results from the company's, in the order that they came to us. We've obviously added a little information about what the holds are made from and we've run some math so you get a break down of how many holds you get and the price of the holds. Most company’s went for as close to the $200 mark, in all cases we have taken prices from their site for the break downs…

Keep in mind that our price per holds includes jibs and foot holds (Where we asked for footholds). If you look at the price per hold and then look at the number of footholds then you can see why that company may “seem” to have a better price per hold as it does get skewed.

I'd like to point out that as I'm the rep for a bunch of companies in Canada (DRCC/Climb It/Project Holds) that if the mail / call came through to me that I'd actually answer the customer. But to be fair I've not added anything, I've let my guys answer the question and I've not shown any favor towards them.

We also liked the Element Climbing response so much we stole their formatting for easier reading… before when this was being edited it was a nightmare to sort out. Now we think it`s pretty clean looking Every answer has a break down after it of the price per hold and the number of holds in what has been suggested for that climber… in some cases the formatting is different as to format it would have broken the flow of their answer

The email was sent at 2am on Wednesday, 21st July, here are the results as they came in, in the order that they came in!. Responses from the company’s will the in italic, our stuff is normal.


Well first of all my prices are not fixed. They are based on whatever prices I am currently getting on eBay for auctions on these holds. As of now, it is the slow hold buying season so my prices are pretty good. I have a unique way of selling Synrock holds - I completely fill up a USPS flat rate box. $200 total with shipping gets you three full large USPS flat rate boxes.

So - Pick any 3 of the following choices:

75 screw ons

10 roof holds

42 mini cobbles

12 roof jugs

10 morphed holds

15 intermediate

11 large cobbles

11 low profile pinches


http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KCpkTLUIzzE/TEmayA0VTUI/AAAAAAAAHAk/fWuTn5E85tk/s1600/09-03-10screw72.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KCpkTLUIzzE/TEmbLeVZBDI/AAAAAAAAHAs/tqIX9giCA-c/s1600/10-02-22roof.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KCpkTLUIzzE/TEmbw6IV3tI/AAAAAAAAHBU/VZ3P9qxIOGw/s1600/10-06-10cobble42.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KCpkTLUIzzE/TEmbMvC_sqI/AAAAAAAAHBM/dksCbNiYb14/s1600/10-04-12jugs12.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KCpkTLUIzzE/TEmbMLyj33I/AAAAAAAAHA8/vLoT9OIkwDA/s1600/02-01-10morph12.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KCpkTLUIzzE/TEmbLr4eLFI/AAAAAAAAHA0/XP8DdtWjIDY/s1600/1-10-07h17.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KCpkTLUIzzE/TEmbxlc1tSI/AAAAAAAAHBk/GQ6_z5iwe0M/s1600/1-16-07cob11.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KCpkTLUIzzE/TEmbMSRuhpI/AAAAAAAAHBE/lQSBkbuOoM4/s1600/08-11-10pinch11B.jpg

So for $200 you can get 3 of any of the sets I've listed above (and I have a lot more shapes). Or you can mix them all up. $200 gets you three boxes filled with holds.

As to beginner intermediate or advanced and wall angle I use my experience to send the best holds for the client after talking to the person and getting a feel for what he needs. Another way to do that is to send 1 box with an assortment and then the other 2 boxes would get filled based on what the person liked in the first box. This is a very flexible system and you can end up getting 100 holds for your $200. I don't offer hold of the month but if you want to send me $50 a month for a year I can fill up a flat rate box with cool and unique things each month. I also offer t-nuts and they fit will in the box with the holds so at 8 cents each I can fit 200 or so t-nuts in a box with one of these sets

What are they made from: Synrock is a real rock like substance; it feels very much like the real thing… a little like sandstone

Price per hold (including jibs): We took 42 mini cobbles / 15 intermediate and 11 low pro pinches Total: $200 / 68 holds = $2.94 per hold

Price per hold (not including jibs): We took 75 screw ons / 15 intermediate and 11 low pro pinches Total: $200 / 101 holds = $1.98 per hold

What have we reviewed from them?

http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/Petrogrips

Overall response: Not bad, Jim was very quick off of the mark. It’s not the fullest answer but it does give you a lot of options for what you wanted. Your $200 would get you between 32 and 101 holds (depends upon what you pick)

You’d also if you were the expert climber have to take the 75 screw ons as your jibs, that is a lot of screw ons!!

UPDATE: We mucked up on the math, of you went for the most holds then you’d take the:

75 screw ons 42 mini cobbles 15 intermediate

That would net you 132 holds for just $200! That is $1.50per hold!!!


http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/Petrogrips

A1a) Beginner climber: Home wall of 15 / 30 / Vertical and small roof section. They'd like part of the budget to be spent upon foot holds

5 pack small edges

Kids 40 variety pack

21 small edges

Total Number of holds: 66Total Price: $200.00Price per hold: $3.03

A1b) Intermediate climber: Home wall of 15 / 30 / 45 / Vertical and medium sized roof section. They're climbing at a higher grade and they'd like to work on their technique

Kids 60 variety pack



A1c) Expert climber: Home wall of 15 / 30 / 45 / large roof and small vertical section. They'd like part of the budget to be spend on jibs

7 pack pinches

20 pack jibs

Simple 7 jugs

12 large jugs

15 mini jugs

Total Number of holds: 71Total Price: $289Price per hold: $4.07

A2) Do you have a "Hold of the month club?", if you do how much is it per month and what should people expect to get from it??

