So since we've been away for a while! Noodles has been injured and without the head the body cannot function; we're back now and for our first review we're looking at what we've been doing whilst he heals a little more
What could we have planned? Well it's a little impromptu that's for sure because we were planning on doing a hold review... but as Gui and Noodles brought themselves some new toys this week we're going head to head on two things; impactors, yes impactors!!
We're looking at two, the new Dewalt 20v and the Makita 12v:
Phew, if you didn't read my last post about my ankle you should go and read it: here. It's a heart warming tale of woe with a pinch of pity from myself thrown in for good measure :)
Now you've read that last post read this one... it's part review and update on what's going on with my ankle and one of the reasons reviews are taking so long to get posted.
The last time I wrote about my ankle I was on the brink of getting a MRI. So in early Feb I wandered down to the hospital for something that I thought would be an intrusive procedure ended up being a very quick 20 minute procedure where the scan went well. Results were quick coming and I headed on back to see the doctor again. She basically said that it was swollen and she couldn't see anything :) (Yey technology and huge magnets) So that was useful I guess... and she request I go get a CT scan. Basically another waiting procedure for a few months.... so what's been happening since then?
The fine people at Active Ankle sent me a couple of braces to try. They sent two the T2 and the EZ Lacer; one of them is a solid type of brace and the other one is a sock that laces up... and lets get to the nitty gritty on this. At this point I was still climbing a little and trying to keep up my training; between that and going to physio a few times a week I was on a good track; managing my injury pretty well and feeling OK. Because of the injury I was being very careful with what I climbed, I didn't drop to the mats at all. That was until these braces turned up...
Active Ankle: T2
Sitting on the couch without climbing shoes both of the braces are nice and comfortable, the T2 being the easier and quicker one to get on and off, the EZ lace being something very close to taping your ankle. (Look up taping a sprained ankle... you'll need a few trys to get it right and a whole bunch of tape) Trying both of them side by side it seemed that the T2 felt less secure than the EZ Lace mainly because the EZ Lace is a full on sock that you can lace up as tight as you want.
Active Ankle: EZ Lace
Lets face it the opening on a pair of climbing shoes is waaaay smaller than a pair of running shoes! What's interesting (and why the kind folks at Active Ankle sent me this stuff to review in the first place) is that the EZ lace isn't great in climbing shoes, sure if you're wearing boots to climb a mountiain or to go on a hike the EZ is awesome but it bunches up in climbing shoes and gets in the way... it was kind of a shame because it was the one I was kind of rooting for in all of this mainly because MC Dion had showed me how to tape my ankle properly; The T2 is the bomb in climbing shoes, as it just fits under your heal and is an easy on - off it means you can climb and then when you take off your shoes you can lose the brace for a little bit. Sitting on the couch is all fine and well, but you know us and therefore you know me and despite a few complaints from MC I started climbing a little now and then.
Both braces performed exceptionally well with the T2 being the one I'd actually opt for when climbing. It gives a level of support that I was totally surprised by and allows you to actively use your ankle despite your injury.
So if you have a tendency to roll your ankles, have weak ankles etc then the T2, the T1 or maybe the Volt will actually give you some of the support that you need (I kind of want a Volt so I can compare the T2 against it in a full on review) The only downside of the brace apart from the below is you do end up a little sweatier where the pads support your ankle.
Climbing in a brace is a very strange and yet interesting process. Where I climb people know that I'd injured myself and that I wasn't climbing, for them to see me back on the wall bumbling around, well it seemed like all was well and I was back again. I spent a lot of time pulling up my pant leg and showing them the brace, talking them through it and then explaining that "I wasn't back" I was just trying to keep a base level of climbing fitness so when it was better I wouldn't be back at ground zero and finding a very hard to get back to where I was :) It's also of note that when I was setting there would be corresponding routes close to each other (one harder than the other) that had opposing moves!! People at the gym didn't notice, but what I did was where there was going to be a crux move I'd have a different route that had a handily placed jug in the right place so I always had a "get out" just in case. Why a get out? Despite being able to climb with a brace, and I'll talk about that later, I wasn't really to take any huge falls or impacts on my ankle, mainly because after getting my Tib / Fib back into place (it apparently was slightly out of place) we really didn't want to see any impacts!!
