Review > DRCC > Slots

Something has been happening of late... lots of weird things. Let us explain!
The Large Hadron Collider has gone online and has smashed things together...
We've had to make two new symbols... one for dual texture holds and another for pockets...
And we have some new DRCC dual texture holds called the Slots... and there is a color blemish on one of the holds (not in the image above, watch the walk through)

See strange!

Something is not right, but it's only a little blemish and it's not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.. the other thing is something I noticed on the holds when we were filming the walk through... have a watch and then we'll explain:

There is a word on one of the holds... IRIE! It's a Rastafarian word meaning: I respect i eternally, refers to positive emotions or feelings, or anything that is good. Specifically it refers to high emotions and peaceful vibrations. That's one thing these holds don't give is positive emotions... high emotions... yeah, because you're going to have to work hard to get any problem set on these holds. Peaceful emotions... hahahahahaha we were not peaceful on these holds in anyway shape or form. Why? That's simple.

There are times when you have to be exact with your hands and feet, these holds embody that, you have to be so exact with both on these holds that it's kind of crazy.

We set our routes whenever possible on just one brand of holds, as similarity between sets isn't uncommon... this time we just grabbed all of our dual texture holds from the DRCC and we just went a little crazy. Rules were in place on some routes to make the problems a little harder (no side wall). Pulling off of the 45 on the dual texture crimps to the dual texture rail to the dual texture slots caused less problems than we thought. It's the Slots that slowed us down in a big way, we tried dead pointing the last move and failed and then on different sequences we were just shut down by the nature of the moves. These holds do teach you a lot about slow movement, careful consideration of what you're about to try... that's for sure... if Vince over at the DRCC feels the need to make some DT feet that are slots then wow it's going to be fun going to the gym again :)

SUGGESTED USES:





As these holds are built with one thing seemingly in mind; to test your hand eye co-ordination (and they do that very well) you can't go too steep with them, that and they're not all that positive. There are positive areas, generally one side is more positive than the other depending upon which way you have them orientated the positive side still isn't that bomber... they're going to test you whichever way they're placed... if you start putting these up into a crack like position that's where the screaming starts.

These holds are hard the way we played with them, but when we weren't filming we had them set as some nice warm up routes and they're wonderful on a wall up to about 15 degrees on the "hard" side, great on a 30 on the "easy" side, super hard on a 45 whichever way you rotate them and if you're playing cracks and side pulls then you don't want to really go about 15 degrees as they get very technical and very very hard on anything steeper

One thing has to be said is that four holds isn't enough to really make a full on route with, this set needs to be extended so route setters can chuck out full on 50ft lead routes into their gym... it'll most probably end up either very easy or super hard (depending upon the setter of course) but it'll definitely get a lot of traffic! Home walls probably won't see too many of these holds, at $15 per hold you can spend your money elsewhere and get more bang for your buck... but if you're looking to really test some friends then these (again) are where you'll end up looking

OVERALL BUILD

• Number of holds: 4
  
• Type (Bolt / Screw Ons): Bolt
  
• Price per hold (set price divided by number of holds): 59.95 / 4 = $15 per hold
  
• Color: Swirls
  
• Bolt placement: Well placed
  
• Sanding: All the holds are rubber backed
  
• Texture: Dual texture, totally slick on the outside, textured in the slots
  
• Set size: Large
  
• Versatility: Not bad
  
• Pre-drilled screw holes: Yes on all of the holds

Apart from one color blemish, and it really is a single drip in the dual texture these holds are still some of the best made holds out there... especially when it comes to dual texture, there is simply nothing as slick out there; it's like glass and you cannot hold onto it... hell it's hard even throwing your thumb on the slickness and trying to keep it from moving.

Precision is the name of the game with these holds, there aren't going to be any wild throws to the slots you have to be exact in everything you do.. from where you place your hands and feet to where you try to match and move. These holds are something we'd call "slow", but this we mean there is no speed involved in using them... you have to be slow and measured in your actions... the reaction is being spat onto the floor :)

The build is superb, we've never used the set screw placements on any of our DRCC holds... that's because we have the rubber back on all of our holds :P But if needed the placement is there so it can be used and to be honest even the screw holes are pretty on these shapes.
Given that these holds are pretty thin the DRCC even had the mind to hollow back one of the shapes, the largest one, and it's light and yet still has good structure to it.

We cannot comment on the sanding as the holds are rubber backed, but what we will talk about (again) is the DRCC's dual texture, god knows how they get it so slick and thank god they do because these things are just pretty to look at... dual texture and dual color swirled holds? Yeah, that's what they are and they're pretty sick. Texture wise the grip within the slots feels more aggressive than the DRCC's normal texture... and you need it, if there was a little less texture these holds would just be paper weights.

WHAT ARE THEY MADE FROM:
Urethane, we've only seen two broken DRCC holds and it's because they were small crimps that were tightened with a torque wrench... these things had been hammered to hell. (See Noodles comments for more on this topic)

PACKING / SHIPPING:
Very good, the box was massive for the amount of holds

RATING:
Noodles:
It seems the longer I write reviews the more pet peeves I have :) Nothing massive just things I'd like to see changed in the climbing industry as a whole. Wonder what they are? Here we go:

1. Calling a set of holds crimps when they're just edges.
2. A set of medium holds that aren't really mediums they're smaller or larger
3. See 2. I'd like the industry to go to "semi standard sizing" so a customer knows what size hold they're getting. Don't read anything into that, right now some sets give you way more bang for your buck
4. People with torque wrenches setting

Let me explain number 4 for you. Here's how I think you should use a torque wrench to tighten a hold. Put hold on wall, line up the bolt, tighten bolt with fingers so some threads are used, use torque wrench to tighten the hold... ON IT'S LOWEST SETTING, hand tighten the hold with a wrench, climb. It's just a case of common sense, and I'm not fighting on the DRCC's or any other companies behalf, it's just something that I think that hammering a hold into a wall isn't good a) for the hold (it might break), b) it isn't good for the wall (t nut need replacing more often) and c) it isn't good for gym owners (they have to go bitch at a company to get the hold replaced)

Right I'll get off of my soap box now :)

It seems I had my genre's mixed up this week, although I managed to keep my comments in the walk through in the sci fi realm! Tron or Star Wars? Both really, not that these shapes are mad futuristic or anything... they're just good simple pockets done very very well with dual texture. I'd go so far and repeat myself from other DRCC reviews..