Yes. See link for exact details. http://www.atomikclimbingholds.com/KidsMixed/HoldsoftheMonth.htmTotally customizable that we accomplish with a phone call. We talk with the climber, find out what type of climber they are and where they want their hold of the month experience to go. We often surprise the customer each month with a free medium or large hold on top of the program to get constant feedback from them.

A3) Do you have starter kits listed upon your site for someone that's building a home wall?Home walls are usually directed to this link on our website. http://www.atomikclimbingholds.com/kidsmixed.htm http://www.atomikclimbingholds.com/wall.pdf

What are they made from: Urethane


http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/Atomik%20Climbing

Overall response: Pretty good, Kenny has a lot of experience doing this kind of thing. He was fast off of the mark and just gave us links to the holds rather than giving us the images… so we had to root around to save images


http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/Atomik%20Climbing

http://www.atomikclimbingholds.com/wall.pdf

http://www.atomikclimbingholds.com/kidsmixed.htm

http://www.atomikclimbingholds.com/KidsMixed/HoldsoftheMonth.htm

A1a) Beginner climber: Home wall of 15 / 30 / Vertical and small roof section. They'd like part of the budget to be spent upon foot holdsAll my holds are labeled simply, so they could pick a whole bunch of stuff or leave it up to me to choose for 'em

A1b) Intermediate climber: Home wall of 15 / 30 / 45 / Vertical and medium sized roof section. They're climbing at a higher grade and they'd like to work on their techniqueAgain, anything from my 'generalz' range

A1c) Expert climber: Home wall of 15 / 30 / 45 / large roof and small vertical section. They'd like part of the budget to be spend on jibsI've got foot holds, dual texture stuff and over 150 screw on foot holds to choose from

A2) Do you have a "Hold of the month club?", if you do how much is it per month and what should people expect to get from it??No

A3) Do you have starter kits listed upon your site for someone that's building a home wall?Yeah, have you been looking? LOL! They come with all the fixings and enough holds to get you started, then you’ll have more of an idea what type of holds you'll come back for

What are they made from: Polyurethane


http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/Holdz

Overall response: Honestly rubbish. We asked for images of the holds and we gave descriptions of what the climbers were climbing upon and their level of climbing experience. We have a lot of respect for Steve and what he does, but we don’t think he really took the email very seriously at all… he didn’t give us any suggestions for the criteria of what we were looking for.


http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/Holdz


Ice Cubes set of 15 footholds

Ashley Jugs B Cup set of 5

Hoppers 1 set of 5

Sandstone Jugs set of 5

Friction House Series set of 7 incut edges




Ice Cubes set of 15 footholds

Veins set of 10 mini jugs

Acid Rain set of 5 pinches

Moon Rocks set of 10 edges




Sting Babies set of 10 screw-ons

Pocket Protecktors set of 7 screw-ons

Grit Edges set of 10 edges

Organics 1 set of 5

Hoppers 2 set of 5 (roof)


A2) Do you have a "Hold of the month club?", if you do how much is it per month and what should people expect to get from it??We do have plans on offering a hold of the month club. We’ll be offering it in the fall. It will be around $40-$50 range.

A3) Do you have starter kits listed upon your site for someone that's building a home wall?No starter kits per se but I want to offer a climbing hold review starter kit.

What are they made from: Urethane, they used to be made of resin


http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/Friction

Overall response: Pretty good and pretty fast, no images attached as asked. But Luigi did give us a break down of number of holds and the prices per set making our life a little bit easier. There is a well balanced bunch of holds here… we’ll start working on the CHR starter set, it might take a while for us to make something that we’d “stamp a seal of approval” on.

There are a lot of holds coming from Friction later this year, I wonder if this question had been asked a few months later would the answers be the same? Hmm


http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/Friction

Thanks for contacting us! We'd love to earn your business. It sounds like you've got a nice project in the works; we'd love to see a few pics of your wall...

We've put together several options based on the scenarios outlined below and are attaching them in a Word document - if you prefer another format, please let me know.

Per your request, I'm also attaching a .zip file with larger images of the sets outlined in the document.

A couple of things to note:

The majority of our customers' orders are processed and shipped within three business days. All of our holds include standard hardware (tee nuts / bolts). If you don't want / need these, let us know and

we'll be happy to substitute something else. All orders over $100 include free standard shipping (to the lower 48). We don't charge extra for custom color requests, though they may take longer to process if we don't have

the requested colors in inventory.

If you have any questions regarding our recommendations, our grips, or anything else, please let me know.


Beta 12 Foot Holds

Great for beginning climbers. These can easily transition to small ledges / crimps as your strength and technique increases.

Vapor 12 Small – Medium Ledges

Very versatile holds that can be used as foot holds, and great ledges on vertical to moderately negative walls. Rotate them to raise or lower difficulty.

Gravity 6 Medium – Large Jugs

Staple jugs useful on virtual every climbing surface of your home wall.

Plasma 10 Small – Large Jugs

Bang for your buck. 5 small finger-jugs and 5 medium / large jugs with thumb catches on the front face.




Ions 8 Small – Medium Pinches

Great for building pinch and forearm strength.

Tremors 7 Medium Incut Ledges

Ideal for applications on 15 – 30 degree walls.

Ozone 5 Large Jugs

Huge thumb catches make these jugs ideal for steeply negative wall and roof applications.

Corrosion 8 Small – Large Assorted Holds (Ledges, Pinches, Jugs)

Great value with a variety of shapes and sizes. Creative placement will build technique.




