TSUN

Review > Uncarved Block > Lucky Seven Incuts

When someone says that a hold is "hard to hold on a 45" we'll test that, when a set of holds comes enclosed with a note saying "if you can hold onto these on a 45 then you're strong" you know full well (as should we these days) that someone is issuing a challenge, someone is laying down the gauntlet  and that we're going to try to do it for good or worse.

The holds, ah the holds:

When you read the Uncarved Block website and the brief blurb they have there they offer this advice:
"Lucky 7 Incuts. There is nothing lucky about these subtlety incut holds at all, if you are using them on steep ground and hanging on, it is because your skilled and not lucky, but we needed a name and there is 7 in this set! Built in screw holes to aid in rotation prevention to boot!" and then you watch the video:

And you realize apart from one of the start holds they're not even pulling THEIR OWN HOLDS ON A 45 lol


So what this review is going to boil down to is going to be "can these holds be pulled on a 45?" and "Why aren't the makers of these holds pulling down on these holds on a 45?"



From the get go we knew what we were in for, you just touch these holds... read the note and know that you're in for a rough time on a 45, on a 30 it's plain to see that that's where the positive (if you can call it that) pulling is going to be over. These holds are incut, but not to the degree where hauling on them on steep angles was ever going to be easy! Uncarved Block as we've pointed out time and again make some of the most ergonomic shapes on the market, the only people that beat them is Teknik for finger friendly hard as hell but so nice to grab onto holds. Uncarved Block is the Teknik of the Southern Hemisphere... they both are stand out company's, and now UC has switched to urethane the climbing is so much better; but there is a small contingent of one person here that still loves their resin shapes (and that's funny as I'm writing the review :P) UC has a huge line of holds and there isn't a single line of sharp rip your finger tips off crimps in there, they have crimps but even those holds are nice to grab onto.


Whatever Uncarved Block are doing, they're doing it well... if you need further proof read some of our other reviews:

• Large Edges: here
• Blades, bolt on AND screw on: here
• Mickey Finns: here
• 30 degree set: here

I don't think the word sharp is even used in any of those reviews (Some of the reviews need to be reformatted btw, sorry about that).

So the Lucky Seven Incuts.
Incut: check
Seven: there are seven holds here
Lucky: ah that's the point is it not? You have to be lucky to hold these holds on anything over a 30 degree wall or you have mad core strength and fingers of steel... we tried, oh we tried and most of the footage hit the floor. BUT I was feeling a little bit spicy from writing this review so I decided to give it that one last go,  I decided to limit the route to something not completely mental and to not throw myself at it for hours at a time... so just 30 minutes of trying to unlock a very simple sequence on our 45... thankfully it's pulled first attempt... so the holds can be climbed on a 45 but the "oww" from me says it all, they're bloody hard

VIDEO
 SUGGESTED USES:








Fred came over and saw these, even without climbing on them he stated that they'd be great holds to use on volumes in a comp setting. That's some pretty high praise from our sponsored routesetter (he's asked to borrow them for an upcoming comp already)


So first impressions do make an impression, we'd agree, without the note saying that they would be hard on a steep wall we could see that without even bolting them up, how hard was the question... bloody hard is the answer. We'd also agree with Fred, these holds (much like the rails and the Mickey Finns) would make great competition holds but they'd also make a nice addition to anyone with shallow walls because they're small but on a shallow angle positive enough to allow most people to grab them. If your commercial gym has a wall where you top out then these holds would be perfect up there, likewise for any gym with a slab. Don't put them anywhere near a wall that's over 45 unless you're super mentally strong or they're being used as footholds!

OVERALL BUILD

• Number of holds: 7
• Type (Bolt / Screw Ons): Bolt
• Price per hold (set price divided by number of holds):
• Color: Ours are orange and blue
• Bolt placement: Middle
• Sanding: Good
• Hollow backed: No
• Soft back (Rubber backed): No
• Texture: Skin friendly
• Set size: Small / Medium
• Versatility: Limited
• Pre-drilled screw holes:
• Shaper: TBC
• Weight: 0.80kg

Every time we see new Uncarved Block holds it brings a smile to our faces. We know that we'll have to stretch to find something to pick on; in this case it's one minor detail that we'll come to.