"The DRCC makes the best dual texture shapes on the planet"

Maybe some of the shapes aren't to everyone's liking, but the DT is just mental slick....

The slots are a simple idea, again done very well, a pocket like these without the dual texture is a good hold to have in your route setting arsenal, it's still going to test your hand / eye co-ordination but you're going to have a little more to play with with your feet when you get up above the shapes. These holds leave you no option but to put your toes into the slots, so it's very easy to force moves and a sequence will happen the way you'd want it to go down.

Route setters, doff your hats... and get some of these for your next finals problems because you're going to have a hoot with these. Even though I love the holds and the shapes I'd like to see smaller and larger sizes (although there is a large hold The Big Slot that is a monster) so I can climb on full routes... these holds are brutal on a 45 and I'd have liked them to be a little more positive inside... then climbers that want to work on their feet on steep walls can monkey around all day long. I'm really hoping for more of these style holds from the DRCC because right now they're all going to end up in a single sequence on routes and that's pretty much where your crux will be! At $15 a hold, although they're of a good size they're expensive for most home wall owners

Vince... goto work please :D

Chris:
Vince? Did you make these holds? Are you Ok? If you've been following us for a while you've probably come across some old DRCC review and you've heard us raving about the holds created by the DRCC brothers. On a normal day, DRCC's holds would come through the door in pristine condition, but we've gotten a little surprise as of late. The colors on the hold has obviously bled and it was a detail that we actually missed on the Double Barrel and made sure this time to check it out. Not much of a big deal considering the amount of detail and work that the Cocciolone brother put into their creations.

DRCC has their dual texture down to a T. They had these up at the Tour de Bloc competition at True North climbing gym and one person was brave enough to venture iin and put his foot on the slick part of the hold. The only thing left behind was the "burning rubber trail" left behind by his shoes.

I liked this set of holds. I would consider these the little brother of the Double Barrel with one slight difference, the Double Barrel looks very menacing but is a much easier hold to grip than expected. With the slots, you get what you see: shallow pockets flirting with slopey madness! If you've seen the video (which I'm sure you have) then you've seen us fall repeatedly on the 30 degree wall. These holds won't give you much, and if you can't get a grip with them, they'll always make a very nice paper weight.

PROS:

• They'll school you on dead pointing that's for sure!
• Nothing like them on the market
• Rubber backing lessens spinners
  

CONS:

• Not enough shapes in the range for full routes
• A little expensive for home walls
  

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Review > Revolution > Incuts / Jugs / Slopers (Basic Series holds)

Revolution has standard size sets in where you'll find five holds in each of their bolt on sets. We have plenty of Revolution holds lying around and we've gathered three of their Basic sets together and put them up for a spin on the wall... well another spin on the wall, the first time we climbed on these (so I'm told by Noodles) was in 2008! Revolution changed their mix to polyurethane in 2007, we reviewed shapes made of polyester, but as the shapes are fun we decided to review them anyways!

With all the shapes we have from Revolution, we had plenty of holds to choose from and with the help of their numbering system, we found three sets of different sizes and shapes to play with. The first are small jugs, stamped with a "JS1" so we can identify the hold, and they're simple one hand jugs. Most are ambidextrous, but there one that is more suitable for one hand than the other.

The second set we went with was the medium slopers or "SM2". The evil little slopers fit in your hand but are very shallow and don't give you much to hold onto... but you'll be surprised there's more to them than you think

Lastly we have the large incuts. They are finger friendly positive two hand edges... and they're pretty friendly on the roof

We could really maximize our wall space with the variety of shapes and sizes that we chose from. The sets compliment each other in that they are from the same "Basic" line of holds on the Revolution website. These holds are the all around shapes that you would find in gyms. Nice simple, finger friendly shapes; every wall needs basic, simple shapes that allow you to train for hours on end without stressing your fingers. These holds have an consistent texture that allows you pull for hours on end without ripping layers of skin off.. is this a good thing? Yes it is, there are a lot of friendly shapes out on the market and they should be a staple of every wall, home or commercial, what Revolution has is a lot of shapes in what they call their Basic line!

In fact they have 381 holds in their Basic Line, yes we counted and that includes the jibs (12 sets of 10 jibs per set), either way you look at it that's a lot of shapes to play with.. and then there are all they other shapes that they make that aren't basics... there are the Abstracts / Training and then the Real's.

We've had these for a long while... we've had the incuts and the jugs on the roof, the slopes all over the roof and apart from Noodles obvious hate of the mini jugs these holds have performed really well across the board. Some of the routes we've set on these holds have been just plain hard... we've set some stuff on these that has taken us weeks to get through; not because the holds aren't friendly but because we've wanted to see as far as we could go on these holds. The answer is pretty far... and every time we've walked away without loosing skin and without having any finger pain.

