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Review > Motavation Volumes > Teton S & Eldo S

We have history with Motavation Volumes.. we go waaaay back from when they started making wooden volumes! It doesn't mean we're not going to be our usual selves BUT if you want to see where they started and where they are now we suggest that you look at our older reviews:

Small and medium GEN 1 volumes: here
Waylon and Billy's: here
James and Pele: here

So that's starting back in 2009; that's a bunch of reviews on a company that started out small (two car garage) and has now grown to a 8,300 sqft facility that now boasts a C'N'C machine and probably air conditioning. They've sponsored World Cups and now they've added some more stuff to their already great line up which we'll get into later

Lets talk about what we're reviewing:

Two volumes that are a little bit different, Motavation have upped the game again by adding aluminum bracing to the insides; that's what makes these completely different from anything else on the market. Yes bracing will add some weight but it will also add a huge amount of strength to a shape

Now we've never had a problem with Motavations shapes; we have the original gen 1 shapes that apart from a few t nuts that have had to be replaced because they had become cross threaded over time have performed well. That's the same for anything that we've received over the years, before the bracing was added; they're all still on the wall and they're all still going strong. Even the one we parked (did wheel spins on) a jeep on top of way back when

So what was the point in adding aluminum bracing when their design was already super strong?

Well the market advances and lets face it even if their design was completely bombproof there could be an issue over time (we've not found one yet) so if you add bracing to an already solid design you're going to have a volume that's going to last something close to ten years and then that means apart from the initial cost of buying them you're probably going to save money.... you don't need to replace your volumes!! Lets put this into context; we have screwed screw ons onto these volumes time and again, and we're talking the older ones not just the newer ones here, and they're still solid. Our 2009 volumes (apart from holes as they were bare wood) are still going strong; that's 7 years so far, they only need 3 more to make 10... that's quality

Wood is good!

So what did we do with these guys? Apart from pressure washing them clean?

Roof's; check
Using the textured and un-textured versions as holds: check
Threw them from a great height to a concrete floor (didn't mean to do this): check
Mashed holds into the t-nuts like we didn't know how to use an impact driver: check
Put them on and off the wall just we wanted to see how the screw placements were: check
Park a truck on top of them: Nope; we don't have a truck anymore :(

We did everything reasonable and pretty unreasonable to these volumes; of course we set with them on multiple routes and we did horrible things to them and they came out like new. Even the pressure washer where we thought we'd get some water into the wood and could create an issue failed.... FYI: these holds are painted BEFORE t nuts are added to the wood is sealed and they're not just painted on the outside, they're painted on the inside as well.

Everything we tried failed; like Noodles says hats off to Jared and his team

Next time we want pink volumes :)

SUGGESTED USES:








These are screw on volumes so put them where you want them; sure we'd like to see some more set screw placements on them because they are pretty big and a little heavy; but they add variety to any wall, choose a color, choose if you want texture and away you go!!

We've used them, abused them and we ABUSED them and they're of the highest build quality, hell we ever pressure washed them and they came out brand new after six weeks on the wall.

OVERALL BUILD

• Number of holds:
• Teton S: 1
• Eldo S: 1
• Type (Bolt / Screw Ons): Screw on basically wooden features
• Price per hold (set price divided by number of holds):
• Teton S: $190 USD
• Eldo S: $195 USD
• Color: You can choose; 
• Bolt placement: None
• Sanding: Great
• Hollow backed: Yes
• Soft back (Rubber backed): No
• Texture: We have one that's slick and one that's textured
• Set size: They're S lol, but they do things bigger in Texas
• Teton S: 45in x 12in x 5.57in 
• Eldo S: 43.5in x 11.5in x 5in
• Versatility: Great
• Pre-drilled screw holes: Yes
• Shaper: Jared Stains
• Weight:
• Teton S: 8lbs
• Eldo S: 7lbs
• Where can you get them: here

Jared, the owner, told us from the start of this review that there were two flaws with the volumes... so we searched and we searched and found nothing except for the lack of set screw holes; we'd like more of them for sure because of the weight of the volume... and then you add holds, you see what we mean

