One thing has to be said is that Core Climbing do have a website that allows you to see their products pretty damn well, we've added most of the photos from their site to this review so you can see these holds in their glory. What holds? These:
The Limestone Medium Jugs is what they're called, and jugs are most definitely what they are. Now jugs normally are just jugs; they're not particularly hard to shape and most of the time they're a little plain... there are only a few companies that can make a simple shape into something that you really want to grab, Teknik is one of those companies, they don't embellish their holds they're simple shapes that you know you want.... these holds are on the other end of the spectrum, they are a limestone inspired set of holds that have a bunch going for them. They tick all of the boxes for a jug, they're super positive and they're pretty comfy... the kind of thing that you want to use for warm ups and they can go onto any angle... they're jugs.
Where they kind of fall down is their texture... we said that they're comfortable, and they are unless you're really getting a swing on and then the dimples kind of pull on your pads a little whilst you bite down. The only thing about these holds that even relates to limestone is that they look like limestone but they don't really feel like the real thing, this is because Core Climbing has a texture that is very good for training, it's super smooth and in most cases it's very very good! In this case it's a strange mix of yey and hmm. If you're being pretty static with what you're doing them you have no problems, when you start swinging about then you might get a little bit of skin pain. It's a weird thing, because like our first review of Cores shapes their Font Slopers are just sublime, they're some of the best out there, and their Grit holds (review coming later) feels like Grit. These limestone holds are limestoney but without the sharp edges and the bite that limestone normally has; you can think of it as limestone lite :)
Now here's a weird thing we also have their limestone super slopers and if you've ever slapped anything on limestone then these are bloody amazing and feel like the technical "oh I'm going to come off of this" that limestone normally gives you. Maybe their texture in this case relates to larger holds better than smaller holds.
Ah but what can you set with these? Noodles being the evil bugger that he is decided that a super long fingertip to fingertip move (for the shorter climbers that climb here) was the way to go but he may have over done it a little :P Watching people hit and then have to power through a move that they'd normally back away from was good to see... watch the video, especially Eve who has to crank down so hard to get to the hold and then with some special footwork she manages to match and then pull through... and that kind of leads us to a point about the holds... if you have huge hands then matching these holds on steep terrain is super hard and you're going to be hanging on finger tips and trying to slot your other fingers in to be able to move. This isn't a problem for Eve as she has tiny hands and has no problem doing this. Mark set a couple of routes where the holds were used as finger cracks by opposing the juggy parts towards each other, finger locks aren't something you really get to play with on an indoor wall and it just shows that with a little creativity you can make a set of jugs into some interesting routes.Kids will love these holds, the little fossils that are in some of the holds is cool and maybe it'll inspire them to ask about what "that shell thing" is and then you can give them a little lesson on how in real life these things happened....
SUGGESTED USES:
Stick these holds absolutely anywhere, they're jugs :) You can go as steep as you want as often as you want, we went mental with these holds... from mental long moves to cramped undercling moves to some strange crack moves. Go more static than normal with these guys but other than that one fact they're kickass
OVERALL BUILD
- Number of holds: 16
- Type (Bolt / Screw Ons): Bolt On
- Price per hold (set price divided by number of holds): TBC
- Color: Ours are green
- Bolt placement: Centered
- Sanding: OK
- Hollow backed: No
- Soft back (Rubber backed): No
- Texture: Limestone, pretty smooth overall
- Set size: Medium
- Versatility: OK
- Pre-drilled screw holes: Yes
- Shaper: TBC
- Weight:TBC
- Distribution:
- US: TBC
- EU: http://www.coreclimbing.co.uk/
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Colorwise our holds came in what can only be described as neon green, they're pretty damn bright. They're probably some of the brightest holds we've seen to date. On the texture from these holds are limestone lite, Core Climbing holds smooth texture means you can climb for long periods of time with little or no pain, but we don't think that it's the best on these smaller shapes as it translates superbly to the larger holds. The addition of the fossil on one of the holds is a nice touch
WHAT ARE THEY MADE FROM:
Composite resin
PACKING / SHIPPING:
Awesome, holds were vacuum packed onto cardboard and arrives with no problems
RATING:
Noodles:
JUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGS! Every wall needs them, and sometimes you just don't have enough of them; especially if you have steep areas and lots of roofs. These holds are plain good enough for any wall and any angle. The texture is nice enough that you can monkey about all day, there were a few instances where we rotated about on them and we got a little skin pain, admittedly there are only a couple of holds that have this problem... overall there's not much wrong with them.
If you look at the overall construction of the holds they're very well made, from the screw holes to the sanding you can't complain about that, you could complain about the weight... we did really reset them a whole bunch. There wasn't a week that went past where we didn't set something new with them and they're probably not going to be leaving the wall anytime soon.
The super slopers that we also have feel more like limestone like these guys. These are probably some of the nicest jugs out there and we've reviewed a few sets, they're definitely up there
Chris:
These jugs are some creatively shaped jugs. If you want small jugs with some flair to them, then Core limestone jugs are what you want (get them in bright green like ours, they'll really stand out on the wall). Now even with all the bells and whistles, the shapes are ergonomic and comfortable to grab and making them great small roof jugs.
So you've probably heard me rant about European holds and how they pay close attention to detail and Core Climbing is no exception. Lets break it down. The Shape: nice and ergonomic and we set long moves without any chance of tweaking a tendon and they perform great on the roof. Every on of these holds are unique and have its own character, and I especially like the fossil that they've molded into the one shape. The Colour: Holy crap! Someones highlighted my eyeball cause these guys are bright! We like bright and flashy holds at ClimbingHoldReview.com and they are probably the brightest holds we have. Texture: Smooth and nonabrasive. Even though the holds have an amazingly smooth but grippy texture when new, they wear out nicely as well. We have the font set at the boulder wall in the gym and even when they're full of chalk and rubber, the texture remains the same.
I think this set is ideal for someone who is looking to fill up their wall and with 16 holds to the set, it gives you plenty of options to set some sweet warm up routes.
Eve:
Mmmmmmmm.....jugs! Always limiting the local setters in how hard they can make a route, most jugs allow me to push my limits without hurting myself and these are no exception. The nice and smooth texture allows a comfortable friction that is neither slippery or painful! Although I'm not sure that's what they were going for! The whole fossil thing is original and pretty and doesn't really cause any climbing discomfort although it is almost strictly ornamental, they also give variance to the shapes. Core has brought a set of solid holds to warming up on an inside wall. These are also perfect to avoid deterring a new climber from giving up. All and all useful but barely challenging I really like these jugs and will be making sure they stay on the wall in some way.
PROS:
- YADDA
- YADDA