SUGGESTED USES:

JUGS

These holds are small, but deep. We managed to easily dyno to a hold on our 45 degree wall. Now although they're made to be one handed holds, the jug is deep enough so you can get both hand on them, minus a couple of digits. The holds will fit five fingers nicely and to make room for the second hand you'll only be able to get two or three fingers onto the hold. Setters will find that there is one hold of the bunch that is right hand oriented (the second to last hold in the image) that comes with its own thumb catch is great for forcing a move. The set as a whole has been used countless times as warm up routes in our wall.

INCUTS

This is probably the most versatile set out of the three. This medium set is large enough to get both hands onto and the degree of the incut make it so they can be placed on anything from vertical to our 45 degree wall. The incut is very positive and the hold has no sharp edges that dig into the fingers making it ideal for long hard moves on the 45.

SLOPERS

If the jugs had an evil brother, they would be the slopers. Even though they're large, there isn't a whole lot of friction. They're mostly open hand slopes with the exception of one. There is one that is positive and surprisingly enough, its the smallest one! The only way we could stick the slopers on the 45 was by changing the angle using our newest favorite toy, the Motivation volumes :) These holds are best for vertical terrain or slabs, but you can hold onto them on an angle if you're feeling spicy :)

ALL THE SETS

One thing that is apparent with these holds is that although they're different shapes (slopes / incuts / mini jugs) they all compliment each other... sure some holds are left or right hand bias; especially on the mini jugs... but take the three (we have more in the cupboard) sets that we've been playing with and there will be some shapes that you will go back to time and time again because they're just what you're looking for. There are a couple of holds that Noodles in particular likes an he'll pull them out on some routes from time to time... they're what he calls his "go to holds"; that being said there are lots of holds that he loves and that he loves to use and as more and more holds are brought and set with there are holds that will turn up on our warm up routes again and again.... some of the slopers are definitely some of those holds.

OVERALL BUILD

• Number of holds: 5 per set
  
• Type (Bolt / Screw Ons): Bolt on
  
• Price per hold (set price divided by number of holds):

1. Incuts large are: 25 / 5 = $5 per hold
   
2. Slopers small are: 20 / 5 = $4 per hold
   
3. Jugs small are 19 / 5 = $3.80 per hold
   

• Color: Red
• Bolt placement: Centered
• Sanding: Good
• Texture: Smooth
• Set size: Small Jugs / Medium Slopers / Large Edges
  
• Versatility: um...yes
• Pre-drilled screw holes: None

Revolution have always been pretty good with their build quality, sometimes their bolt holds are a little oval but the poly used in the holds is always the same quality. We've always said you have to be a little bit careful with their holds as they do chip if they're thrown about too much, this is the nature of polyester! We received our holds before they (Revolution) changed their mix, the stuff that they run is much stronger and less prone to chipping, we'll get some in soon and see what's up... and even though we say you have to be careful with these holds when we dropped them during the drop test they performed well... their new holds are slated to be dropped in the next test, so we'll have results for their urethane shapes

The shapes are all well sanded, you can see from the backs that they're uniform and smooth all the way across... there are even sanding lines across the backs of them. The color is the same ol same ol... Revolution doesn't chuck out mad colors... their red is pretty good, a little pinkish but nothing too bad. All of the shapes in this line are very finger friendly and you're not going to worry about too much pain.

All of the holds have a little "R" for Revolution on them, in case you get them mixed up with other holds... they also have a little code on them like "IL2" for Incut Large 2 etc which makes it easier to find them in a large box of other shapes.

There are a couple of bolt holes that are a little oval, but this hasn't caused us an real issues, the holds don't drop on the bolt or cause any problems. Texture wise it's consistent across the board, there aren't any dimples or bumps... everything is smooth and even when chalked up the holds grip better than you think.

WHAT ARE THEY MADE FROM:
Polyester it's a little fragile. Mishandling will result in chipped edges. Revolution have changed their mix, it's urethane now

PACKING / SHIPPING:
Not too bad, some of the holds had moved about in transit and were a little scuffed.

RATING:
Noodles:
Revolution seem to have it right, the holds we looked at are from the Basic line... and basic is what you're going to get. No dual tex, not madly intricate shapes just simple fairly friendly shapes. Why do I say "fairly friendly?" because the jugs could do with a slightly more rounded lip, did you see my face when I hit the hold on the roof? Yeah that was a picture... my full weight was on a hold that was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay sharper than I expected, add to that some dodgy feet and you're going to get me pulling some weird faces :)

These holds have kicked about the wall for nearly a year and a half (so this is actually more of a long term test as well as a look at their Basic line up), some of the holds are showing wear from where they've been thrown haphazardly into boxes, dropped and generally chucked about; you know the daily life / use / abuse of climbing holds... that being said if you look at the drop test results and the fact that Revolution holds are polyester they came out really well. Don't get me wrong, you can look at some of the more intricate shapes and it'll chip on you... that's just part and parcel of owning these holds. I'd love the polyester to be stronger that's for sure, but let us point out that these holds arrived before Revolution changed their mix... so we have poly holds, they've changed it up to polyurethane. Look at the Boss we have that's bombproof!