There are 12 color options that are available and of course if you wanted you could have them "naked" or you could have them with textured or un-textured paint (that option isn't available on the website but as we have both we assume that you can order it

The difference between the two volumes price-wise is $5 USD and the difference is the cheaper one is larger (really?) but lacks on t-nuts (11 to the Eldo's 12) but has a slightly longer piece of bracing. It's really confusing why there is a price difference at all :(

T-Nut placement is good with the Eldo having a couple of placements that will only take smaller holds on the front of the volume due to where they are. All of the t-nuts are screwed in with three screws and are solid

Sanding as per usual is great, and it's something you'd notice on a volume where it's just screwed onto the wall because you'd have to really hammer the screws in to get it to sit flush (the joys of wood being flexible), thankfully all the screw holes are reinforced so you can really hit the volumes hard to get the screws to sit in properly

We'd of course like to see a placement for a bolt hole as an option for some of the volumes from their lineup because the larger (and the make massive volumes) really need it more as a back up than anything else

On the texture front the slick version is slick, depending upon the angle you "can" get a hand on it and make a move BUT it really depends upon the angle. It's not DRCC slick but its really close. The textured version has enough bite for you to grab onto and haul, but it does get a little chalked up and does need brushing. Both textures come up squeeky clean after you wash them!

Both volumes are braced with aluminum which is screwed into the plywood from the rear, this adds some weight but the strength is there for sure. All of the pieces are cut to length with no sharp edges (same for the volumes the edges are so nice) and they're all put together super well; these are probably the best built wooden volumes on the market right now

TEXAS STYLE: The logo is burnt into the wood on the volume

WHAT ARE THEY MADE FROM:
10 ply plywood with aluminum bracing

PACKING / SHIPPING:
Bombproof

RATING:
Noodles:

Right let me get this one out of the way quickly... every volume that Motavation sells they work with an organisation to plant a tree! Now that's pretty impressive and a great way to give back to the Earth for sure... I'm guessing that they give away their wood shavings to people that add it to their compost (Jared: you can thank me for that one later)

We sort of tried everything that we'd done before with these volumes and then did a bit more to see what else abuse they could take and they took everything we threw at them well, even hitting the floor from 20ft up just left a couple of scuff marks that were barely noticeable

Let me get all teary eyed for a second

It's great to see a company that we have seen grow up first hand, there are many that we've been a small part of over the years and this is one of them... from sending me shirts that were the size of flags to volumes these guys have always been super great to talk to and to work with, Even with this review (which took the amount of time for a baby (yes a proper human baby)) to be born to complete because of injury, vacations and mainly for me as the head of CHR... work and deadlines they took it in their stride and were always funny and gracious to us... they are true gentlemen of the industry

Also... elsewhere on the interwebz; someone poked fun at us a while back about "writing nothing but good things"; we tried to rip Motavation a new one, we really did but apart from wanting more set screws and maybe a bolt hole (which we've been honest about), some bolt holes being close to the edge and a few other minor gripes there's nothing wrong with these volumes.

We tried we really did; we've been critical and we count these guys as one of our friends, we talk on the phone, we chew the fat about the industry and we have a great relationship; so much so that if we did find fault and pointed it out that they'd except it, learn from it and would grow

Maybe we're getting to a point (ha) where there just isn't anything to point out anymore... hahahha roll on the next review. These volumes are the bomb and will last ten years or Chris will eat one of my hats

Chris:
Noodles actually suggested buying a truck or just throwing these into the street to get them hit by a car as part of our testing... we also didn't have access to a shotgun which was a genuine shame.

