Holds are by far the most expensive and one of the most important elements of any climbing wall. The other difficulty is that choosing the first set of holds for your wall is insanely challenging due to the enormous amount of companies and options.
What this will focus on is the basics and what you need to get through the first couple of months of your wall. Holds are essential but you can get by with minimal $ and minimal holds if you think through the process right.
What we Did for Our First Wall:
Below is a kinda shitty photo of my first wall (somehow didn’t ever take that many photos of it) but it demonstrates what you can get by with in terms of holds relative to the size of your wall.
First Climbing Wall in Tall Garage right after being built. 8ft wide x 16 ft long, ~14 ft high, ~30degrees
The wall is roughly 8 ft wide with 16 ft of length standing roughly 13-14 ft high (a really awesome set-up) and roughly 30 degrees. On the mid-right you will notice that we had to chunk out a piece to make it work around the rafters so not a true 8×16 of climbing surface area but it was plenty of surface area.
The important thing to note is the minimal amount of holds. At the top we have two ending jugs. In the middle is ~30 holds that range from crimper to pocket size but are spaced out and are set for a number of routes. At the bottom we have 10-15 foot-jibs.
Looking at the wall it appears we have plenty of coverage and have a number of routes which is all you need when starting out. Obviously you can never have too many holds but at the beginning you only need some to start out.
Holds that we Selected for Our First Wall and What to Change:
Below is roughly our process on how we bought holds when starting out, why we selected the holds that we did, and what I would change if I was to do it all over again. Another thing to note is that we all were relatively new to climbing with all of us leading in the 5.10 range but not bouldering above V3 with a number of other friends that were brand-new climbers. Therefore all of my hold suggestions are for the person that when starting out is not really climbing much above v4/5; if you generally flash above v5 these suggestions will be less applicable. Lastly the first wall we built was in the fall of 2005 and since then hold companies may have changed dramatically.
- Starter Set:
- We got lucky and had a hook-up and purchased one of the Metolious Mega Packs (I believe the 40 piece) for wholesale as a buddy worked at EMS and got a killer deal. The price was ~$50-65 if I remember right and for that price it was a steal. I wouldn’t spend the money on that set today ($130!) but it was a good starter because it had 1 big jug, a bunch of decent pockets, a couple awesome crimps, and a ton of foot-jibs, etc. Today a couple of the holds from that set are still some of my favorites.
- Suggestion: There are a number of companies with starter sets out there and the deals are always changing. Check-out the main companies but remember with the starter set you want a number of basic, reliable shapes that anyone can crank on with a lot of different hold types (foot-jibs, crimps, jugs, pockets, etc).
- What I wouldn’t do: Buy a very large starter set from a single company. There are a lot of sets out there for ~$200 and most of them contain a lot of good holds. However most of the fun/quality of your wall will come from a diverse set of climbing holds. A $200 set may be sweet but I would not want to get much more then that from any single company. Climbing Hold Review did a massive comparison of all $200 sets from most companies that can be found here (hard to navigate but quality info): http://climbingholdreview.blogspot.com/2010/07/200-dollar-question.html
- Reliable Jug Set:
- I believe I stumbled upon Atomix Climbing via e-bay and ended-up ordering a set of what they call roof jugs from them. They have been great as the texture is very user friendly and they worked well as bigger holds on the wall that anyone could hold onto. Great beginner set on the 30 degree wall and now make awesome holds on my roof.
- Suggestion: Generally Starter Sets skimp on the large easier jugs. If yours does look for a large jug set of at least 5 holds to put on your wall. You may need more eventually but this is a great starting point.
- Unique Test Set of All Around Holds:
- Once we had the basics down (a mix of holds + some jugs), I purchased the first set of unique holds to experience something new. What I ended up with was a set from SoIll Holds which are classified as Medium difficulty Jugs, they are the Soill Nosebleeds. They were awesome because while they had some juggy positions they were generally fairly difficult when grabbing but still solid. It was a perfect initial harder set that allowed for some creative climbing.