If I look at the three five hold sets that we're talking about today, the jugs / slopers and incuts that are only part of the Basic line up and had to pick a favorite it's going to be simple (HA!) really simple... the slopes; there's nothing wrong with the other holds, but those slopes are palm sized and you are really going to wonder if you can stick them... the poly is at first feel.. slick, add chalk and then they grip better than you think. We actually kind of replicated a move from the Planet Holds review from last week... the one where there was a slope on the Infinity Board base (the one we use as a volume) just to compare similar(ish) holds and when you take into account texture difference and the fact that the material is completely different both of the holds grip really well... in fact the lesser textured hold came out a little better, but not by much

I've always said that simple shapes for training are where it's at, the basis of you wall set up should be clean simple finger friendly shapes of different sizes... this line is just that. Simple, clean and some might say boring... when someone says boring I say finger (i.e: training friendly) There are other shape lines in the basic range... pinches and pockets. All lines have jibs as well... so you can look at an size hold from jib to monster, so enough holds for any hold-fiend... the pocket jibs were reviewed here as part of a jibs review back in October 2008... that's before we built the 45... when I made our first CHR shirts (the ones with Hold Whore) on the back... ah happy days, it's also one of my favorite videos that we made...

Hell, as the jugs / incuts / slopes / pocket jibs are all there, I'll post it again... a blast from the past (before we rolled into the land of HD and fast pc's)

Chris:
My piece of advice for anyone who has a home wall is to stock up on basic shapes like these. Their simple, functional and won't burn a whole in your pocket. The way Revolution catalogs their holds makes it very easy to find what you're looking for. They don't have flashy names for their lines and if its jugs you're looking for, all you need to do is find 'jugs" on their website and you're home free.

What I like about their sets is that most of the holds are very similar, but they always incorporate a shape that is unlike the other shapes in the set. Take for example the medium Slopers. They're all you're run of the mill slopers, open hand grip with just enough friction to keep you from getting spat off the wall, but there is one that is smaller and more positive than the others. You could almost classify it as a crimp since the positive edge is shallow and there is a small lip on the edge of the hold where you'll find that extra bit of friction.

PROS:

• Finger friendly
• Cheap!!
• Sold in Europe
  

CONS:

• (Minor and a mute point) Our holds chip, but that's because we're looking at the old polyester shapes not the polyurethane ones
• Some of the bolt holes were a little oval
  

Interview > Avid Climbing

Sometimes, just sometimes you see a t shirt and think "damn I wish I had that idea!"... in the case of Avid Climbing... and one shirt in particular I (Noodles) did have that idea... but never followed through on it :( My bad, that's the way the cookie crumbles!

But... someone did follow through on a thought I had a while back, here's the t-shirt in question...
and here's Avid Climbing, t-shirt printers for your climbing needs!

Name and job.
Ryan Villanueva
founder, designer, printer, everything!

Avid climbing is a t shirt company that directs their products to climbers, whats the history of the company? Where are you based?
Well, avid started back in 2007 in my dorm room (apparently where all good ideas come from). I wanted to design graphic clothing for the climbing community that reflected the uniqueness of our obsession- and it is an obsession. But, funny enough, it wasn't until I met and bouldered with Boone Speed at Reimers Ranch in Austin Tx who inspired me to get this thing going. We didn't talk about my idea, but his encouragement and intensity that day was exactly what I needed to start Avid. Plus, and this is totally 100% true, he was like a human fortune cookie that day, wearing a t-shirt that said "delay no more"

What's the goal of Avid?
The ultimate goal of avid is to put sweet sweet designs on the backs of climbers everywhere

Any stand out products that you're really proud of?
Were proud of all of our products! Thinking up and working on new designs excites me the most. if i had to pick a most popular, it would be the "Clipping ain't easy" tee

Are your shirts screen or digitally printed?
screened...all tha way

Do you screen them yourselves?
yep, we screen them ourselves! our shirts are made one by one, from start to finish, on a manual press and are not mass produced by a mindless machine that spits out thousands of shirts a day. each shirt is truly special

What t shirt stock do you use?
We've actually experimented with a couple of stocks such as anvil and gildan but are currently fixated on American apparel tees. they offer such great comfort, fit, and feel which as we all know is super important when your climbing, unless you're a guy who climbs with his shirt off...then it doesn't really matter

I want the 99 problems shirt :) What else is coming up, any new designs?
The 99 problems shirt is sick indeed, You may just have one coming your way! we've actually got quite a few designs coming up that we are super excited about to include the "harness tha power" tee and the much anticipated "grind till i die...no" tee. our goal is to spit out a new design every month

Why the company name? Is everyone involved a "avid" climber?
The company name was the make or break part for me personally. When choosing a name, and I'm sure you know this, just any name wont do...its gotta have meaning. Being an avid climber (and were not just talking about the people who wear our stuff, but actual climbers) means your putting in the hours...ripping up the skin, throwing down the time and dedication to this sport which in all reality is a lifestyle. we want our designs to reflect this.
yes, everyone involved (myself and co-owner Travis Smith) are both avid climbers. as a matter of fact, when were not at our day jobs or working on avid, you can probably catch us at the local gym/crag

Why start a shirt company? It's hard work isn't it?
Hard work is pretty much an understatement! On top of Avid, Travis and I tend to our daily careers (which we one day hope to quit in order to work on avid full time!) which take up a lot of time. We're not in this game to get rich. We're not in it to get laid, nor are we in it to impress anyone. We do it because we like seeing the fruits of our labor pay off when we see a super dedicated climber who truly gets what this lifestyle is all about, throw on one of our tees and just enjoy climbing for what it is. We also couldn't be here if it wasn't for the climbing community supporting us the entire way. We'd like to thank everyone
who has played a role in getting us as far as we've come. Special thanks to Aaron and Lisa Gibson, Sherwin Tibayan, members of team avid who are constantly repping us, and the countless individuals who have offered their time and expertise not for personal gain, but solely for the purpose of seeing Avid move forward.

In five years, where do you want Avid to be?
Hmm...in five years ( dream bubbles commence)
In 1,825 days, i would like to move Avid's home base to Oregon. i would also like Avid to be at as many comps as possible and also, both me and Travis working on Avid full time. Seeing some Of our threads in gear stores around the US wouldn't be so bad either!