When you get these holds the texture is just superb, grippy but not madly so, it gives you confidence in your hand placement without having to brush the route after each attempt; chalk also comes off easily when you do need to clean them a little. For us finding them on the wall isn't a problem as the colors that they came in (blue/orange backed) shows up well against what is sometimes a wall of blue holds.

The shaping is great, the holds are friendly to grab and fit well into a fairly natural position when you clamp down, even the inset logo is nicely placed so that it doesn't end up under your thumb when you're pinching down, even if the logo is under your thumb it's flush to the gripping surface and isn't a problem. These holds are also small, so they don't clutter up your wall and all of the holds have a nice pre-drilled set screw hole to stop them from spinning (these holds are pretty hard to spin)

So wheres the problem? Aha! The sanding on two of the holds isn't quite perfect, there is a small lip that if you were so inclined you could use of a little bit of extra purchase. Too be honest it's a minor point and if you're using this edge then chances are you're working hard and need it :)

All of the holds have well placed and square bolt holes and they take a normal bolt as they're nice and well sunk into the hold so there's no chance of catching anything... the holes are so well placed and drilled that when you use a normal bolt it also eliminates the hole as a sneaky cheat!

WHAT ARE THEY MADE FROM:
Urethane

PACKING / SHIPPING:
Great

RATING:
Noodles:
Every time I write about Uncarved Block two things spring to mind. Men at Work and VB oh and nice shapes... yeah yeah that's three things, whose counting?

I love a good challenge, and I love a good hold; I think that both have been well documented by now :D When these holds arrived with the challenge I figured that we'd take it up... hell, we'd crush it and laugh. How wrong was I? Pretty damn, ass kicked... kind of...................................

Uncarved Block keep upping their game they put out lots of holds and thus far they've not deviated from ergonomic shapes, friendly holds or a fair price (apart from one of the pockets on the 30 degree set that I think should be destroyed and kind of refuse to put on the wall anymore, not because it's not friendly, but because it's so friendly I want to do stupid things with it and then end up hurting myself; plus if I'm training I'd rather not play with pockets) What more could you want from a company? Hell their website seems to know that I'm from Canada and helpfully changes all of their prices to Canadian dollars and i'm not even logged in; how helpful is that??

Would I suggest people buy these holds is what these comments basically boils down to? Yes, they're small non wall cluttering holds that are great to 30 degrees. They'll test you and your skill if you want to push yourself and you'll have fun doing trying whatever you set, as per usual I'd like there to be more of these holds... can you imagine the Lucky Seven Slopers? I can envision the note that will come with that set " you'll never even hold onto these" and again I'd take up the challenge... when are they arriving? I'll chill some VB :D

Chris:
I tired the 45 route (thank god the footage got thrown away) because it was a session of ass, mat, ass, met and repeat. It wasn't fun, maybe we set too hard, maybe we weren't strong... maybe maybe maybe.
On the 30 all of the routes that i've climbed have been pleasant, super fun to climb and more importantly as I don't have time to climb so much any more.. finger friendly. Even on hard routes on the 30 when I have to reach I've always been able to clamp down

How Jeremy pulled those few moves on the 45 is pretty good, he didn't even use the side wall (read: cheating) sure he only pulled a few moves but a few moves was enough, non of the holds were huge the biggest one is the last one of the set. I'll be trying that this weekend that's for sure.

So small, well made, finger friendly holds... enough said right?

PROS:

• YADDA

CONS:

• YADDA

True North Log

Review > Teknik Handholds > NRK1 & Talons

In this review you`re probably going to see a few words like ``pure``, ``simple``; you`re probably also going to see a number of shorter more offensive words as well... because the holds we`re looking at this time will probably cause you to drop the odd F Bomb.