Electrons 20 XSmall Bolt on Jibs

These little jibs will force precise foot placement.

Methods 10 Small – Large Crimps / Ledges

You can’t just slap and go with these guys. They’ll make you earn each move. You’ll love to hate this set, but you’ll be a better climber for it.

Ozone 5 Large Jugs

Huge thumb catches make these jugs ideal for steeply negative wall and roof applications.

Sediment 8 Small – Large Jugs

Not too deep, these jugs are great for advanced applications on steep walls. Rotate them on more vertical walls for use as slopers or underclings.



A2) Do you have a "Hold of the month club?", if you do how much is it per month and what should people expect to get from it??We sure do. It’s called the Periodic Table and is available here:

http://store.elementclimbing.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=EC&Product_Code=PTBL.

We have three price levels: $40 / $60 / $80 per month. Shipping (in the lower 48) and hardware is included. If you don’t want / need hardware, let us know and we’ll substitute more grips.

Each month, we try to provide a selection of fresh, new holds, mixing up shapes to provide variety month to month. We will occasionally use sets from our current lineup, but we strive not to offer the same set twice. We’ll often split new, larger sets, and make one or two of the grips available as one of the options – that way, our customers can get a “taste” before spending a lot of cash for a full set. If you’re interested in allocating a larger portion of your hold budget pet month or have special requirements (i.e. size or color), we can customize an option just for you. Let us know what you’re looking for, and we’ll make it happen.

A3) Do you have starter kits listed upon your site for someone that's building a home wall?The short answer is “no”, but they’re in the works. We don’t currently have a started kit listed on our website, but we are putting together a couple of starter kits that will include a variety of foot holds, ledges, slopers, and jugs as well as tee nuts, bolts, wrenches and route tape. We’re planning on offering at least three options in the $150 - $300 range. These new offerings should be posted on our website within the next month or so. If you’d like to be notified via email, we’d be more than happy to add you to our newsletter email list, or you can sign up here:

http://www.elementclimbing.com/Newsletters.aspx

What are they made from: Polyurethane


http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/Element%20Climbing

Overall response: We liked the formatting of their answer so much we stole it and used it as a template for everyone else`s answers.



http://www.elementclimbing.com/Newsletters.aspx

http://store.elementclimbing.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=EC&Product_Code=PTBL

http://store.elementclimbing.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=EC&Product_Code=PTBL

If someone emailed me with $200 to spend I would hook them up with our starter kit. It retails at $250 but we almost always have a current discount that would get them pretty close to $200.

If they gave me the description of the wall and the difficulty that they wanted holds I would make sure to fill the kit with holds that would fit within that criteria.

* Regular Value of over $325.00 * 15 bolt on feet * 40 medium / large bolt on hand holds * Jugs, edges, pinches and crimps. * Hardware included * T- Wrench included * 100 4 prong t-nuts * Packaged in a reusable bucket

A1a) Beginner climber: Home wall of 15 / 30 / Vertical and small roof section. They'd like part of the budget to be spent upon foot holdsSee above

A1b) Intermediate climber: Home wall of 15 / 30 / 45 / Vertical and medium sized roof section. They're climbing at a higher grade and they'd like to work on their techniqueSee above

A1c) Expert climber: Home wall of 15 / 30 / 45 / large roof and small vertical section. They'd like part of the budget to be spend on jibsSee above


Also I do have a Set of the month club. The size and number of holds varies every month but it averages 25% - 30% off retail with free shipping. Do you need to add more holds to your gym? Signing up for the set of the month is the best way to do it! Each month you will receive the latest holds from Rock Candy. If you receive a set you do not like send it back and we will replace it with a set you do like. (no discounts or specials can apply to the set of the month price).

* Hardware Included * FREE SHIPPING (US only) * Add to your cart once and you will be signed up for 12 months.

A3) Do you have starter kits listed upon your site for someone that's building a home wall?Yes




http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/Rock%20Candy

Overall response: Could have been better! Rather than answer each question one at a time we got a blanket answer for all of the walls and levels, there`s not much detail here. But they will custom make the kit for you to fit your needs.


http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/Rock%20Candy

Here is what we put together for the three listed options (Beg., Int., Adv.). We no longer do the hold of the month and as far as home walls go and listed options on the site we tend to work directly with people through direct communication to meet their needs rather than putting a "kit" on the site. This has worked best for a company of our size and because everyone's needs are a little different when it comes to a home wall.


Rex

Jibs

Guidelines

D's

Lazy Boys

Warheads

1 Game Kube




Rex

Jibs

Handroids

Shapers Dozen

Phantom Slims

Core Shots




Rex

Jibs

Hex

Lowriders

Game Kubez II


A2) Do you have a "Hold of the month club?", if you do how much is it per month and what should people expect to get from it??Not any more

A3) Do you have starter kits listed upon your site for someone that's building a home wall?For home walls go and listed options on the site we tend to work directly with people through direct communication to meet their needs rather than putting a "kit" on the site


What are they made from: Resin

What have we reviewed from?

http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/Contact%20Climbing

Overall response: Pretty good, there is a very interesting mix of holds… we’re not sure that a beginner climber should be playing around on the Rex holds; but they are pretty incut and as you can see Contact like them so much they’ve added them for each climber.


http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/Contact%20Climbing



A2) Do you have a "Hold of the month club?", if you do how much is it per month and what should people expect to get from it??Yes, Asana has a hold of the month club. The cost is $35/month for 6 months, or $30/month for 12 months. Our hold sets vary each month to provide the subscriber with a nice variety for their wall. Expect to receive sets ranging from jugs, crimps, pinches, slopers, finger buckets, incuts, etc. For more information check out the hold of the month info on our website http://www.asanaclimbing.com/climbingHolds.htm