Where can people get your clothes? Is it just online or are there stores that they can go and see the products first hand?
At the moment you can only get em online at our site: www.avidclimbing.com
we do sell at Rocktown Climbing gym in Oklaohma City yand are currently working on getting our stuff into more gyms and stores around the country- keep an eye out for us!

Interview > Jason Kehl

Jason Kehl... most people know him as a climber, some people know him as the brains behind Cryptochild, other, well others know him as "that dude with the dredlocks that does those scary highballs".... he's all of those things! He's also a renowned shaper as well, the monsterous Growth has just been released and he's been hiding out in Hueco so lets see what he's been upto

Name and age- Jason Kehl 33
Job- Pro Climber, Hold Shaper, Videographer, Photographer, Artist

People know you as a world class climber, some as a shaper... what comes first?
Climbing usually comes first, but depending on my location it usually fluctuates between climbing and art. Iv'e been in Hueco Tanks all winter so I haven't been shaping much, but psyched to this spring.

As a climber you're sponsored by?
LaSportiva, Native Eyewear, Revolution, Blurr

What are your commitments to those company's?
Mostly to be a good ambassador for their company. Use the product as much as possible out in the field. Provide feedback about the gear and content for their websites.

Where have you been climbing this winter?
I was in Hueco Tanks for like 4 months this winter escaping the Colorado snow

What's the access like these days?
I think the access is getting better all the time, the park is slowly learning how to work with the climbers more efficiently
every year

Do you have to have a guide or are you allowed to roam freely?
No one can roam freely unless the are on North Mountain or hire a guide to take them into the back country.

Who were you climbing with?
I was mostly climbing with my girlfriend Abbey Smith, and a ton of friends that passed through during the season.

Any memorable sends?
Anything new is memorable, but even more so are the ones I didn't send and will be still waiting next season.

You shape for So Ill but under you own company (CryptoChild), was this a conscious decision to keep your shapes separate?
Yes, I originally just started with just the CryptoChild line of t-shirts, but knew eventually we wanted to do holds and much more. I'm still shaping a little for So iLL, but mostly focusing on the CryptoChild line.

What other company's have you shaped for?
Pusher, Ritual(Spain), So iLL, Revolution, ETCH, and CryptoChild

How do you approach shaping? Do you see something and work from there or does inspiration just hit?

The Growth just hit the market, it's a monster for sure and you partnered up with Rockwerx to get it made... how long did the hold take to shape?
About 7 days over a month, it was a huge undertaking and seem ti have a mind of its own.

Why did you guys partner up?
Rockwerx already had the technology, so it was super easy to get things moving. All I had to do was the fun part, the shaping.

Considering the size there aren't many t nut placements, why is this?
The original concept for the Growth was just to make a gigantic hold. Something you could climb on alone, but if the wall gets steeped you still have the option to ad positive holds.

Are there more features on the way?
Yeah we are psyched to keep pumping them out! I have some ideas now that I will be fleshing out in the months to follow.

There's a huge gap compared to Europe when it comes to bolt on features, you seem to be addressing this gap. How do you approach a volume compared to a "normal" sized hold?
We too noticed the lack of features in the states and were ready to start filling that void. The biggest difference in shaping a feature versus a normal size hold is that it has to be planned out more, considering you dont want just one usable spot like most smaller holds.

You're also an artist... is it just another creative outlet like shaping for you?
Definitely, whenever I am creating anything it's a great artistic outlet, wether its shaping, video editing or sculpture it all uses the same creativity.

I've seen you climb at Allez Up and I was just staggered by the way you approach the wall... especially your fluidity between moves and your static strength... do you train or is it just natural ability? If so what's you're training regieme like?
I dont really train that much anymore, I think its better to climb hard on all types of rock rather than being trapped in a gym. I used to do a lot of campusing back in the day, which I thought was a great way to gain explosive power. If I do anything now its usually exercises to stay balanced after climbing.

Lets talk about the Iron Palm hangboard that we're putting to the test currently... shaping something symetrical must suck right?
Its definitely hard to shape something symmetrical, but thats the challenge. This is the sixth hangboard Iv'e shaped so I guess Im getting used to the process. The Iron Palm has everything that I thought was enjoyable a hangboard.

When I first saw the board I realised the ends look like some toys I have from Kid Robot called Dunny's... was this intentional?
No, but I wanted the board to stand out and not look like every other one out there. Something that would look nice hanging over a door frame.

Why aren't there any pockets on the board? Personal taste or because training on badly shaped pockets sucks?
Pockets do suck a lot of times, but pockets on a hangboard seem like a waste of space. If you want to train two finger pocket you can just do two finger pull-ups on the edges. Same, same.

You've obiously travelled the world a bunch, where would you like to go back to and why?
I would love to go back everywhere, but there are to many places to climb for one lifetime.
Some of my favorites are Japan and Fontianebleau.

Favorite climbing area?
I guess I would have to say Font, just because sandstone is my favorite stone to climb on.

You've made a bunch of videos for So Ill as well, they're always fun to watch... but probably a pain to film... can you tell us what it's like being filmed for a big production climbing movie? Do you go into the climb totally unrehearsed with no beta?
Some are harder than others for sure, but the whole process is still fun and having some to show for all the work is really worth it. The climbing films are usual just us going out bouldering and trying to capture the action.

Any plans for 2010 that you can let us on in?
I am headed to the Himalayas in the summer to climb on the highest hardest boulders and search for the Yeti.