I'll shadow Noodles thoughts; we don't hold our thoughts back, never have done and never will. We pride ourselves on just saying what needs to be said; whats the worse that could happen? Get sued? Happened! Won't have people send us holds? Happened! We have to buy holds... we did that at the start and we'll do it again :)

Now lets talk 10 ply, I say it's 12 ply Russian but we had an argument about that that lasted a few days... volumes

I want more set screws if that is the only means of attaching them to the wall! Even though the holds had been on the wall when the walk through had been done I really wanted more points of contact for sure; safety first! Every volume we'd ever reviewed from Motavation before now always had a bolt (apart from maybe one very small volume) and they were bomb proof, but loading these holds up with holds and then bouncing on them right in the middle you could tell that three screws wasn't enough... and it's not!

My main problem is set screws and the lack of them, but the bracing is a thing of beauty.. well made and it fits into the volume nicely. There are more screws holding in the bracing than t-nuts lol
If you do need to add extra set screw holes (and we added some more) then you might need to drill through the bracing which takes a proper drill-bit (not a wood bit people) and a little time but I feel it's worth it. I like that the set screw holes are reinforced so you never really have to worry about their placement once the volume is on the wall

These volumes are probably a little pricey (remember we're in Canada) and the exchange rate is against us as per usual... but considering we have their early volumes and they're just glued together and are still fine I wonder how long these will actually last.... time will tell

PROS:

• Aluminium bracing makes them super strong
• Screw in t-nuts are super strong
• These will last a long time... for sure

CONS:

• Could be expensive with exchange rate
• Needs more set screw holes
• Why the price difference between two volumes that are about the same size
• You'll have to contact them for textured vs non textured options

Review > Solve Climbing > Granites (Various Sizes)

It seems that last year, 2015, was a big year for climbing hold companies. A lot were created from no where and we lost Revolution and Pusher, if there is space in a void then it will be filled.... we lost two but we gain many many more!

One of the new guys to come to our attention is Solve Climbing, and although their line up wasn't really that huge we contacted them to run a review. In fact this is something different for us, we teamed up with The Proving Ground (there review is: here) so we could drop both of our reviews at the same time!! It's something new for us (and for you!) so be sure to read both of the reviews to see what we think

Right, so we contacted Solve to grab some holds... we gave them the usual "whatever you think we should see" and they were right we'll get some stuff out to you then, and they did... 7 sets and one feature of their granite line so this review is going to be a fun ol' mish mash because there's a lot to talk about.

Lets get to it:

Review > Enix Climbing > Pumps

Logo

Right first up let us have a little confession session; these holds are called the Pumps and not the Bumps like we called them in the walk / climb video.

Why did we make such an easy mistake on the name?

Because of our special guest... he said "these holds would be great to bump to" and it totally stuck. So we'll obviously give negative points to Brian who owns the company for naming these holds incorrectly :)

Lets look at what we're talking about first of all:

Five simple, clean holds that look like they're going to be a simple, easy time...

New Logos

Review > Metolius > New shapes now in Polyurethane

Stay tuned kids this is going to be a long one.. and when we say long you're talking about two (actually three) reviewers and a walk through video that is 30+ minutes long!! Grab a cup of coco or tea or whatever is your bag and sit back and have a read...

For reference we're a little way from what we usually write as there are many people in many different places for this review... when you see SUGGESTED USES we're also going to talk about what we did with the holds here and some of the build issues that we found. 

We've also broken down the sets to their themes to make it easier for you to read! And when you look at FULL SET INFO we're giving a general overview on the whole set and then we're talking about the full set price not just what we received. We will talk more about the holds we received in the ALL SETS wrap up at the end :)

When Metolius switched over to PU (don't worry they still pour their old stuff) and the opportunity arises for you to review said holds, you jump at that opportunity. It's a no brainer for sure; we've had a long relationship with them since the beginning of this site and when you get an email saying "hey would you like to see our new holds" you're brain goes in two directions... are they just going to remake the old shapes in a new medium or are they going to have new shapes to add to their already large hold line.... well it's a bit of both and whichever way you look at it... it's gooooooood

new companies Jan 2016

Review > Holdz > Chewed Slopers

    

Holdz sent us these chewed slopers back in the spring. And, the review is well over due. We blame Nick. When it comes to holds, his not into one night stands. He type of fella that gets into long intimate relationships with holds; you know, takes them for walks in the park and stuff. We've always said that reviews take time because they do; with a walkthrough you can pretty much tell how a hold will be but until you get it onto a wall a bunch of times and actually set with them you're just blowing hot air and that's no good for anyone... thankfully Nick has the eyes of Noodles all over him all of the time (there's probably some strange webcam action happening somewhere) so he's been taught by the best in the business.. Enough about Nick's weird hold fetish and waxing lyrical about how to review some holds..... lets look at some bad ass Chewed Slopers by Holdz.