A3) Do you have starter kits listed upon your site for someone that's building a home wall?Currently, Asana does not have starter kits on the website. This sounds like a great option and Asana will look into providing this service in the future.



http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/Asana

Overall response: Pretty good, it looks like they formatted their answers with an image and that’s pretty damn sweet! There’s not a great deal of information (compared to some companys answers) We’re not sure if they failed on the jibs for the “expert” climber as we can’t tell if the Mininova feet are bolt on or screw ons with a single screw


http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/Asana

http://www.asanaclimbing.com/climbingHolds.htm

A1a) Beginner climber: Home wall of 15 / 30 / Vertical and small roof section. They'd like part of the budget to be spent upon foot holdsWe don't really have enough holds in our lineup for beginners to start a home wall, but some holds that would work well would be the Comfy Crimps, DuaTex edges, and the Comfy Pinches


Granite Slopers

Comfy Crimps

DuaTex Edges

Medium Muscle Pinches

I left room for in the budget for jugs, we don't have any in our line up at the moment but keep an eye out for them soon.




Granite Slopers

Medium Muscle Pinches

Small Muscle Pinches

Comfy Crimps

DuaTex Edges

DuaTex Nano crimps

I didn't leave room for jugs but would suggest it unless you have volumes on your roof.Total Number of holds: 39Total Price: $197.70Price per hold: $5.07

A2) Do you have a "Hold of the month club?", if you do how much is it per month and what should people expect to get from it??Not Yet

A3) Do you have starter kits listed upon your site for someone that's building a home wall?No




http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/Summit%20Labs

Overall response: Not bad, if you’re the expert climbing you have at least 1/3rd of Summits entire range Again these guys missed on the jibs and the footholds because they don’t make any, it’s something I think that they should have mentioned .


http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/Summit%20Labs

Whether you dial up the DRCC, shoot off an email, or post something on Facebook regarding your home woody, you’ll receive a timely response from one of the most cordial beings in the Midwest… Allison! Some people have the ‘gift of gab’ but Allison, she has the ‘gift of getting you to gab’ – seriously, in a five minute conversation she’ll have identified your favorite routes/problems during your last climbing trip, the type of rock you enjoy climbing on, what you’d like to be climbing next year, and your favorite colors. We can definitely help you choose the right climbing holds for your budget.

A1a) Beginner climber: Home wall of 15 / 30 / Vertical and small roof section. They'd like part of the budget to be spent upon foot holdsThe DRCC takes prides in creating fine climbing holds that work for the climbers and their walls. A beginning climber with a home wall may not be too familiar with this concept, they likely love to climb, want to climb more often, and create a place where all their climbing friends can gather no matter their climbing grade. What this means in correlation to your question, is that the DRCC would suggest multi directional holds such as the Propeller Crimps and as many positive holds/ jugs as possible. Providing multidirectional holds gives you more ‘bang for your buck’. The Propeller Crimps are quite positive with great finger radii and can be rotated for varying positive depths on opposing sides. They can also be turned a few degrees to make for harder pinches with solid thumb catches. A home wall can never be outfitted with enough jugs. The Smooth Nano Jugs make for positive holds on 15 degree walls but will push the boundaries of a beginner on 30 degrees. They also make bomber feet. Allison would take the time to discuss with the home user the importance of feet to make routes harder or easier (she’d probably talk about multiple routes in the Red to further exemplify her point). The Circus Jugs are similar to the Smooth Nano Jugs but are a bit larger with a broader range of incuts. The BFF jugs are huge and comfy which will bring the roof to life, allow awesome underclings and provide massive ledges for heal/toe hooks. Collectively these sets will allow for large feet and an opportunity to explore movements that are a few grades above their current climbing level.

(We took the Propeller crimps / Smooth Nano jugs and the B.F.F Jugs)Total Number of holds: 22Total Price: $179.93 Price per hold: $8.17


A1b) Intermediate climber: Home wall of 15 / 30 / 45 / Vertical and medium sized roof section. They're climbing at a higher grade and they'd like to work on their techniqueSince the intermediate climber has their eyes set on improving their technique we opted to provide positive holds that were low profile so that movement to those holds would need to be more static. We also want the climber to feel like they’re improving much like putting the crux move towards the finish rather than right off the start. Specific to DRCC holds we suggest our LoPro Jugs, which are bomber on the steep walls but will challenge the climber to keep their feet and core tight when going to them on the roof. Again, we would suggest our Propeller Crimps which are multidirectional holds. They would allow the home user to have varying difficulties on the steep walls with a simple turn of the hold. For more of a challenge we would suggest the Force Crimps E.S. (Easy Side). These holds are dual-tex which demand sequential movement while still providing a solid surface to nail a big move. Lastly we would suggest the BFD Edges. These edges are a blast to set with, you can throw them on any wall and you’ll be happy to move to them as well as from them. Collectively these sets will force the climber to plan ahead, understand the moves prior to climbing them and feel the difference between moves that require slow versus dynamic movement.