You can follow Jason at Deadpoint Magazine where he has a blog, you can also check out his artwork at Cryptochild and of course his holds at So Ill

Review > Planet Holds > Crimps

This past Christmas, Noodles went back home in the UK and brought back a box full of crimps from Planet Holds. Planet Holds was founded in 2008 by Michael Elmes in the UK and believes in bringing in the 'latest technologies, innovation and cutting edge designs' to their hold making.
So the first thing with these holds is that they're made out of resin; not any resin mind you something similar (we guess) as Holdz holds... and they're strong as hell! Holds these days are are being manufactured more and more out of urethane but if you look companies who manufacture their holds outside of North America you'll see that the trend is to make holds the out of good old resin. You may think that urethane is a better material but the quality of the holds from Europe are amazing! More on this in our "Overall Build".

The variety of the crimps in this set will just make you drool. Each hold has its own character but they've grouped them so you essentially have 3 smaller crimp sets in one large set. They are:

• The geometric shapes: They second very nicely as pinches

• Textured shapes: The look of real rock with the feel of resin

• Round shapes: Finger friendly open hand crimps

If we look at them one by one, the goemetric shapes are the triagular looking guys that have slopey angles on all edges bar one there is a small incut on one edge of the hold and its really the only part of the that you'd want to grip. The textured shapes look like a regular hold until you get your fingers on them, there is a part of the hold that you grip is textured like real rock and some of these have deep incuts. The slopey shapes are the most deceptive, they look like a big round pinch, but they've hidden an incut on one side of the hold that's a nice surprise when you're pumping out.

There was only one thing to do with all these shapes. Time to climb :)

Eve set the first route, we figured that she would have fun and there's enough holds to let her set a difficult crimp route for us to climb. We gave Eve the holds because, being the large set that it is, we didn't want to set something that was over the top where we'd leave the session with sore hands and cursing. Eve set a problem that started on the 45 and traversed all the way around the wall and ending on the roof. This crimp set lends itself easily to any kind of terrain, all the holds are the larger variety of crimps, some will only give you enough room for half a pad but there are holds that have an aggressive incut that lends itself well to overhanging terrain.

We used the Motivation features for our second problem. Now for saying that these holds are crimps, and they may look like very small edges from the walk through, but these holds are actually very friendly and easy to grip; they're larger than you think and not very crimpy. Spicing things up was the name of the game so we set some of the holds up he wrong way :) At first it seemed like we needed all the holds on the wall to get around the wall since the problem incorporated a lot of long moves. We managed to skip some holds in the roof and a couple in the corner.... that's where we got stuck. It took some work to get the final sequence of the problem.... and some time as well, we filmed all of the trys and if we actually put that film out we'd have more of a movie than anything else.

These holds are from the little we've seen pretty top notch, they're up there with Holdz for quality and lots of other European manufacturers for their design... they're simple clean holds that will afford any routesetter or home wall owner hours of fun... problem if you're in North America maybe the price :(

SUGGESTED USES:


This set lends itself to any level climber. The stronger you are, the more creative you can get with the holds. A nice large set like this gives you a lot to work with. Mind you that some of these holds are difficult to hang on and wouldn't be caught dead on steep overhanging terrain, but with the number of holds in this set, you could get this set and put on any angle wall. There are so many holds that some of the holds didn't make it into the problems... so we had to reset and make more problems (hard life eh?) so we could get use out of all of them. If you have a home wall, getting a large set like this is a good investment and you'll be able to set countless problems... mainly because these holds are also a great size as well, they're big and bomber enough for most people to play with (as long as the setting isn't mental) but not space hoggers!

These holds have been on and off of the wall time and again, they get chalked up.. we clean them... rinse and repeat.. one thing that is totally noticeable is that with their "sandstone / sandpaper" texture these holds grip very well even when they're white with the ol chalk. We've dropped a few of them and they've come up without a dink in them, we've smeared shoes all over them and sure the texture does like rubber as it is aggresive but a jet wash and a brush and they're good as new

OVERALL BUILD

• Number of holds: 17
  
• Type (Bolt / Screw Ons): Bolt
• Price per hold (set price divided by number of holds): 2.25GDB
  
• Color: Orange
  
• Bolt placement: centered
  
• Sanding: flat
  
• Texture: rough at first
  
• Set size: 15 Small/2 Medium
  
• Versatility: Very
  
• Pre-drilled screw holes: None

Urethane has become the staple material we use here in North America for hold production the old resin holds are heavy and tend to chip and break easily. Planet Holds still have the weight of resin holds but are much more durable than some of the old resin holds we have in our collection. Noodles knocked the holds during the walk through and surprisingly enough, they didn't chip or break. We've had some other holds from Europe that were made from resin that had some chips on the corners and thinner parts of the hold. The shape of Planet Holds are solid all the way through with no corners or protruding sections that could break off in the general abuse a hold will take.

The texture is rough and feels like gritty sandpaper, but as we climbed and got some chalk onto them, the texture evened out; infact because of the texture we found ourselves brushing these holds less than lesser textured holds... they take chalk; a LOT OF CHALK, and then they still grip. We'd put the texture to something that feels like sandstone.. but without the slip and slide of the rock as the texture isn't coming off in your hand :)

Shapewise they're friendlier than we first expected, there aren't many areas that do dig into your fingers; the only ones that do are the small incut "rock like" holds and even then the design has slightly rounded edges to stop this from being a problem for most people. The geometric shapes would complement (we've said this before not long ago) the Teknik Mathematics and the Project Cubes without looking out of place... there would be a deffinate feeling change as the climber switched between holds but that's no big deal

Overall build quality is excellent, with D.O.B stamps and QA stamps on the backs of the holds... we know where these holds are made and the place isn't known for putting out crappy holds, which is probably why these are made there.