Now any impacts is an interesting thought right? Walking impacts your ankle and of course your body, running, cycling, hell anything that involves your feet is engaging your ankle in some way and here's the catch 22 of any ankle injury. You kind of need to stay off of it, like a lot, let the swelling get down and take care of it; I'm not that kind of person, I was walking on this less than a week after it happened and I climbed on and off without the brace and then always with the brace since. Here's the catch, with an injury like this using it makes it swell, icing it or contrast baths can help the swelling so it's not so bad... I walk to work, sure I work at a desk for Ubisoft but I walk to work, I also ride my bike a bunch so my ankle was never NOT swollen. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Who knows, maybe there will be a study, it wasn't hurting too much so I was doing ok... hell we even got some reviews out there for a second :)
Brace on for water frisbee
Let me get back to climbing in a brace, The EZ Lace, despite being brilliant for a running shoe wasn't my choice for climbing (although it is in my bag and I use it for other activity's), the T2 was (and will always be it seems)... Putting the T2 on is simple, getting your climbing shoe on is simple and then climbing. Climbing is a different matter, to climb something where it's very face on (toes on the wall, no back steps etc) is easy, you don't even notice the brace being there, nothing, nadda... it's when you get into heel hooks and having to torque your toe in pockets that you begin to notice it. Hooking a heel, we all do it, roll over on your toe and crank on up; with the T2 it's a little different to begin with. You don't have all of your range of motion (the brace is there to stop the twist in the ankle) but it also actually limits your movement when doing this move a little, you can't quite roll over your foot as you would normally do. Its the same when you're say back stepping your toe into a pocket, once your foot is there then you're kinda fine, to get there when your ankle is less flexible is tricky but again once you get there you're ok, you need to learn that one of your ankles is a little bit thicker than it was before. What I'm saying is that you need to adapt your climbing style to not work around the brace but to encompass it. You need to adapt on the side that was injured (or still is) and work from there; I've had many CHR people see me climb when I first started with the brace see that I was really favoring my right ankle and powering through moves and making unneeded foot changes (making life harder). BAD BAD BAD!! A little brain power and you can get over this kind of thing, I wanted to work the bad ankle so favoring the good one was just a bad idea.
So a few months pass, my T2 is in my bag at all times. Setting, climbing, skydiving... it's always there, if I'm doing anything that could impact my ankle or twist it it is ALWAYS there. It's like an American Express Card, "Don't leave home without it"
And then... isn't there always a "And then"
Something happened.
I was doing the reset for two days and after my ankle started playing up. Not bad bad, but bad enough... after the event I realized that two days on a ladder was a heavy load; what's worse is that I didn't wear my brace. Something went wrong, after we finished Sunday my ankle was miserable, just pain and not fun at all; this is April time. I'm booked for my CT scan so I take it really easy, don't do anything before I head to the hospital. We have the CT scan and I wait for the next appointment with my Doc.. it's a long time, it's a long wait, this is the point where we see what's really up with my ankle, I sit back and chill for a bit... but I don't really chill do I?
During this time Gui has hooked up with L'Ecurie, it's a local gym that trains people... HA! My trainer is seeing a trainer and when he tells me about it I see that he's become beast on the wall I go to see them and talk through my problems, I tell them that since setting without the brace I've stopped climbing as it hurts and that I'd like to you-know, sort myself out and train but not on the wall for a while, something that will help the ankle a little and keep me in shape without impacting it.
Phew, I never managed to get through one of their programs. This isn't through not trying, they will push you to your max and keep you going. The main aim was low impact exercise on the ankle to get it stronger and to sort out my posture from 26 years of climbing (I have ape shoulders)... it was going well, I was putting time in, working hard, standing straighter... feeling good and then... and then my ankle said no, it wasn't a warning shot across the bows it was a NO. I had to drop some painkillers (which I hate) to even walk, it was so on and off again that I'd even have Chris offer to carry me home because of the look on my face (yeah it was that bad) So that stopped my training at L'Ecurie (BTW: they are the most amazing guys and they really give a shit about what you want to achieve, the only place I've ever really felt like that (in a professional training sense) is when Gui trains me and with my family at Shakti. I cannot say enough good about them, they keep an eye on you, correct you when you're doing something wrong and will work step by step with you to your goals... I'll be back there soon))
I fucked up, the setting and the load on my ankle was too much for it and despite physio we were seeing no progress... and then MC left McGill to be the trainer for the Canadian Hugging Team (Judo (and yeah she is that good!!)) so with holidays and weddings and stuff at McGill I was kind of stuck on my own for a while... no physio and no L'Ecurie... me my brace and no climbing; dark times!!