Let`s see the holds and lets talk about what we did:

Teknik Handholds: NKR1

Teknik Handholds: Talons

Firstly we need to explain the videos, as the Talons and the NKR1 are just three holds we wanted to set problems with just them and some foot holds, nothing else, as the holds are so clean looking we wanted to make simple pure problems. But three holds isn`t a lot, so we made a thing we call the TMP or Three Move Problem! Now lets face it, a three move problem isn`t going to really stress you out when you`re climbing... or is it?? There's one thing we didn't really take into account, that was a) the holds themselves and b) the angle of what we were climbing on... and here begins a tale of semi-epic proportions.

Ever since the Talons were set on a finals problem at The Spot a few years back, Jeremy was wanted to have a set... the NKR1, well since climbing on the original version of this hold we all kind of wanted to have it on the wall. Unfortunately the NKR1 went out of production for a while, and then it came back... tweaked and ready to kick some ass. As soon as Teknik brought this back the discussion started up again about grabbing the holds. Thankfully Jeremy's birthday was around the corner and he decided to gift himself some toys. Those toys were the NKR1, Talons, Half Fat Slopers and the Hard Mathematics. Money well spent he thought.... and then a email from Zoe over at Teknik HQ, the molds had to be remade so the holds were going to be late (Great customer service!) So the wait was extended a little, but in way of compensation she sent us a bucket of chalk stating "with what you brought you're going to want this!"

The holds arrived... oh what a day :)

They sat in their bags for about 5 seconds before they were being fondled by the crew. One thing that came out of the initial contact with the holds was this: "The Talons are bigger than I thought!" it's true the Talons are a couple of big old holds, and the NRK1 wasn't far behind them that was for sure :)

As soon as they were out of the bags, bolts were found and routes were set. In the videos you'll see the two initial routes that we played around on (there have been many more) and you're going to hear some beeping where we've taken out the language that was being thrown around the wall when we climbed... there was some contention on the first route, and well the second route... that one kind of speaks for itself.

So Route One:

Someone (Jeremy) had the bright idea of pulling from the floor on one of the Talons on a 30 degree wall, to top it off you then had to hit and match the second Talon and then move up to the NRK1. Jeremy set the first move and left the rest up to Bobby and Mark. What turned up was a pretty hard three move problem that had a few arguments attached to it! The argument was that Jeremy was able to pull off of the ground using a foothold and by smearing his other foot just underneath it and then basically pull / hop off of the floor, kick his smearing foot up and get to the next move.... everyone else was kind of stumped for a bit. Therefore he must be cheating because he was able to do the move, it even came down to Mark laying on the floor watching Jeremy's feet to make sure he wasn't cheating!

Needless to say once you have the moves it's easier than it looks. Jacky once he saw someone climb it got it on the second go and Chris managed to work out the moves within three attempts.

Route Two:
If you were to coin a phrase for this route it'd come from Monty Python... "And now for something completely different" :) Pull off of the NRK1 on a flat wall (use a back step) and then go and hit the not positively incut Talon on the 45 degree wall which is upside down and then move out to the final Talon on the 30 degree wall. Did someone say wedge yourself in the corner backwards and then try to move UNDER the Talon to be able to get to the final hold? Lets face it, pulling off the the NKR1 is hard enough already, hitting a Talon on a 45 even when it is set nicely is brutal and then matching from an awkward angle was the easiest it of it. We didn't film too much on this route, the main session was Mark and Jeremy just playing around one night.

Oh this route is a $5 and a hug route, whoever gets it first gets $5 and a hug from everyone else :)

So what do we think of the holds? These holds are more competition holds than anything else, but even thou the Talons have only been out for a short time both sets fall into the classic holds category from the get-go. Teknik always have nice shapes, they`re always friendly to hold onto and they will always put a smile upon whoever is climbing the routes face, ok that`s a lie, once the person has been brutally spat off of the wall a million times and then manages to get the route done they`ll have a smile on their face