The color is an interesting one... it's labelled as Pastel Orange and we don't want to be all manly about this but it sounds like something you'd go and look up for your daughters bedroom color scheme :P It's a nice color, it's more orange than the name suggest and the holds look nice on a wall... admittedly our holds are more white than anything else these days and this does lead to a slight problem... a minor one at that. As these holds are of a lighter color than most then when they are chalked up they are going to be trouble on a route as the climber might get a little lost on a crowded wall... we'd suggest hitting up Planet Holds for a bolder color than what we have

WHAT ARE THEY MADE FROM:
Resin, strong ol stuff

PACKING / SHIPPING:
The best shipping on the planet! See the start of the walk through video for the full details!

RATING:
Noodles:
I'm starting a website called "Crimpsmyass.com" for all the people that label their holds as crimps but their holds aren't crimps at all! These holds are edges, not big edges, you can open hand all of the holds... So you're not crimping on these holds, and if you are, well your hands are going to a special place. I may have to make another symbol for our reviews that is open handed crimp... because I find some labels on sets misleading... (Rant over!)

I want to see more of Planet Holds lineup, simply because this set was good fun to have on the wall, varied more than most sets you can get and something that's different... I'd even go so far to say that the holds are actually worth investing in getting to the US... that's not something I say lightly as we'll do some math:

Hold price: 38 GBP about $57 USD
Shipping: (Airfrieght from the UK to Canada) 64 GBP about $95 USD
So that's: $152 for 17 holds = $9 per hold

$9 per hold, and considering the size you'd have to be mental to pay that... now let me point out that the shipping was "walk up the street and get it done", the shipping can be cheaper (I'm guessing by 1/3, maybe even 1/2.. who knows?) and then the holds will drop to something like $7 maybe $6 per hold which is more than worth it. Ok, ok I can hear the penny pinchers out there woahing at my suggestion that these holds are worth it... lets make a comparison.

2x 24 pack of generic beer: (No Keiths or Moosehead) about $30 per case = $60
Cab ride across town to party: $30
Drink the beer at a party and
Cab ride home: $30

So these holds will cost us (in Canada and the US) about the price of a good night out... but these will be there in the morning and they'll last longer than that 48 beer hangover you just got. I've spent more on holds than this, hell I've spent more on night out than $152 and had nothing to show for it, except for a locksmiths reciept when I lost my keys.

The point I'm trying to make in a very around about way is that these holds are well worth a look-see, and there's a whole lot more holds that they have... look at these:

Slopers and Triangles... some other nice looking shapes that we'll try to get so we can look closely at them...

The "crimps 1" aren't crimps, they're all open hands or pinches.. it's a big set and the quality is something that other companies should have a look at.. these things feel like they could do some damage if you threw them... they're heavy (probably why shipping would be a pain) but in my opinion, and it is my opinion, these holds are worth a look. I'm going back into the wall now, me and these holds have some unfinished business to attend to!

Chris:
Noodles is a braver man than I. The problem was hard enough as is up to that point. We worked on the moves leading up to the 45 and then got stuck trying to get onto the overhang. I didn't feel like giving myself a concussion on the sketchy dyno so I figured the holds that we left out of our original beta would come into good use. The transition into the 45 went a lot smoother with that extra hold :) (The one that was there all the time that only you, you lanky bugger could reach? : Nuds)

I was a little worried with the texture of the holds. When we took them out of the box, they felt really gritty but as they suck up chalk, the texture isn't so bad. Besides the extra friction helped on those holds that we set upside down.

It's unfortunate that we don't see more holds from Europe. They have a different feel to them and they tend to be more technical to climb on than their American counterpart. This set of hold lacks diversity, in that there is really only one part of the hold that you can grip (unless you get them on some Motivation volumes :P) but Planet Holds has put together one of the best crimp sets I've come across. My goal when climbing in the gym is to get stronger without injuring myself. I don't like climbing on tiny little crimps in the gym since it could easily lead to injury, the holds in this set are small enough to pose a challenge, but comfortable enough to be used on any climb and on pretty much any angle wall.

PROS:

• Good mix of shapes, not as small as you think
  
• Large set, 17 holds in total
  
• Varied uses, despite the small hand placement areas
  

CONS:

• Only one good place on the hold to grip, you can match but it's hard 90% of the time
  
• Cannot purchase in North America (well you can, if you're willing to pay the steep shipping fees)
• Heavy.. again think shipping
  

Review > Climb It Holds > Black Mountain Set A

Is it bad to "borrow" from a school? When I say this I mean... we got some holds that may have been for a school project... luckily they were cool as they're friends of ours and they came over to play :) What you're getting is a set of 10 crimps of depths varying from thin to just about 3/4 pad depth.... will they go on the 45?See what we mean? These holds aren't much bigger than the palm of your hand in most cases...We were filming a little sponsor thanks movie with these holds as Climb It sent them to us to give to a local schools gym and when you get that many sets of holds in and you've got a blank wall well then what's going to happen is we're going to play about :)

These holds were primarily set on the 45 from the get go, using some of our small Motavation volumes to ease the angle of the smaller holds so that they'd be easier to grab; normally when someone says "crimp" we shudder at the finger abuse that's about to happen. This time it wasn't so bad, most of the holds are more positive than you think... and setting them on that angle wasn't so bad; well not so bad in the sense that you can stick and hold these little guys but you will notice that they're sharper than they look and you're going to want to move through any touch sequences on any kind of angle very very quickly... you do not want to be hanging around on them for any longer than you need!