Total Number of holds: 16Total Price: $164.97Price per hold: $ 10.31


A1c) Expert climber: Home wall of 15 / 30 / 45 / large roof and small vertical section. They'd like part of the budget to be spend on jibsTo adequately challenge our expert climbers we suggest a variety of holds including pinches, edges, crimps, slopers and last but not least…a volume!!! That’s right; the Little Bumpy Volume provides numerous opportunities with a quick turn of the wrench. Positive enough to be a hold in and of itself the two imbedded T-Nuts can take even slightly slopey holds and turn them positive on a roof. A volume is the fastest and easiest way to change the dynamics of your wall without having to construct new walls. To address your Screw on needs, we have the Great Crimps that are easily matched on. Flip them upside down for slopey feet or below the roof section for nasty undercling crimps.

Adding the D Sloper Ledge to the mix will provide big handfuls of fun. The D Sloper Ledge makes for big powerful moves and amazing lay backs with enough surface area to land hand foot matches. To bring your forearms up to speed we would suggest our Bumpy Crimps. These Crimps pack quite a punch. The useable surface has a few precise sweet spots and extends away from the wall forcing slow static movements. Finally, we have the newest line of DRCC holds called, Bleepin’ Pinches. These holds are bomber pinches with varying degrees of incuts, they’re also Dual Texture! Collectively these sets will challenge the home user to set creative problems while providing a broad range of useable surfaces.

In the introduction to these questions I discussed Allison’s role to ensure you receive the perfect holds that reflect your climbing style and improvement goals. I also mentioned that she would figure out your favorite colors. Here at the DRCC we love color!!! One of our Gang Members owns a farm and requested that his holds be John Deere themed. We want you to enjoy climbing on our holds but also enjoy the aesthetics they bring to your wall.

Total Number of holds: 13Total Price: Cannot be calculated as the Bumpy Volume isn’t listed as separate on the sitePrice per hold: $?

A2) Do you have a "Hold of the month club?", if you do how much is it per month and what should people expect to get from it??Each Christmas for about five years my cousin gave me a Koosh Ball of different colors. Don’t get me wrong it’s the thought that counts but after the third Koosh Ball I was ready for a change. Here at the DRCC we’ve learned from this experience, our Hold of the Month model supplies our ‘Gang Members’ with fresh new shapes each month. With three different levels of membership you’ll receive new holds that are not made available for purchase by the general public or climbing gyms until the following month. We have a number of gang members that start out at the entry level and jump to the next level because the shapes and incentives to jump up are that much better in the next level. You can start out at our Silver ($39.95) level, or jump into our Gold ($74.95) level or get the best deal by joining the elite Platinum level ($139.95). To see what our past members have received check out the ‘Gang Membership’ under ‘Shop’ on our website.


A3) Do you have starter kits listed upon your site for someone that's building a home wall?We do offer a variety of random packs that are split up into 50, 100, and 150 packs. In each pack you will receive a variety of shapes from foot chips to large dual tech hand holds. Allison goes through each pack to ensure that your random bag of holds is not ‘so random’. When I was a kid my dad bought me a grab bag from a dollar store and upon opening it all I found were six postcards of some wood bridge in Kentucky. Since then I’ve never bought a grab bag, we don’t want you to have that experience. Rest assured that when you receive our random packs you’re actually be receiving holds that will improve your climbing, technique, and home Woody experience.

On a side note, we suggest that you find your local Plasma donation center in order to increase your hold budget. It doesn’t hurt as much as some people say it does and in addition to making some cash you get to watch movies and eat cookies!!!



http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/DRCC

Overall response: Ah they wrote a book and they did give me all the images that I needed in the response. Unfortunately the doc was corrupt and only half the images where there. There is a lot of information and it’s all pretty well informed stuff! They did give options for feet for the “beginner” climber but didn’t actually suggest a line of holds that are feet

They did make suggestions as to what someone might want for their particular wall but if you take the holds that are suggested they are more than the $200 budget, it depends upon what you wanted, so as there are lots of options you can pick and choose your particular sets of holds, this is particularly a problem when it comes to our math when we have to average out the price per hold so we took a suggestion and worked from there

I didn’t format their response to be the same as the rest of the responses because it would have broken the flow of their answers.


http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/DRCC

I’ll assume you mean $200US so $230AU. I've answered each of the scenarios separately. All our holds are urethane now (website will be updated soon) and we have a bunch of new sets on the way which would have made these questions a whole bunch better but I’ll just have to answer with what we currently have online.


Mini Jug Combo Set - 16 Juggy Holds

10 Agro Footers

Lucky 7 Incuts

Total Number of holds: 33Total Price: $238.40 Price per hold: $7.22



Bolt on Blades - $39.95

Large Edges Set - $59.95

Pocket Set - Large - $74.95

+ 3 XL holds which i would discuss with them exactly what aspect of technique they wanted to improve and suggest jugs, slopers etc



Small Edge Set Combo - $49.95

Mickey Finns - Medium - $49.95

Mickey Finns - Small - $29.95

Pocket Set - Medium - $54.95

+ either bolt on blades - $39.95 or a selection of individual pinches in the large range (4 large holds)Total Number of holds: 31Total Price: $184.80Price per hold: $5.96


A2) Do you have a "Hold of the month club?", if you do how much is it per month and what should people expect to get from it??At this stage we don't have a hold of the month club but are planning to introduce one when we re-launch our website

A3) Do you have starter kits listed upon your site for someone that's building a home wall?Coming soon

What are they made from: Urethane, used to be totally resin. In fact they’re still in the middle of switching so you can get some of their sets in both mediums if you wish


http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/Uncarved%20Block

Overall response: Fast! These guys emailed me within the hour of the mail going out saying that they were on this. Uncarved Block is a company that gets overlooked a lot because of “high shipping costs”, to be honest it’s cheaper than you think and it’s air freight… we had some holds in less than four days. One thing is for sure is that none of the shapes they chose will rip your fingers to shreds… they are ergonomic.