The reason Jeremy grabbed these holds is because when you see them in a competition setting you know it`s going to be hard. Most of the climbers here climb in the Tour De Bloc on and off and at some point we know that these holds will turn up so it`s better to be armed with what you`re up against than to not kind of a ``know your enemy`` kind of deal :D Plus lets face it, why would you not want these holds, the only factor that we can think of is space, maybe your wall is too small to really have any fun with these holds; well what we suggest is you strip the wall get these holds and make a Three Move Problem out of them, you`ll not be sorry and you`ll know your enemy and that enemy is some serious sloper pinchy fun


SUGGESTED USES:










We would say ``hey put these on a 60 degree wall`` but you`d just end up on the floor looking up at the holds. The Teknik site actually suggests that the NRK1 is best used on vertical to slightly overhanging walls and we`d agree, this hold is hard on vertical and brutal on anything over a 15 degree wall (although we did have some fun on the 30 degree) and the Talons well they`re in different league of their own, you can get these guys on some steep stuff and the roof if you`re REALLY strong, like REALLY REALLY strong but on a 45 they`re a bunch of fun. If you have a big enough 45 degree wall then the moves and problems you can set with just these three holds are going to range from hard to really hard, the holds even though you know where exactly to grab them will always surprise you... a slight turn one way or another makes your problems harder.

OVERALL BUILD

• Number of holds: Talons are a two hold set the NRK1 is a single hold
• Type (Bolt / Screw Ons): Bolt
• Price per hold (set price divided by number of holds):
• Talons: $90/2 = $45 per hold
• NRK1:  $60
• Color: Our NRK1 is a awesome deep purple and the Talons are green
• Bolt placement: Good
• Sanding: Perfect
• Hollow backed: Yes
• Soft back (Rubber backed): No
• Texture: Classic Teknik, just enough for long sessions
• Set size: These are XL
• Versatility: Great
• Pre-drilled screw holes: No, and they really want them
• Shaper: Seth
• Weight: TBC

Teknik Handholds: Talons

TALONS: What the Teknik site says about the Talons: "A deadly cool pair of slopers/pinches. Each has a subtle incut along one side of the pinch claw feature, the other side is slopey. Turn them vertically for long tufa like features crowned by a sick sloper." For once that description is bang on!! To say that the incut is subtle is so correct, you have to be in the right position on these holds or you're heading to the mats very quickly

These holds are hollow backed and at first glance you think that they're opposites of each other, but they're not, they are slightly different from each other with one hold being slightly more incut than the other and we mean slightly more incut. The shaping as per usual with Teknik is sublime, these holds have been on some many finals problems since they first came out it's not even funny. If you look at the finer details of the holds the bolt placement is good and square, the sanding is awesome and the texture allow you to grab all day long, well until your pinch strength gives up. You do need to find that fine line of how much chalk is enough (case in point watch Jeremy when he completes the first route where he chalks one hand) and you will find that they do suck chalk up... so then you brush them and then realize you need more chalk on them again :) It's a funny little circle of brush, chalk, brush, chalk with these guys.

Teknik Handholds: NKR1

NKR1: "This is Nels Kristoff Rosaasen's pro-model hold. It has been a fixture at many comp finals since 2003 filtering out the best of the best climbers over and over again." Again another succinct description of this hold, it will spit off the best climbers in the World who don't take it seriously.

This hold has a really well made hollow back that makes it much lighter than you'd at first think but doesn't compromise it's strength at all. We know this hold from various gyms and as it's been climbed on a lot every time the texture has been ragged to all hell... this time it's new and you can find the good spots pretty easily and the texture is just enough to let you pull, but if you pull in the wrong direction then again it's a trip to mat land :)

Again the shaping is great, even with the slightly sharp lip (which you'll never notice) anyone can haul on this hold all day without wearing out their skin. The bolt hole is again placed well and is square, the sanding is perfect and the color is a really nice purple