Putting these guys on the 30 degree made them much easier, but again they're not something you want to be hanging on for too long; on the vertical they're simple enough and big enough that you can set some really interesting intricate hand movements... but we found that you can just match them and skip through a sequence without breaking a sweat. Sometimes less is more when it comes to setting.. look at what you want to do and then do it with the least number of holds possible, with the larger holds from the set we managed to get from the steps to the corner of the 45 / 30 wall with just half the set... it involved some pretty mental footwork and trust that you're hands weren't going to blow off

We'd not suggest these holds are for beginners as they're just too sharp, but you can make some really interesting arate moves with these guys as using them on opposing sides will allow the climber to cling on for dear life as they go for the send :)

SUGGESTED USES:



Some of these holds are deep enough that they could be classes just into the edge category... the main majority of the holds are crimps, small sharp evil crimps... most people would probably use these holds for feet (and they do make some bomber footholds) us, straight out of the box they went onto the steep wall because that's where we figured that they'd make us work the hardest but they've been on the shallower wall and on the vertical.. most of us don't mind climbing on these on the shallow or the vertical and even on the 45 for short periods of time.. why? Because they are pretty positive on the whole but they're also sharp, and considering that these holds are pretty thin as well it's the "bite" that keeps you on the wall.

For home wall use unless you have a lot of very shallow terrain or you're really trying to work on your open hand crimp strength we'd suggest leaving these guys in the gym and just rocking routes on them. Gyms on the other hand are going to have a hoot with the tricky hand / foot match sequences that can be made with these, they're not going to be matched by anyone so having people skip moves on your sequence means that they're either a) 7ft tall or b) the next Chris Sharma or c) both :)

We lessened the harshness of the holds by putting them onto volumes... we wish we had a 20ft arete to put these on either side of!

OVERALL BUILD

• Number of holds: 10
  
• Type (Bolt / Screw Ons): Bolt
  
• Price per hold (set price divided by number of holds): 45/10 = $4.50 per hold
  
• Color: These were green, the color wasn't completely even
  
• Bolt placement: Middle
  
• Sanding: Great, nice and flat
  
• Texture: Good, the nature of these shapes makes them sharp
  
• Set size: Small
  
• Versatility: Low, these holds are crimps and are very thin
  
• Pre-drilled screw holes: No

HA! Zach is having to do some work... the guy that normally pours the holds had a bad accident so he's out of the pouring room for a while (Speedy recovery Tyler), so Zach is back in the room making your holds. Considering Z-Man hasn't poured in a loooong time he's still got the skills! All of the holds are well built and there aren't any shallow pours, the only real flaw with them is that the color gets a little thin towards the edge of the holds :(

As always there's the inset Climb It logo, nice center washer and most of the bolt holes are straight and true, there are two of the holds that have slightly oblong holes drilled. The texture is classic Climb It but it's the shapes that will make your fingers ache as they are sharp little buggers.

WHAT ARE THEY MADE FROM:
Urethane, we have a lot of Climb It holds and we've not broken one thus far

PACKING / SHIPPING:
Could have been better, the holds were wrapped well but there was a lot of space left over in the box. No damage luckily

RATING:
Noodles:
Argh got to love hard drive crashes :( We lost a bunch of video that we'd taken before we cleaned these holds and took them to their new owner....

Crimping sucks! That's why I try to avoid it as much as possible, so I set the route that was the start of this video:

Climb It have been good to us, sending us lots of their new holds normally before they hit the market.. it means as something new comes out we can be right on top of it. So we make some videos from time to time with just a company's holds... we like to say thanks is all

These holds I'll come out and say, I no likey! I don't like crimps, but I'm strong on them... they make my forearm injury from years ago flair up and it sucks for weeks afterwards. I can and do appreciate what these holds offer to climbers and setters thou, they're brutal and kind at the same time... everyone has to hit the crimps from time to time... and when you do blast through the sequence and then find something nicer to hold onto.

Some company's say that a set is a crimp set, most company's actually get it wrong and have holds that are more edges or open handed crimps than what a true crimp actually is.. these holds (Like the Project Kreases, the E-Grips Double Disks, Teknik Aphids and a whole bunch of sets that I can mention) are m***er f***ers on the fingers... I'd suggest warming up a lot and taping all of your joints before getting on them but they are a set of CRIMPS on the whole, there are a few "larger" (hahahaa!) holds within the set but as soon as you route go's past 15 or 30 degrees you're going to be holding on screaming yer face off... but they're nicer than you think

Oh, did you see the way I went through the 45 degree part of the problem? Did you? That's because I didn't want to hang on to them for any longer than a needed to!

Chris:
Crimps on the 45? Even I don't like to venture into that domain very often but we managed to get out of the overhang. Was it fun? Yes. Did it hurt? Yes. Was it hard? Not as much as you'd think.

The holds are small, but keep in mind that they are crimps and the texture and shape have a good in cut and have a lot more give than I would have expected. So I was a little apprehensive at first, because the holds are small, but they are much more forgiving to the fingers. The in cuts are pretty deep (the images don't show it too well) and with the angles of the pinches you can squeeze the hell out of the hold.

I'm a big fan of textured holds. They don't need to have the same "feel" of real rock but when a mold is made with a texture on it, it makes the hold more interesting off the bat. These holds feel like plastic, but they give the same burn as climbing outside.

I guess it comes down to if I like the holds or not. Well I do. I think that this crimp set is a good size for setting problems and working on crimps. They will hurt if you work a lot with them, but they're crimps, and I'll reiterate that they are more forgiving than you'd expect.

PROS:

• Good sized set
• Friendlier crimps
  

CONS:

• Colors a little off
• Not for long sessions on the wall, these guys burn