So where are we at right now? Good question, I'm not climbing. That's where were at and it's heart breaking to say, I miss it, but I still set so others can enjoy my work (brace on of course); I'm riding a bunch but I'm not training at L'Ecurie... but here's the good news, I'm getting surgery in Sept or Oct of this year!! My ankle is going to get cleaned up and fixed and after some physio I should be back on the wall again. Yep, I actually thought about selling my pads and hanging up my spurs and getting back on a rope! I've talked to people about this, I've seriously considered shutting down this site and just not doing what I'm passionate about. Walking away and just not climbing anymore... but now there is hope, with surgery and my brace I should be able to climb and with a little adaption hopefully I should be climbing fit again a year after I hurt myself... but I guess that's another post :)
Now let me get back to the braces... they're kind of the reason why I've been able to climb whilst being injured! If I'm honest the EZ Lace doesn't really work for me, everything it does the T2 does. IF you have an injury that really needs taping then it's the one to go for (just get some different shoes (remember to wear it when trying them on!!)) the T2 is a god send, it fits in your climbing shoe and although you have to learn to adapt to climbing with it on it gives you the confidence to do what you want. Hell I was taking 15 footers off of the wall into the pads not worrying about twisting my ankle and making my injury worse, yes I know I shouldn't have done that but sometimes you've just go to, y'know :P
I'd like to thank Leah Blakemore from Active Ankle for even reading my email and sending me some braces to try out, of course I'd not have known about the braces if it wasn't for MC Dion my athletic trainer from McGill Sports for taking me to the girls volley ball game (want to stand out, be a guy at a girls volley ball game) and showing me that they were using them and doing just fine. I'd also like to thank you guys the readers for reading about why we're slower on reviews etc and for keeping up with us. We're, hell I own the place, I'm sorry for whats happened and for not being able to review holds, I'm coming back and when I do I'm going to be smarter and stronger than before.. I'll just be wearing my Active Ankle T2 brace and i'll kick all your ass'
Again I'm going to point out that this is my experience and that Active Ankle kindly (thank god) sent me some stuff to review. This whole piece is about my injury and what I have learnt through it, with and without a brace.Please listen to your Doctor or sports professional before you do what I did, I listened to them and then started climbing harder than I should of before I should have; I am a dumbass, a climbing dumbass, please take a professionals advice because in all honesty I did re-injure myself; standing on a ladder for hours at a time, my fault for not wearing my brace.. my bad, I'll hold my hands up and say so. This is just what I have learnt. Without the Active Ankle T2 i'd have not been on the wall whilst injured doing what I love - climb, I'd have gone crazy and would have probably have gone insane, it saved my sanity and if I'd have been wiser I'd have worn it when setting and would have been on a much better track than now, I'd still have surgery but I'd still be climbing and reviewing
Here's a question... what do John
Long, Royal Robbins, Jim Bridwell, Lynn Hill, Daniel Woods, Dave
Graham, Josh Wharton and Alex Johnson all have in common, other than
being super famous climbers? Read on and all will (hopefully be
revealed)...
A
while back Noodles was schmoozing around the interwebs looking for some
climbing news and he stumbled upon a link to Climb Talk Radio on
youtube.com. What he found was an interview with Ian Powell, you know
Ian Powell; the guy who was in Rock & Ice a while back, you know
the guy who started E-Grips and has just started a new company called
Kilter.
What
was super interesting was his interview took place with Clark Shelk,
you know the guy who owns Pusher and Revolution; you know the guy who
pretty much invented the modern crash pad as you know it!!
So
Ian and Clark on the radio, they're both known to be a little wild and
will drop an f-bomb or two sitting infront of a camera being
interviewed... how awesome was it? Pretty damn, here's a weee taster :)
Now,
we contacted Climb Talk to interview them (an interesting turn of
tables for them we're sure) and Dave McAllister was happy enough to drop
us a reply to what we wanted to know... enjoy!!
1) Name and job?
Dave McAllister,
Co-host ClimbTalk and freelance writer and day-time blue collar dude
2) We stumbled
upon Climb Talk Radio... how long has it been going?
I wasn't around
for it's inception, but I think we're at about five and a half years now.
3) Tell us a little about how this all started, obviously being in Boulder
helps a bunch :)
Mike Brooks, a
pretty legendary Boulder climber (he has his own page in the Eldo guidebook for
his hundreds of bold first ascents, many free solo), kicked off the show over a
half decade ago, after compiling a ton of audio interviews and doing a brief
stint on Boulder community television with another co-host. He's addicted
to climbing media, just churns it out like a fiend. I have no idea what
drives him to never miss a show, never miss an event. Anyway, he burned
through a couple co-hosts, the tv show went under and he did a demo for the
radio station, and a bit over three years ago he asked me on the show for an
interview about my climbing overseas. We'd known each other for years,
and initially I ended up dropping by the shows to record, transcribe and post
the suckers on my website. Eventually I wound up behind the mic.
4) Boulder is full of climbers, how hard is it to get people to come and be on
the show?
Obviously
getting people like Clark on isn't hard, he probably didn't know where he was
:)
Clark may not
have known where he was, but that dude is as sharp as a filed tack. He
can definitely drop some industry knowledge that will put your head
spinning.
But, getting guests isn't all that easy, even considering our location.
Back when we were on twice a month, it was way easier with a two week prep
time. Now that we're on every Friday night, it's a stretch.
Although this country is full of amazing climbers and business folks and
writers and photographers, they aren't the easiest people to wrangle in for an
interview on a college radio station, despite the fact we have an iTunes feed
and all of our shows are archived either there or on archive.org.
And it's the only streaming live climbing talk show...ever, I think. But,
people are busy, they're traveling or training or 17 pitches up a project in
the Valley. It's tough to put it all together on a weekly basis,
especially when Mike and I have full-time jobs away from the show.
I think the crux of the issue is that Mike and I aren't the most promotion
savvy guys. We don't post a bunch of media all over the internet, we
don't hunt for sponsors, we don't make fliers and tee shirts and
stickers. All of this, probably, to our own detriment. Without that
kind of push in today's podcast world, you're going to be cast by the wayside a
bit, even though we've had the world's best climbers on numerous times, from
interviews with John Long and Royal Robbins and Jim Bridwell and Lynn Hill to
Daniel Woods and Dave Graham and Josh Wharton and Alex Johnson. We've had
most of the film guys and a ton of writers, heads of companies, Access Fund
guys and gals and a lot of regular folks who bleed and sweat climbing.
But, again, mostly because we don't have time but also because we could give a
shit about advertising ourselves, we haven't really cultivated the national
audience that a lot of these interviews deserve, especially since they are
live, unedited, and unscripted in any way. I reckon if we did a better
job promoting the show and getting it out into the national consciousness, our
booking would become less of a crux...