BOTH HOLDS OVERALL: The one downside of these holds for home climbers is their size, some peoples walls may just be a little too small to really be able to get the best out of these holds. One other point (and we'll agree to disagree with Zoe here, because we know she'll send us a email about this next comment) is set screw holes. These holds, especially the Talons, need set screw holes to be pre drilled and when we say pre drilled we mean when the customer gets the holds there should be a screw hole in the hold. Teknik have a bomb proof mix and they say you can put a screw anywhere you want because their material will take it, and it will, but we'd still like to see these little details to be included. Yes we pre drilled our screw holes, we always do because no matter how strong a material is we don't like cracking holds, we'd rather be safe than sorry :)


WHAT ARE THEY MADE FROM:
Super strong urethane

PACKING / SHIPPING:
Great, the box was bigger than it needed to be. All of the sets we ordered we bagged separately and no damage / scuff were present

RATING:
Noodles: Which name am I going under today? Noodles for Jeremy? So I Jeranoodle brought these holds and a bunch of others. Why you may ask! Because I've wanted the NKR1 since I saw it and the Talons, well I just wanted the Talons because they look awesome. Was it money well spent? Yes it was. I have a running list of holds that I want to get from Teknik and if you like you can read between the lines of that comments and if you do you'll find that that list is everything on their website. Slowly but surely I'm getting there, as a self confessed hold whore there are holds that to me should be coveted. Lets run through some of that list:

• The Boss: because it's the Boss!
• NKR1: because it's evil
• Some Etch holds... (their website is down again): UFO and the Egg
• The NKR1: it is that good

The list does go on and on, I have an excel file of stuff to buy so we can review it and that list gets longer and longer every month.

So the NKR1, I was once spat off of this hold on a comp problem, I was also thrown to the ground by this hold at the gym when it was the starting hold on a route. Never again, I am going to master every which way you can hold this hold so I will be triumphant. It's a subtle beast this one, one minute its smiling at you the next it's punching you in the face and laughing at you... base line is it's hard to master this hold, subtle movement is key and rock solid body tension is what you need to be able to play. It's a bastard of a hold but in a good way. One thing I'd like to see is the NKR2, the same hold but the opposite can you imagine trying to hold onto two of these things at the same time on an arete or a steep wall? It's be wicked

The Talons, I did actually think these holds were opposites, but they're not, they're slightly different from each other and thank god for that! If they were both the harder one of grab then they'd be so hard to use, but as they are they're just hard to use rather than so hard. And it is hard in a good way, again it's the subtle body placement and grip that allows you use these holds... crank the angle and work your pinch strength because that's what they really work out. Double heel hooks on these on a steep angle is fun and just playing with movement on these holds is one of those things that  enjoy about climbing and especially about climbing on Teknik's holds, it is always a pleasure and never a chore

Final note: I agree with the group consensus about having pre drilled set screw holes included on these holds, I spun the starting Talon on the first route twice and that hold was bolted to the wall as tight as a wrench could make it.

Chris:
I only climbed the first route, and I have to admit that it took me longer than I wanted to pull the first move... once off of the floor the rest of the problem was simple and just a matter of putting yourself into the correct position to be able to hang on.

I've run across the NRK1 at the gym numerous times and as it's an old version (old material) the texture has gone completely and it's like glass making it super hard to pull on. We showed Fred the new NKR1 (he's the head setter at our local gym) and it's not going to be long before he orders up a new one. To say that people like the NKR1 is an understatement, Jody Miall has an original MINT NRK1 that he only uses a couple of times a year for competitions... after that it goes back into it's hiding place and the setters at his gym know to never touch it under pain of death; yup people take that hold pretty damn seriously!

The Talons, man those guys are big, I didn't think that they were actually that long. You can probably put six hands onto the pinching area of these guys and still have room left over for some sloping action. Once I finished the first route Noodles and I played about with these guys, changed the angles on them, put them upside down, tried hanging on the slopers and generally seeing what you can do. The down low for me is this: If you're on an angled wall it's pinch time, if you're on a flat wall you can use the slopers. These holds are more technical than I expected and will make you think and work your hand placements... I love em.