Boom:

And Boom:

And... BOOM!:

We received these Holdz's Chewed Slopers set just slightly before but almost around same time we received a big sample of each of new lines from each of Metolius' sweet new polyurethane holds (Check out those coming next) That's friggin' right, I just used those to words in one sentence; Metolius and urethane... so it was a bit of a toss up with what to go with. The plan was as Noodles got these holds sent to me for him to do the Metolius review and as we had similar shapes for me to weigh in on that and as Noodles had seen these Holdz holds somewhere before for him to weigh in on these holds... what happened?

Well Noodles got bogged down with some Atomik stuff, and some Etch stuff (which he's still working on) then he had a bunch of work (we do have day jobs) and then he had round two of surgery which put him down and out for a while and then he got those Artline reviews out.. well Nick; Nick just went climbing and as the boss says you review what you get in the order you get it... so it's Holdz first and then a bumper Metolius review afterwards

Straight out of the box, Nick was pretty impressed. He went around to Wallnut's (Local Gym) showing off the new plastic candy to all the setters that he could fine. He actually left them sitting on kitchen table at home to be admired for a time like a fine piece of art. (Until his better half finally convinced him they didn't belong there) It was Nick's belief that he had some deadly ol shapes on his hands.

If you look at these holds, slopey pinches and sloped edges that looked ideal for compression style problems on low angles. The other setters at the gym didn't seem convinced. The jury was out on this one......

When time came we ready to set with Holdz Chewed Slopers, Wallnut's was hosting a comp, so we figured hey why not give them to their setters to play around with for some comp problems. Nick was thinking maybe they'll see what he saw in these holds, sick compression problems and some sloped action... they decided that they should be set on vertical because they wanted everyone to be able to enjoy these holds, so they set friendly V0-V2 on vertical that's in the video.  And.... we'll tell you now if you set these holds on a wall much steeper then vertical, not many people are getting off the ground. These holds can be spit the best of them off pretty good.

The chewed slopers were a hit among most climbers. The head route setter, Ben Winstanley, told us this after that he had received several compliments on the holds. In particular, climbers were saying that they were nice shapes with excellent texture that were fun to climb on and they really liked the color as well! Sounds like the local climbers gave these ones a solid review.

We even ruled out the "new hold effect" i.e. people are stoked just to see new plastic, but this wasn't the case because there was several new sets up for the comp from other companies as well. The climbers just liked these ones.

After the comp, Nick striped them from the vertical to set a second problem on slightly steep terrain. He set them on 20 degrees and came up with the second problem in the video, which goes around V6, give or take a number grade.

SUGGESTED USES:






It's easy to come up with problems in high single digits on only a 20 degree wa;;. Any steeper, your probably looking at double digits without breaking a sweat. On 45, we were able to make some pretty cool and hard sloper problem pulling straight down and when we turned them sideways, it made for some hard slopey compression problems that felt like climbing on real slopey featured granite.

To use them on a 45, we had to have some pretty incut toes like Teknik horns (Probably not the real name but you know what time talking about). When we threw em on slab, they were funky but as you can always get a thumb somewhere which makes them not the best for this angle. You get lots of heels and toe hooks which make for cool problems if set correctly with other holds and limited feet. Actually, you can get some pretty cool heel n' toe action on most angles, another reason this set is soo cool.