In the end, though, it's a climbing talk show, and even the most random
climbers have stories stacked in the back of their brains that would make the
average non-climber go pale and shit himself. When the clock is ticking
to the eleventh hour and we don't have a guest, we could always pull some hippy
climber out of the Boulder ped mall and ask him his opinion on the banning of
marijuana on the World Cup circuit. Bam. Hour filled.
5) The format of the show is pretty loose and fancy free, is that on purpose or
does it depend upon the guests that are on that evening?
That's actually
a pretty good question. I can't speak for Mike, but I prepare pretty
relentlessly for every show, which makes me seem a bit of a cyber stalker to
some of our guests. In other words, I bring pre-written questions to the
table. However, this isn't Charlie Rose in his dark room with note cards
and a guest uncomfortably fidgeting on the other side of a ginormous round
table. This is a show that happens in a basement studio in a college town
with two climbing dudes manning a pirate ship, of sorts. We don't try to
steer the conversation through a predetermined outline. Really, if it
comes off as NOT an interview, we've done our job. Speaking for myself
again, I don't want to interview people, per se. I want to have a
conversation. We spend time with every guest before the show in the
"lounge," bullshitting and sussing out what lights them up. We
talk to them on the phone or via email before the show. I've interviewed
some of the guests in freelance gigs, so we already have a relationship.
So, hopefully, by the time the red light pops in the studio, we're comfortable
and ready to just go into cruise control. The best interviews are when I
get to about 20% of my questions because we're falling down tangential rabbit
holes.
Every time Arno Ilgner is on I don't even know what to do with myself.
His philosophies on climbing and mental preparedness fascinate me so much that
I lose my mind in the interview and just lean into him with personal questions
about where in the hell he cobbled all of this together. I mean, would
you rather hear Arno talking about how to fall correctly or how he fused the
teachings of Don Juan from Carlos Castaneda together with Dan Millman's
metaphysical take on physical performance and mental balance? Like, Arno,
did you eat peyote in the desert or not?
And Dave Graham. Gimme a break. You're wasting your time if you go
into an interview with him with more than an entry question. The dude
will riff whether you want him to or not. Best to embrace the riff.
I mean, really, his riff is probably gonna be better than mine anyway, so sit
back and relax and find a way in when you can.
In the end, if it's not loose and freewheeling, it's not the show I want to
do. I think Mike would agree. Athletes that give us canned answers
make me want to scrape out my eyes with a shrimp fork. Finding the way
around those canned answers is the trick, and asking canned questions isn't the
road to solving that trick. A regular, real conversation is.
6) There's
obviously you and your co-hort that host the show, you're never seen; are you
that ugly or international men of mystery?
Amazingly, we
are both incredibly hideous looking AND international men of mystery.
7) You're all climbers, any favorite areas to go climb? Yes we know you have
world class bouldering on your doorstep
That's always a
rough question, because the areas you're passionate about today are the areas
you've dismissed ten years from now (sometimes). I've been in a
bouldering phase for a number of years now, although I came up trad and sport
climbing, and I reckon my favorite areas in the States are Bishop and Joe's
Valley. I've been to Bishop every year for the last 12, Joe's about twice
a year, and I love 'em ridiculously. But, for my dollar, having climbed
in India and Thailand and pretty much extensively in Asia, the most beautiful
place I've ever climbed in is Rocky Mountain National Park. The setting
is friggin' stupefying; alpine lakes, snow covered peaks, deep conifer
forests...you really can't beat it.
I mean, I live in Colorado, next to Utah, which is hours from Nevada and
California. I'm spoiled. And I'm from Iowa, so in the end, it's all
gravy.
8) If the
weathers crap outside do you go inside? If so where and why?
I prefer the gym
to outdoors! The air conditioning and unsolicited beta and shirtless
masses doing their best Sharma scream impressions! Wait, no. Yeah,
I climb indoors for sure. Colorado is great, but when it's 95 degrees out
and you get off work at 5:00 and don't feel like driving to altitude, it's time
to hit up the gym. I actually live in Denver and commute to the show
every Friday night, so my gym sessions are mostly spent in the Denver
Bouldering Club. Eight minutes from my house. A lot closer than Mt.
Evans in rush hour...
9) Anyone coming
into the show soon that should be worth a listen?
Well, it's such
a fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants deal that I rarely know who is coming onto the
show until Tuesday or Wednesday. That's part of the promotional
crux. We recently did some shows with Alex Honnold (while he sat on a
portaledge seven pitches up the Nose), a couple former Navy SEALs who have
become first ascencsionist bad asses and Access Fund advocates, Layton Kor's
climbing partners Steve "Crusher" Bartlett and Bob Culp, had Jason
Kehl on last week, and this coming week with USA Climbing Team member and ABC
Team coach Garrett Gregor...I seriously have no idea who will be on in the
coming weeks. It's a week by week hustle....
10) Swearing is
off of the cards, are there any subjects that don't get talked about?
Oh, fuck yes.