http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/Uncarved%20Block


Limestone Quatro Incuts:

Comfy Crimps

Remarkable Rocks Jugs:

Mini-Crystals:




Myorcan Tufas

Ian's Tribal

Hueco Patina Flakes

Drop Art Finger Buckets



Myorcan Tufas

Bubble Wrap Ledges II

Sandstone Chips

Ian's Tribal




Yes, e-Grips First Dibs program offers brand new shapes every single month with a range of shape sizes and types over the course of the year. The cost is $40 per month including shipping, which is, on average a 40% discount off of what a home gym customer would pay if they bought the sets at regular retail pricing, after they are added to the full line and they pay shipping. A customer will get a range of sets over the course of a 12 month period, typically including at least 1 feature hold, a set of 20, and a range of sets of 5, and sets of 10. First Dibs is the best, most affordable way to always have the fresh e-Grips shapes.

A3) Do you have starter kits listed upon your site for someone that's building a home wall?No. There are a range of options for someone starting a home wall and a customer can get the best selection if they are interested, after really looking at what angles they have and what type of shapes and training they are looking for. Anyone with questions about starting a home wall, which angles to go for, and which sets may work best for those angles and the desired difficulty - email [email protected] and Chris Danielson can help you line up a great selection.



http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/E-Grips

Overall response: Chris Danielson is one of the big guns in route setting and he reps a few companies. I was expecting more advice / information if I’m perfectly honest as he has an absolute wealth of information stored away in this head about holds and what would be good where. If there’s one thing to be said he has put together a pretty nice rounded bunch of holds for each climber


http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/E-Grips

mailto:[email protected]


The Claw (vertical to 15 degree wall. Holds that are positive, yet will challenge a beginner)

Ripples (vertical to 15 degree wall. Holds that are positive, yet will challenge a beginner)

Water Set (this is the foot hold fix along with some decent crimps for the vertical wall)

Fire Set (steep wall or even the roof)

Sun Spot (perfect beginner holds up to 30 degrees)

Acid Wash (great for the 15 to 30 degree wall)




Woo Li Master Great for working pinch and sloper strength up to a 45 degree wall)

Waterflow Our most popular set. Technical holds that will certainly challenge the intermediate climber up to the 30 degree wall)

Pierson Holds for the medium roof section...tricky but positive)

Mr. Sloper Wanting to learn better techniques...a sloper is key)




Devil Ray A hard to read sloper. This hold has been used for competition setting, and is guaranteed to challenge anyone on an inverted wall

Raptor Pockets and pinches that work well up to a 40 degree wall...a must for any advanced climber)

Moon Rock Challenging shapes with a unique texture. Works well up to a 30 degree wall

Water Set Your full value set for jibs and crimps. This is designed for advanced climbers wanting to pull on small holds. Most holds useful all the way to a 45 degree wall

The Claw A hold we recommended for the beginner, and one we believe in so much we will recommend it again for the Experts large roof section)


A2) Do you have a "Hold of the month club?", if you do how much is it per month and what should people expect to get from it??Escape does not have holds of the month. Although sending out holds each month can be convenient for customers, we find it hard to meet the specific needs of all the customers. One set of holds could be perfect for one customer when it is entirely wrong for another.

A3) Do you have starter kits listed upon your site for someone that's building a home wall?Starter kits are a great way to add variety to your wall, or get your wall started with holds. We have a $25, $49, and a $75 starter kit. Each starter kit is custom made considering the angel of the wall and ability level or the customer.


What are they made from:



Overall response: Pretty damn good, they failed on the jibs front for the “expert” climber but if you check their site you can see that they don’t actually have jibs on their page, they could have mentioned that they don’t have jibs, they also don’t really have any bolt on footholds on their page… these are two things we suggest they add to their line up sooner rather than later.



Well...your test is a bit bogus...if you had called you would have gotten a customer service agent (instantly) on the phone...all dialed with plastics...who could have directed you to the exact sets you needed. An email response would have been answered same day... But since it came to me..its a bit late...


We'd send them a Mega pack 50 (msrp @ $159.00

and Screw-On Foot holds 20 pack @ $21.95 + shipping)...

however if they had ordered through Metolius online...we would have added another set of Screw-On Footholds @ 21.95...(to bring total. to $200.00) as any order over $80.00 gets free shipping!

Total Number of holds: 90Total Price: $200 Price per hold: $2.22

A1b) Intermediate climber: Home wall of 15 / 30 / 45 / Vertical and medium sized roof section. They're climbing at a higher grade and they'd like to work on their techniqueSame as above...then they could set the larger holds on the med sized roof and smaller down low...or some of the feet up in the roof if they wanted more fingery climbing...

Total Number of holds: 90Total Price: $200 Price per hold: $2.22


A1c) Expert climber: Home wall of 15 / 30 / 45 / large roof and small vertical section. They'd like part of the budget to be spend on jibsNo expert would call asking us what they wanted - they'd tell us what they needed (ordering online and getting more holds and free shipping)....this would put you @ $173.45 tot..then the rest for shipping or if they order online..they could get the Screw-On Footholds 20 pack and the free shipping...