When it comes down to it the only two criticisms we have on otherwise perfect holds are:

1. Texture may be a bit to fine for Noodles liking (we'll have to see below)
2. Name of the set should include pinch in there somewhere

When it comes to the texture, it may be a bit fine. We all know Noodles doesn't like the idea of constant brushing for gym setting. Nick on the other hand, doesn't have a problem with brushing between every attempt, as it something he does between every slopey attempt anyways. As for the pinch comment, we found that 90% of the time we were pinching these holds and maybe 10% holding you used it like a sloper. Naturally, we just feel like the hold name should reflect that these are mostly slopey pinches because most times your not using it as a sloper. This being said, relatively minor issues in the grand scheme of amazing holds.

OVERALL BUILD

• Number of holds: 5
• Type (Bolt / Screw Ons): Bolt 
• All their new shapes have dual bolt washers so they can take caphead or countersunk bolts.
• Price per hold (set price divided by number of holds): 
• Holdtopia (North America) : $97 USD /5 =  $19.40 US /hold,    
• Holdz (Europe): £39.99 = £7.99 GBP/hold
• Color: Ours are Fluorescent Orange 
• Bolt placement: Centred
• Sanding: Perfect
• Hollow backed: Hell Yes
• Soft back (Rubber backed): No
• Texture: Smooth fine grain graniteque or grippy sandstone
• Set size: Large
• Versatility: 8 out of 10 (not very functional on angles >30, but this is the holds nature)
• Pre-drilled screw holes: Yes mam
• Shaper: Steve Goodair
• Weight:
• Set: 1990 grams or 4.185 lbs
• Per hold: 380 grams or .837 lbs each  
• They feel very light
• Where can you get them: 
• www.holdtopia.com (North America) 
• www.holdz.co.uk (Europe)

Their colors are av avaliable:

The new dual bolt system coming on holds these days is a nice touch. I know some may think this minor but when you're hanging on a rope and you're running out of bolts (These take 120mm length btw) it makes a setters life easier.

The color was great. Solid color throughout the hold with no fading. Several climbers at the gym complimented the color of the set.

Sanding was perfectly flat.

I haven't had a chance to weigh them yet, but they feel like lightest holds that I have ever lifted. That being said, the hold still feels super strong. It seems well supported by three walls in the hollow back.

The column on the bolt and the screw supports the full length of bolt and screw.

WHAT ARE THEY MADE FROM: 

Polyurethane

PACKING / SHIPPING: 
Perfect

RATING:
Noodles:
I've had a long history with Holdz and it's owner Steve. As I'm from the UK apart from all the Pusher and S7 stuff that I have I still have original holds from Holdz, yes I live in Canada now blah blah but I still have all of them and I'm keeping them

I think I was one of the first customers to order from him when he went into business :)

Now I had these holds sent to "Nick Up North" because I was bombed with other reviews and as I knew that I was heading out for surgery so I was going to be down and out for a period of time (That and as I edit all the reviews and videos it just seemed a good time to give Nick some work y'know)
Have I climbed on these hold?

Yup! Thankfully one of the local gyms has them and there was a Tour De Bloc problem set with them... now the question you should ask is this "as you're a broken old man who just had surgery should you have climbed on these holds so soon after surgery?" well that answer is twofold:
1) No I should have kept my camera in my hand and I should have just kept taking pictures
2) And NO I should have kept taking pictures and should have not climbed on them

What I missed was some great sends of some great problems (finals was happening) and therefore some great problems but there were enough cameras / phones for me to not worry about this... no-one was going to look at the far flung corner of a gym when there's some great climbing happening

The problem I climbed was on a vertical wall and it looked like a walk in the park; it probably weighed in around V4 which is nothing to really worry about but as I'd just had surgery and I didn't have climbing shoes AND I couldn't hit the mats at full speed sort of added into the mix of things. I didn't get up first time, I'll put that down to a pair of New Balance sneakers (Trainers for everyone else), no chalk and the fact that there are options on these holds... a lot of options, it looks like turning them 15 degrees here or there will make a whole new level of difficulty for sure

Well designed? It's Steve and Holdz so I expect nothing less than good holds

Well poured? I know where they're poured and well yeah, they're magicians

Good holds? I only have maybe 15 minutes on these holds during and after the comp but I know that if I was a setter I'd want to play with them.. for me that's good enough. They are holds that will need some thought per move for the grade because a V2 can easily become a V4 depending upon the angle but isn't that what we have professional setters for??