Swearing definitely impacts the show, as folks have to dig down deep to not drop
those F or S bombs. Had we the forum to swear and go blue humor, it would
definitely be a spicier show, but there is something to be said about
restraint. Pulling the reins back on language really does nothing to curb
the humor and often you find it focuses the guests to hone in more on locution
and being succinct. After all these years, I can barely tell that we
aren't allowed to swear. Still, with all the "shits" that are
dropped on the show (Christian Griffith, I'm talking about you)...if the FCC
was actually listening we'd be off the air with a huge fine to tow.
To be fair, there's only one F bomb that has ever been dropped. In my
first year we were wrapping up the show with some phone-in interview, let him
go, and were doing our outro. Mike gave me the thumbs up, which I thought
signaled that we were free from the air. But, I noticed the needle on the
board was still jumping when I was talking to Mike.
"Motherfucker, what's wrong with this mic!?" I shouted into my
microphone. Mike couldn't have looked any more pale had he just given
birth to a fainting goat.
"Aaaaand," he said, "stay tuned for 'Blues till
Dawn,'" flipping off our board and falling on his hands. I haven't
cursed once live since then...
11) Any funny
stories that you want to relate about having the show?
That's an entire
interview unto itself. When you're doing live radio, shit going sideways
is a way of life, not a silly exception you don't quite know how to deal
with. We've had guests bail at the last minute, leaving Mike and I to
blather on about gym climbing and chipping for an hour on end. We've had
Chuck Fryberger turn our shows upside down until I thought both Mike and I
would go insane. John Long admitted to doing steroids on our show, for
the first time. The co-host that preceded me fell asleep, drunk, his head
resting against the foam mic, as Jason Kehl tried to tell a serious story about
climbing overseas. "Is he asleep?" Jason whispered to me.
I looked over and nudged him, pot smoke billowing from his arm, and said,
"Yeah, he's tapped out..." This same guy asked Royal Robbins
"what the ledges were like and could he get a tent up there" during
his FA assaults in the 60s in Yosemite. We once had a counselor that said
she specialized in climbing therapy show up, with a body guard, who turned out
to be a sex therapist. An hour of talking about why climbers have such
soft dicks ensued, in hyperbole. I almost made a prominent female climber
cry on air when asking a question about a friend of hers who had been accused
of egregious chipping, which brought the show to a hasty halt. It's
always a crap shoot. To wit, it's usually exciting as hell.
12) How hard was
it for Ian Powell to not swear when you had him on?
That dude is like a politician. He didn't even come close to
swearing! Perhaps that had something to do with the piece of paper we
presented him before the show, which said "NO CURSING" and which he
held in his lap the entire hour, occasionally looking down at. We liked
him so much we had him on twice in three weeks, once with Clark and once with
Matt Samet. You asked about swearing earlier, which dovetails into
talking about things that can't really be talked about outside of VERY late
night radio and on satellite radio. The deepest veins winding down into
drugs and crime, irrevocable and bad decisions and all that. Had we the
opportunity to get down to the heart of the matter with Ian -- despite FCC
constrictions -- those shows would have been ten times what they were.
He's got a fascinating story, and I'd love to interview him in my own
time. He's had a helluva rocky road, which he paved himself and entirely
owns... He's also paving his comeback trail, which I have no doubt will
be filled with success.
13) How hard was
the entire show to set up? Are you in an established studio somewhere or are
you in a basement?
We actually work out of a fully functional radio studio on the campus of
CU. It's hot as shit, cramped, full of vinyl and CDs, and it's pretty
much heaven. We get a different time slot every semester, shifting time
with college-aged DJs, who look at us like freaks. Imagine that:
college DJs looking at us like freaks. The dudes wearing Patagonia
ball caps and La Sportiva Boulder shoes and that white dusty shit on their hands...we
are the freaks in the studio, which is pretty amazing when considering those
hipster college DJs which know more about the underground indie scene than
Spin Magazine writers...
14) Any tips for
anyone that's thinking about setting something like this up?
Do it.
Find a way. Here's the thing: who else is cataloguing these amazing
voices in our climbing world? Who is putting this down in perpetuity, on
a weekly basis? We've been interviewing famous and interesting climbers
for over five years, recording and saving all of it, whether people are
listening or not. We do not get paid and we are not sponsored. Mike
and I do it entirely out of love for this sport that has changed our lives and
shifted the entire paradigm of how we see the world. I remember almost
fainting when John Long said he dabbled with steroids shortly after he quit
climbing professionally. I've been brought to tears by climbers talking
about surviving avalanches in the Himalaya. I've laughed like a hyena
listening to Kelly Cordes, dropped into an existential tailspin listening to
Jim Bridwell, been amazed by talking to Honnold half way up the Captain -- on
live radio, and boggled by Killian Fischhuber and Anna Stohr's stories of being
sponsored by the Austrian military!
The rub is, there is room for more, and we want more. There are other
podcasts out there. Hell, we had Chris Kalous from the Enormocast as a
guest on our show! He should be our rival, but that's not how it works,
not in the climbing world. We aren't mags fighting for ad space and the
best writers. We are all here to hear stories, a harbor so rich in our
sport that it's ridiculous. Go out and buy Podcasting for Dummies.