Mark R: The first route kicked my ass pure and simple, the second route I was getting and then I just ran out of steam. What kind of gets my goat is that I'm away for the next two weeks and I know that the second route isn't going to be there when I get back, I will have to reset it when I return and see if Jeremy will post another video.

It's hard for me to judge these holds because I'm new to climbing, I went to my first competition a few weeks ago and when these boys are playing nice the routes for me are still hard. I'm getting there slowly but surely, I liked the pinchy holds more than the purple one as I could grab them and could just about hang on. Mind you the purple one on the second route I did manage to get off of the floor it's all about leverage

Martin: Really cool holds. The texture was just grippy enough. It really depends on which angle you set the route on. The force you need to pinch them exponentially increase with each degree the wall gets steeper! You can also set them without the pinching option and ask for the climber a really good body tension mastery.

We would have appreciated a pre-drilled set screw as it was obvious these big 1 bolt holds would spin. They do make a classic 2 or 3 holds bouldering PROBLEM for a comp, as the problem is really figuring out a way to maximize each chance you grab it to find THE sweet spot, because yeah, there's always a spot better the the others and by 1 or 2 inches you can miss it pretty easily

Mark D: These holds were really nice, granted the large purple (NKR1) is just a size up from its former self, it still has the nice texture and style of its former self, just bigger and better. The two grade A pinching sloping green holds had the same quality to their make, with plently of possibilities of how to place them on the wall. You could put them vertical to horizontal to upside down and depending on which angle you were using them on they can always be a riot. Friendly texture, not too much bend or give considering their sizable length and girth.

The only thing as already noted is their lack of a set screw hold, which they really needed as soon as you put any weight on them. We tried once without and then right away pulled out the drill and put some holes in since it was quite simply impossible not to turn these.

They feel great though, and were a pleasure to use, able to pull out great hand to heel moves or just swing around on. I wouldn't go and rate these holds as beginner holds unless you put them on a slab, but I don't think beginners were in their intentions when they built these. These are classic holds that every gym should have, they look good, feel good and have plenty of potential for any gym or cave.

Dustin Curtis: So the NKR1 and the Talons. I should start by saying that I've always been a fan of Teknik. They came on the scene about 12 years ago, more correctly exploding on to the scene with fat pinches. Lots and lots and lots of fat pinches. Yes yes, I know, there were some edges and maybe a couple of crimps but I'm sure that everyone remembers the PCAs and Tour De Bloc finals consisting solely of those white and one colored fat pinches. They've come a long way since those days and the NKR1 is probably the most recognizable of their entire line. Although this isn't the original, the original was a little bigger and far less positive, this is still one of the coolest holds in their line up. Nothing says "I love you" more to competitors than a big sloping rail. Granted there are a couple of wraps, and I have seen Tonde do some pretty amazing things at the world cups with the NKR1 but when you boil it down, thing is just one evil.

We've had these holds from the day one of the gym, and I can't keep my setters grubby mits off of them. The Talons, the NKR1, they're calssic holds from a classic hold company. These things come off one wall and before I've changed the battery in my drill, I turn around and the monkeys have the things back on the wall. The talons a find work best together, although good seprately, the blocs that I t'hink turn out the best usually include both of them, close to each other, usually involving some sort of stemming knee drop shanannigan or the ever classic double clutch dyno.

One thing I will warn to all those wrench warriors out there that are eager to get their mits on these holds, all three these holds are the biggest spinners you will ever curse night and day. As soon as they get out of the packing, get your drill and add a set screw hole otherwise you will be cursing these holds everytime some big oaf puts his hoof down on these holds.

Aside from that, these holds are sick. The texture is that super friendly, low friction texture that has become the staple of Teknik's line, making these holds hard, but letting you climb on them for hours without trashing your tips. I have to give it up to Teknik, still makin dope, simple shapes that are a staple for gyms. If you're the head route setter of any gym, anywhere, and you don't have these holds, what are you doing?

PROS:

• Awesome comp holds
• Amazing quality, with great hollow backs
• The texture won't destroy your skin

CONS:

• No set screw holes
• Maybe a little big for some peoples walls

flatholdlogo