Nick:
I think these holds are very well designed and shaped. I really do believe if a hold has been designed and shaped well, they usually almost set themselves. It really makes all the difference when setting with them, or at least this is my personal experience. Maybe it's just the cool shapes are more motivating or inspiration or something.

However, I this happens because the shaper has thoroughly thought about the use of the hold on each angle and each rotation of the hold on each angle when they are shaping them. There are directional holds that are used to force moves in problems, and sometimes this means that a large part of the hold is just useless.

That is not the case here, holds like this set which forces moves because each time you turn the hold a little bit the good part of the hold has now become worst then the more difficult parts of the hold. In this way, this set really lets the setter force the moves while giving you much more options.

I battled with texture for a while and really gave it some thought. I think the texture is prefect. You will have to brush them, but thats slopey holds for you. I brush the holds between every attempt on a slopey problem at my limit. I think if they made the texture more aggressive, it would have taken away delicate movement from the holds. That would have made them worst. I don't mind brushing slopers constantly.

So as with the artline holds noodles reviewed last, lets do a comparison for a buyer (you) in the US ordering from Holdtopia vs Holdz directly.

Price:

Holdtopia: $97 +28.25 = 125.25 USD
Holdz: £39.99 + 41.25 GBP (shiping) + 0 Tariff (surprising) = $120.33 USD

I chose a random place in Florida, so depending on where in the US that you live, your shipping could be cheaper. Either way, its roughly the same price, and that does surprises me ! I would have expected Holdtopia to be cheaper like Noodles said when he did the Artline calcs on the font holds. Regardless of the matter, your not being ripped off by ordering from Holdtopia. Their pricing seems to be equivalent or better across the board. One thing that is nice about Holdtopia, you can order a bunch of different sets from different companies at once. However, Holdtopia selection is limited to certain sets from these companies and does not carry there full line, so it is a trade off.

Here is a website for calculating duty/tariff. Looks like it works for most countries.

One suggestion that I will make to Holdz, is to change the out of stock on their website. I initially thought this meant that I could order that set, but if you look under FAQS, Holdz will have them made for you it just takes longer. I feel like some sales could be lost here with people not realizing this. I think most people I know wouldn't bother reading the FAQ. Changing the "out of stock" to "out of stock-order now" would probably be better.

When it comes down to it, I would buy this set for sure. There is no doubt in my mind that this is a set that will always be up on my home wall because the shapes are just that good. They are expensive but I think you will get more out of the hold then you would a more affordable priced equivalent from another company. Since, they really thought out how to maximize the hold uses on each angle - rotation combination. This set is priced comparable to some of the best sets out there, and it should be. It very well could be best set from Holdz.

PROS:

• Purchase from Holdtopia in North America
• Very well designed, shaped for varying angle
• Forces the moves

CONS:

• Price
• Name should include pinches somewhere

Holdz

Review > Artline > Stoneline > Jugs

You know after the last Artline review (here) which of course was on those Freshline slopers aka: these feel exactly like Font we wanted something, well, bigger. Something that would allow us to monkey around a bunch; something that most walls need more of and basically something that more people would actually buy

Now there's nothing wrong with the Font holds... nowt, they're awesome... but they're hard as hell and this will exclude most people from buying them unless you have a really large slabbed wall or you're training for a trip to France

Jugs are more for everyone; everyone loves a jug... beginners love them, people leading after a crux section like them... everybody loves a jug and every wall needs jugs

So let's get to see what Artline has in store for us this time:

20 jugs that despite the images shown here we're so bright that you almost needed sunglasses to look at them!! Seriously we were worried about the white balance on the camera and how they'd show up when we went to edit the video

agripp

new companies dec 2015