Interview your friends. Like I said before, the most banal climbing
stories would still blanche the face of a professional linebacker in the NFL.
What we do, hyperbole aside, is truly life and death for the love of scaling a
rock. How ridiculous and awesome is that...
15) Where can
people hear you?
radio1190.org
every Friday night at 9:00 pm, streaming live. We also have an iTunes
podcast (which is currently under a little reconstruction). You can also
find us on Facebook. And, if all else fails, www.archive.org
searching ClimbTalk will bring you every episode we've ever done. You can
find me there for feedback anytime, as well.
14) Anyone you
want to thank?
Mike Brooks, the
man with the plan and the fella who kicked this all off. Also, all those
suckers who said "yes" and continue to say "yes" to all our
interview requests. And you, Jeremy, for giving us a bit of space to
stretch those promo wings that we don't know how to use!
So X-Cult, here we go again... let's go out on a limb here and say we were blown away by their volumes! That's not really a limb that's actually a fact, the other holds that arrived at the same time well... that's probably another matter; a matter that we'll talk about in a few more reviews.
It seems that we're going from the largest sizes down with X-Cult reviews, this time we're looking at some competition slopers that range from 3XL to 2XXL. Five holds, all in neon pink that might be something you're looking for... lets take a look and see:
Now one thing to note is that the hollow backs are waaaaay better than what's shown in their website image and they should probably update it to show their progress!! Lets say that their hollow backs are just amazing, watch Noodles (pre-ankle injury) just go on about them for hours :)
X-Cult sent us a bunch of stuff in one shot and we're getting around to reviewing them at Shakti Rock Gym where we have the space to really go nuts (don't worry, a more personal CHR is coming back very soon where we'll get up close and waaay more personal with some holds) but lets get down to brass tacks; X-Cult have put out some great volumes that we're using a bunch on every reset; these Comp Slopers have been no different they have been on the wall for months, we take them off we clean them and we put them straight back onto the wall... they've quickly become a staple of the monthly freindly comps. There's a scrable on the resets for most of the X-Cult holds and these are pretty hard fought for.
If you're looking for something that's going to seperate the men from the boys them these holds on even a slabbed wall will do the trick.The texture is there and the shapes are there but you need to be able to read the shapes... and that's the trick and we guess that's the nut of the holds. The holds looks simple, very simple, but that's also the trick to these holds. What's that saying, "apperances can be deceptive"
Deceptive is a very interesting word, it's a descriptive word . What do we know about the holds? They're slopers, so on a steep wall they will be hard to use. We've obviously told you that they're trick holds... lets looks closely before you watch Noodles talk about them on video....
All of the holds are numbered and lets roll through them:
#178: Theres the obvious scoop on top, it's slim, but it's doable with a thumb catch
#179: Evil in neon pink form, even on a slab wall this is a tricky hold to get onto
#180: Looks like you can get a thumb catch if you catch it on the left... hahaha
#181: Is actually ok. It`s better than it looks
#182: You can grab this pretty well on a steep wall because it`s so comfy
So five holds that will test you, we`d say that they`re a must for any wall that is holding a comp. Keep them hidden away and pull them out and then anyone who can set and knows about body movement and how to keep someone on their toes can set a world class problem, not just a simple problem,... well the problem will look simple but there`s no way it will be easy for sure.
One final note: The hollow backs are waaaaay nicer than the images on the website, now go watch the video... also a final note the hold images are of the polyester ones...
SUGGESTED USES:
These holds are best suited for competition or hard routes, if you`re looking at these holds for a home wall then go nuts.... but keep the angle low and the feet big. Taking any of these holds, adding to them with some other X-Cult holds you can make some crazy routes.... you can do this, of course, with any holds and some imagination; these holds don`t need too much imagination all they need is some bolts and a wall. Setting V5+ is so easy it`s just because of these holds
OVERALL BUILD
Number of holds:5
Type (Bolt / Screw Ons): Bolt ons
Price per hold (set price divided by number of holds):
Color: Neon pink
Bolt placement: Center with set screw holes
Sanding: Great
Hollow backed: Yes
Soft back (Rubber backed): No
Texture: Grippy, does need an occasional scrub with a brush
Versatility: Good on shallow overhangs
Pre-drilled screw holes: Yes
Shaper: Iliyan Mihailov
Size: 3 XL; 2 XXL
Weight: 3.283kg
Now if we look forward into the future was can spot some problems with X-Cult holds, but not with these or the volumes, but with the smaller shapes. But thats another review :)
These holds aare superbly well formed, the texture is just enough on the shapes and the hollow back looks better than DRCC dual texture!! Theres a central brace and a column to supprt the bolt and each hold has a set screw hole so you can stop spinners... hell each hold has a specific bolt length. Yes, they`re that thorough :)
All of the holds have a great color, a very bright pink with no color run off towards the edges. The holds themselves are very very light. Probably some of the lightest holds on the market for their size and that`s a pretty bold statements
Whoever shaped these holds may have an alter ego as a super villian, because the shapes are simple, clean and just superb. Pretty on the eye but hard on the soul, that`s for sure. These holds are for sure up there with Teknik for just simples shapes and the fact that they`re light and strong adds a bunch of plusses for shipping and people hauling the holds up the wall.