But if they did...I'd send a Mega pack 30 @$99.00

1 Greatest Chips Screw On Hold 40 pack $34.95(jibs essentially

Wood Grips 5 pack $39.50

or a Mini Jug 5 pack @34.95

This would put you @ $173.45 total. .then the rest for shipping or if they order online..they could get the Screw-On Footholds 20 pack and the free shipping...

(We took the Wood Grips)Total Number of holds: 75Total Price: $173.45Price per hold: $2.31

A2) Do you have a "Hold of the month club?", if you do how much is it per month and what should people expect to get from it??No hold of the month club! A total pain in the ass to administer and doesn't really givepeople what they want or need...but whatever the shaper happens to be coming out with...

A3) Do you have starter kits listed upon your site for someone that's building a home wall?Yes, we have heaps of themMega pack 30 - 9 different hold styles included (30 holds tot)Mega Pack 40 - 10 diff hold styles included (40 holds tot)Mega Pack 50 - " " " (50 holds tot)Mega Pack 60 - " " " (60 holds tot)Neon Fun Pack - 35 super positive holds...specifically designed for kids/novicesBouldering sets (12 holds to set a boulder problem with) 9 different set options...

And we have the option via our customer service people to recommend exactly what people need based on their wall info or budget / both...they are experienced plastic pullers/wall builders/course setters...


What are they made from: Resin

What have we reviewed from?

http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/Metolius%20Climbing

Overall response: Ok, I’ll take the hit on this one… I did kind of email the wrong person; note to self I should always go through the general email address rather than the guy who co-owns the company that has better things to do. Keep an eye out as we’re taking a very close look at one of their starter kits very soon for anyone that’s looking at that kind of thing. Either way their response is pretty interesting when it comes to the “expert” climber as we specified that the person didn’t know the brand and had never seen the holds from the company (that’s a hard one to swallow as Metolius is one of the oldest climbing hold makers out there), c’est la vie

Metolius has the most starter packs on the market of differing sizes and I’ve been known to point someone towards one of the packs when I’ve been at Le Mec buying holds and they see my shirt (or in most cases the staff tell them to come and talk to me (they kind of know me there :P))


http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/Metolius%20Climbing

A1a) Beginner climber: Home wall of 15 / 30 / Vertical and small roof section. They'd like part of the budget to be spent upon foot holdsMorbs Set1 or 2 $35.00

Small Jugs $36.95

Jib Set 1 or 2 $24.95

Crimp Set $24.00

Dunes $39.00

Gritstone G2 $39.00



A1b) Intermediate climber: Home wall of 15 / 30 / 45 / Vertical and medium sized roof section. They're climbing at a higher grade and they'd like to work on their techniqueMorbs Set 1 or 2 $35.00

Small Jugs $36.95

Crimp Set $24.00

Krulls $16.95

Diablo DT1 $19.95

Big Sloper $39.00

Dots $29.00




Micro bolt on $19.95

Dots $29.00

Diablo DT1 $19.95

Crimp Set $24.00

Krulls $16.95

Paws $17.00

Gemini $40.00

Dunes $39.00

I was a little over, but we have free shipping on orders that size.



A2) Do you have a "Hold of the month club?", if you do how much is it per month and what should people expect to get from it??No we don’t but it’s something we’re working on, we’ll keep you posted

A3) Do you have starter kits listed upon your site for someone that's building a home wall?No we don’t but it’s something we’re working on, we’ll keep you posted



http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/World%20Cup%20Climbing%20Holds

Overall response: Not too shabby, World Cup is a new company and is always eager to impress. We’ve not reviewed much from them thus far but we do have some more reviews coming pretty soon… suggesting those crimps for a beginner climber is a total fail as they’re just too small in our opinion for a beginner. They also failed on the jibs front… which is strange as they have jibs on their site, but they added jibs for the beginner climber and bolt ons for the expert… WHOOPS!


http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/World%20Cup%20Climbing%20Holds


Addicted 115

Pills 36

Protrusion 62

Discount $13Total Number of holds: 40Total Price (before discount): $213Price per hold: $5.32


Addicted 115

Scars 41

Protrusion 62




Measles 49

Knuckles 176


A2) Do you have a "Hold of the month club?", if you do how much is it per month and what should people expect to get from it??$39.00 -Brand New Shapes.-A large variety of styles, abilities, and sizes.

Each month can be any one of the following: -Medium Size Set of 5. -Large Set of 4. -XL Set of 3. -Overgrown Set of 2. -Feature Set of 1.

A3) Do you have starter kits listed upon your site for someone that's building a home wall?YesStarter Bundles: http://www.soillholds.com/starter-bundlesHouse Picks: http://www.soillholds.com/house-pick


http://www.soillholds.com/house-pick

http://www.soillholds.com/starter-bundles



http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/So%20Ill

http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/Cryptochild

Overall response: Pretty good and the last one through the door… but to be fair Daniel was snowed and he mailed me to say that he’d work on it and get it to me by the deadline. What Daniel also didn’t see is that we were acting like customers… here’s what he told me “I didn't see the part of you "acting like a customer" or I would have sent this earlier. Customers come first and that is what I have been taking care of all week... like crazy. - Feel free to publish that statement if you want.”

Either way So Ill missed an important point... footholds; the email contained specifics of what each climber wanted! The expert wanted some jibs and this was missed in their reply.

They did include the discount that each person that was getting these holds with their information it was explained as such “I understand there is a discount on these. This is what I would do over the phone occasionally and this offer is good for all your readers.”


http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/Cryptochild

http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/search/label/So%20Ill

Ok here goes: The following starter kits have been selected from our most popular sets. They are all made with our new composite Bombproof HPT hold material. All the orders include a free jumbo bouldering hold "Mr. Tiddles" - this offer applies while stocks last as it is a limited edition shape.