- Suggestion: Ordering a set that looks really cool but is still versatile is key when starting out. It lets you try out a new hold company (and at that time they were barely starting to show-up in gyms) as each company (and certain holds) have different texture, plastic, and style and some companies you will really like and others you will hate. So look for something that you think is cool but not insanely difficult or expensive.
- Random Smaller Purchases:
- By smaller purchase I mean buying a small hold pack from REI or your local outdoor shop. Generally they have companies like Metolius and Franklin which are good and you can get a feeling for the holds before you buy them.
- Suggestion: Only buy if you really like the holds. You get to feel what they will be like on your wall before purchase so that is a plus. However generally they are more expensive then online. I prefer to buy directly from the hold companies however have been pleasantly surprised with a few finds at REI and our local shop Wilderness Exchange Unlimited. Also lately it seems the holds at REI are fairly poor in quality/texture compared to most other holds I own therefore buyer beware.
- Set of Really Hard Holds:
- My buddy purchased a set of holds for the wall (and he is a much stronger climber then most of the rest of us) and he got another set from Soill. These holds had very small crimper or open sloper type shapes that I believe are based on Fontainebleau sandstone; the Soill Migraines. They are hard holds, awesome texture, look sweet, but were probably a little too hard for the angle of our wall. Still to this day (5yrs later) a couple of the holds have never really been used but a couple of them have always been very good.
- Suggestion: Buying difficult holds has always been a challenge for me because difficulty depends on the angle and the climber and every hold company has a different rating system. Therefore be aware that when buying a difficult set some holds might never be used on your wall (but that is why volumes are key). When starting out it is awesome to try these harder holds but just know that you might get one or two awesome holds but the others might fall into “Hold Waste”.
Essentially the above purchases lasted us for a number of months and being poor college students we only really bought something when a great deal came-up. Over time we added more sets but only when we got bored with the wall and it suited us throughout college.
Initial Routesetting:
Unless you set routes in your local gym there is a good chance that this is your first time setting problems. Route-setting is one of those things that you really don’t think about when you first build you wall as being a highly critical item to having a successful climbing wall.
Here are some tips for when you first set your wall:
- Keep it simple: You are just testing the waters, keep all of the movements easy, make sure you understand how to put the holds on the wall and more then likely all of your friends want to come by and try. Your goal is to get people close to the top from the beginning. You have years to work on the harder stuff.
- Foot Holds are Key: If you wall is 30+ degrees then the feet are the most critical component that determines a routes success or failure. Have plenty of them and have them be good sized at first. Once you get the technique down you can make a problem substantially harder by just changing the feet and not the hand holds.
- Set Safely: This is your first wall and you may not be sure how people will fall, when holds may come loose and spin, or if something is not structurally sound. Therefore make sure at first that most climbs are in the middle and have plenty of fall protection.
- Constantly check hold tightness: With a new wall and new t-nuts you will always have to be cranking down on the bolts to ensure their tightness. No one likes it when they are a move from the top and the hold spins and they have an awkward fall. At the beginning of each session go through and tighten every hold until you get to the point where they are all solid.
- Minor Hold Changes may be all you need: If something is not working instead of pulling everything down most times all you need to do is add a new foot hold, or change out that crimper with a better hold or move it one t-nut space closer. Tweaks are always necessary and get use to constantly modifying your problems.
- Set a couple problems and then improvise: With a clean wall add in a couple problems and then fill in the holes with other holds to create variations. At first you may have all of your problems start for one or two areas until you get more holds; the start is less important at first, its the upper 2/3’rds where you want all the action.
- Find Inspiration: Look to your favorite climbs outdoors, watch cool movements of classics online or in a movie, go to a indoor comp and see what is the most fun, get tips from the internet. Then try to mimic those movements and see what happens.
If you have any more tips please leave them below in the comments!!!
Thanks!
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