The one minor gripe is cleaning, these holds get pulled off of the wall every six weeks and after a quick dunk in some water and vinegar they need to be sprayed pretty well with the pressure washer... you really want to be exact with the smooth curves when you clean them to make sure you get all of the chalk off of them. That being said, this simple routine does clean the holds up exceptionally wall
WHAT ARE THEY MADE FROM:
PU
PACKING / SHIPPING:
Amazing, from Bulgaria to Canada and everything was fine
RATING: Noodles:
Do I need to write comments? Really? I thought the video told the story pretty well, but that was before I climbed on them. I've used these holds a bunch of times during resets, setting with Gui or Chris each time to make sure that the setting was of a grade that was right and what we wanted to set. Using other smaller X-Cult holds meant that we could go from crimpy to slopey problems without too much issue. Using the Limestons slopers was an interesting set for sure
Imagine, Comp Slopers and Limestone slopers on the same wall... you want to talk about compression routes, well that's a compression route for sure :) Using the crimps meant that the routes meant that the footwork ended up being trickier than expected....
I've set for night on 20 years and these are the easiest holds to set comp problems with, you can set pretty looking problems that will just kick peoples asses. People will want to climb the route because it looks so nice but they'll be in for a surprise that's for sure. I set a comp route, for a friendly with these holds and I was mean. Using some Project Holds Kreases, which are evil to say the least (you should go read that review) and these holds means you're setting a real interesting route that is easy to read but has super hard holds to hold on to. I set this on a slabbed wall and I made sure that the feet were there, but just there and that anyone from 5ft or larger could get up the problem. #179 was the kicker, trying to get onto this hold was hard, holding it and then getting to the top of the wall was the key.... hard but doable.
I watched the comp, enjoyed my setting and the climbers working the sequence. The holds were the key to the problems and they perfomred every bit as well as they look.
As the video shows; X-Cult did a superb job with these holds and we'll use them time and time again
Chris:
Let me temper Mr Noodles comments for a second here. He gets a little bit excited about climbing holds, we all do overhere; but are these holds really that good? Well we've seen a lot of holds over the years and we should use due dilligence when looking at these no matter how good the volumes were.
It's hard to be the devil sometimes when Noodles is the angel and we all write the reviews....
Ha, just kidding, these holds are great. They are everything and more than you should expect from a climbing hold!! Simple, clean shapes, well built, sturdy holds that have been tested for over six months on a commercial climbing wall. Doesn't that say enough??
I've set with these holds a bunch of times, I've climbed on them a whole bunch and I love them. The holds are just great, there's nothing I can say to detract from them. These are probably some of the nicest holds that I've pulled on
Gui:
So X-Cult slopers,
I've seen them in
videso of comps, I dreamed about climbing on those, I dreamed about these
as route setting tools (read nightmare for climbers) and finally I was
able to do all of these!
The X-Cults slopers were for me one of 2013 revelation.
Polyvalent, multi-angle usable, almost no thumb catch, what do you want
more? Hard to say!
Let's go with the natural evolution of
climbing. First of all, setting with them. I used them in every angle,
every corner and every way possible with the climbing surface available.
I've set V2 to V10 with them. The general consensus on them: they are
great, feels great and looks amazing. They are lightweight, feather
like, easy to maneuver with.
Climbing on them can almost
feel like a natural sloper. It is
intricate climbing, delicate yet powerful, all depending on where you
put them. If you put them on a face climb with a super simple solution
getting the problem will create a
nice V2, nothing lower then that. You put them on a 35-45 degree wall
and it will feel hard, because it is!! You could take the same layout of
a route and change the angle, every 5 degrees will probably add a V
grade.... a superb set of holds for sure!!
Kaleb Thomas; Head Routesetter at Crag X recently collaborated with Noodles and B.A Gear on a setters bag that we've been working on.... they recently hosted a competition and as he's part of the CHR family he wrote a review on some of the Red Point Holds that he received for that comp. It's a little different format than you're used to but he goes through a bunch of holds in quick succession, enjoy:
So Recently at Crag X (The gym in which I
set) we held a big bouldering competition, and one of our sponsors for the comp
was Red Point Climbing Holds out of Kelowna. We used this opportunity to pick
up a few holds and see what these guys are all about. We bought several sets of
holds, which I will individually touch on, but first, lets cover all the
“non-hold related stuff”
WEBSITE:
Their website certainly is nice looking website, its flashy and the home page definitely
stands out. That unfortunately is not all that makes a great site for a hold
company. In todays day and age a hold companies website is very important and I
think Red Point has a little work to do to refine the site. The site itself is
a little slow to load, and I find myself waiting for commands and things to
take affect, I have used the site on two different computers from two different
Internet sources and have consistently had problems. The layout is simple and
relatively easy to navigate, what I would love to see is better organization of
the holds. Drop down menus for hold type or size would be a nice touch, and I
think they should re-arrange what holds appear first to give the “money” sets a
spotlight on the front page, while pushing some of the less inspiring stuff to
the back. Just a few thoughts, but I surf a lot of hold sites and the ones that
standout standout for a reason.