A1a) Beginner climber: Home wall of 15 / 30 / Vertical and small roof section. They'd like part of the budget to be spent upon foot holdsThis kit is big on tendon-friendly jugs to get you psyched for some hauling - plus a couple of sets of dual-textured footholds to give your technique a boost.

Jugular Set 1

Dremples Set

Jugular Set 2

Broken Pebbles Set 1

Broken Edges Set

Mr. Tiddles



A1b) Intermediate climber: Home wall of 15 / 30 / 45 / Vertical and medium sized roof section. They're climbing at a higher grade and they'd like to work on their techniqueThis kit will allow for fiendish technical problems with small footers to work your core and a range of slopers, friendly crimps and pinches to bring the pump on.

XL Dual-Tex Edges

Rufus Set

Tornado Set

Anger Management Set

The Swirl

Mr. Tiddles

Total Number of holds: 18Total Price (before discount): $195.10Price per hold: $10.83


A1c) Expert climber: Home wall of 15 / 30 / 45 / large roof and small vertical section. They'd like part of the budget to be spend on jibsThis kit will allow for fiendish technical problems with small footers to work your core and a range of slopers, friendly crimps and pinches to bring the pump on.

Bacillus Set

Deep Freud Screw-Ons

Sandbagger Set

XL Dual-Tex Edges

The Donut

Mr. Tiddles

Total Number of holds: 26Total Price (before discount): $195.10Price per hold: $7.50


A2) Do you have a "Hold of the month club?", if you do how much is it per month and what should people expect to get from it??No

A3) Do you have starter kits listed upon your site for someone that's building a home wall?Urm, kind of The best value set we have is the 30-Hold Super Set, just $216 plus a free Mr. Tiddles while the stocks last.



NOTHING, THEY DON’T LOVE US ENOUGH!

Overall response: This was late due to a “in my spam box” excuse, which was true! These guys are small but the holds look like they pack a punch, in most cases you’re getting a lot of their line up in the mix. The fact that after getting my email from their spam they had an answer and some images to us within 2-3 hours is pretty impressive. They missed the footholds for the beginner climber, but I didn’t see any footholds on their site, they did mention dual texture footholds for this category but I don’t see any of the holds suggested being d/t


So kids what did we learnt?:What we learnt is that if you send a mail to most of these company’s you’ll get a timely response, in some cases you’ll get a lot of information in others you won’t get so much! There were a lot of people that didn’t answer at all so they’re obviously not listed here… if they do ever get around to answering we’ll probably run an update at a later point in time.

Next time we’ll go for weight of climbing holds and number of climbing holds and then we’ll split our results between resin (heavier) and other types of materials like urethane (lighter) so the results are a fair. But there are a number of conclusions we can draw… if you’re rocking resin holds they’re always cheaper on the whole, but if you’re gunning for urethane you’re paying a slightly higher price… but they should last longer.

Company Material Starter kits Hold of the month club

Beginner Price per hold

Intermediate Price per hold

Expert Price per hold

Did they answer well?No of holds No of holds No of holds

Petrogrips Synrock No No 132 2.46 85 2.46 85 2.46 Not bad

Atomik Urethane Yes Yes 66 3.03 60 3.66 71 4.07 Good

Holdz Poly No No Rubbish

Friction Urethane Not yet Soon 37 5.54 40 5.12 37 5.54 Good

Element Urethane Soon Yes 40 4.75 28 7.24 43 4.41 Very good

Rock Candy Urethane Yes Yes Not so good

Contact Urethane Kind of No 71 2.25 69 2.79 58 3.36 Good

Asana Urethane No Yes 29 6.72 30 7.27 28 7.07 Good

Summit Urethane No Not yet 23 6.34 39 5.07 39 5.07 Good

DRCC Urethane Yes Yes 22 8.17 16 10.31 13 Very good

Uncarved Urethane Soon No 33 7.22 18 9.71 31 5.96 Good

e-Grips Urethane Yes Yes 35 5.68 40 4.85 45 4.42 Very Good

Escape Urethane Yes No 40 5.25 22 9.35 35 6.05 Very good

Metolius Resin Yes No 90 2.22 90 2.22 75 2.31 Good

World Cup Urethane No No 47 4.23 24 8.41 44 4.68 Good

So Ill Urethane Yes Yes 40 5.32 28 7.78 35 6.42 Good

Uprising Urethane Kind of No 26 7.65 18 10.83 26 7.5 Late

TOTAL731 76.83 607 97.07 665 69.32

AVERAGE ($) 48,733333 5.122 40.466667 6.4713333 44.333333 4.9514286


Contacts:What we learnt is that if you send a mail to most of these company’s you’ll get a timely response, in some cases you’ll get a lot

Company Contact phone Contact email

Petrogrips 814-360-4130 [email protected] 801-404-0280 [email protected] 01924 265222 [email protected] 416.723.2171 [email protected] 1-877-735-3636 [email protected] Rock Candy 330.289.2420 [email protected] [email protected] 208.761.0074 [email protected] 303-748-3338 [email protected] (248) 454-1720 [email protected] 0422 105 510 [email protected] (585) 750-5062 [email protected] [email protected] (541) 382-7585 [email protected] Cup 312.505.2813 [email protected] Ill (618) 420-9388 [email protected] (+64) 3 389 1904 [email protected]









what climbing holds can you buy for $200 (v1.1)

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