PACKAGING AND TURNAROUND:
Two-week turn around on an order of this
size is pretty good, they are close to us, but I have a hard time believing the
owner, Nikita is not quick on the draw. Expect good ship times from these guys,
though I am curious to see how there one man operation will deal with a higher
volume of bigger orders as the company grows. (Editors note: Red Point isn't a one man operation, Dave is the hollow back master and pouring monster and Aaron is the main shaper for the company)
The packaging was excellent, every
hold was individually wrapped in paper, and the box was JAMMED with packing
peanuts, everything arrived in sound shape, though the box was HUGE! And it may
have saved everyone a little money had it been a little smaller…
Lets get into the holds…
THE MORTUM ANSA:
This hold is exactly as its advertised, big
huge jug, nothing super special but this thing is definitely big. It has a nice
big rounded radius, which is nice; I find a lot of these BIG SUPER JUGS don’t
have the friendliest edges… which is so frustrating. We set a huge dyno to this
for our comp and people seemed to like it.
My only concern with this hold is that
there is NO SET SCREW HOLES!! I had to pre-drill them myself which is fine, But
a massive jug like this causes a lot of leverage and holes near the top of the
hold are imperative to safely attach holds like this. Get with it! Everyone…
all you hold companies that do not do this START. I don’t know how often ill
say this….
Overall…a great hold, I would recommend it, but make sure you have a countersink
bit handy.
THE GREASE PANS:
This is a cool set of slopers ranging from
pretty good to really bad. We used them on a slight overhang on one of the
hardest problems in the comp and they suited this well. I have definitely seen
shapes similar to these, but I think Red Point has done a good job with this
style of hold. They are a little more deceiving then the picture shows, there
is definitely a few little tricks involved with these guys, and if it’s your
first time climbing on them you will probably have a hard time. Id really like
to get these guys on some volumes as I feel like this might be what they were
shaped for. Definitely one of the standout sets on the website and our crew
were all pretty excited when we unwrapped them.
THE BRIMSTONE SLOPERS:
This set, in my opinion is the raddest set
that Red Point has on their website. They are a little smaller then I expected
but man… These are really awesome holds. Lots of opportunities for false grips
and odd hand positions to spice up any boulder problem. As with the grease
pans, our whole crew had to molest these babies before they ended up on the
wall. I would love to see Nikita turn this whole set into a line. Original,
comfy, thought provoking and straight up rad. Definitely a good offering from
this small company, zero complaints! I’m sure as you are reading a review your
thinking “it can’t all be good?”… Order the holds and we can fight if you
disagree!
THE ERGO JUGS:
Okay… So most of what we got was good, but
I have to say these underwhelmed me. I was actually excited to see some nice
rounded jugs on the site but I had two problems with this set… a) they were a
lot smaller then I had thought (admittedly my own fault but still…)_ and b) Id
have a hard time calling two of these holds “jugs” and I guarantee someone
doing a beginner lesson would not call two of these jugs. I think this set has
a lot potential, but I think a re-shape of the smaller holds, and a well
thought out expansion of the line could really make this a top seller for Red
Point. Good start… now keep going!!
THE FEET SANDSTONE FOOT CHIPS AND SLIVERS:
The slivers are
an excellent set of screw on feet, not two chunky and not too shallow, they are
perfect feet for that ever-important 5.8-5.10+ range. I see myself using these
babies a lot. As well, Nikita tells me he pours his feet in a harder, stronger
mix, You can see in the picture they are visually different from the hand
holds, I am definitely curious to see how long these last, but at first glance
they appear pretty damn solid.
The sandstone
Foot chiplets are another solid set rounding out Red Points line of feet,
anyone who knows me knows that I think good footholds and good jugs are the
foundation of any hold line and these guys are doing pretty good. Like the
slivers these guys aren’t too chunky, but they also give you the option to turn
them around and make them really bad.I
do have one major concern with these holds. The space between where the bolt
rests and the back of the hold is WAY to thin on most of these holds, I don’t
know if I got a shallow pour or what and its hard to see in my
Picture, but I
am curious to see if these guys stand the test of time.
OVERALL:
Everything seems well re-enforced and I do not forsee any major
problems. If Red Point could get the Mortum Ansa hollow backed I would be happy about
it though… it's a little heavy
We got all our holds in Yellow and it is a
good yellow, very similar to the colour that friction pours, which is great
because my Friction order just showed up… and everything we ordered from Red
Point has a similar style to a lot of the stuff Luigi pours at Friction. I'd
love to see some of there other colours, but it’s a luxury I don’t have right
now
Texture was good, great for my preferences but everyone is different.
Not as soft as Teknik or E - grips but not nearly as gnarly as So Ill.
We haven't had these long enough to see how well the texture wears, but
the urethane seems tough, so my hopes are high!!
PROS:
Great colours and overall build contruction
The shapes we got were interesting and fun
to climb on
Customer service… after the website. Was
awesome and they arrived at the gym quickly
CONS:
No set screws, Shallow pours for the feet
Website needs some work
I found the line “limiting” in the sense
there wasn’t that much I wanted to buy, but i think that will get fixed over time
BOTTOM LINE:
We plan an doing another order from Red
Point but we will likely wait until they beef up the line a little bit. Looking
forward to see where this little company ends up!
