Hold Waste

Hold waste is something that unfortunately happens only in Home Climbing walls. Hold waste happens when you get a set of holds from a company and realize that a number of them are not very useful due to the limited number of angles, placements, etc on your home wall.

I am actually amazed at the number of holds sets that I have bought that have come with holds that I cannot or will not use on my wall. A lot of this is because as a home wall owner most likely you only have so many angles to put holds onto whereas a gym has significantly more possibilities. Lastly I feel some companies include extra holds that I consider “useless” so that the price per hold looks good when in actuality they are masking the price per hold.

Examples of Hold Waste:

Just a sample of a few holds that I own where hold waste is prevalent. Some of these sets are so good that the hold waste is worth getting the other holds. Other sets you may want to avoid all together. In reality I have no problems with the holds just with how they are being marketed.

• Element Methods
  • Climbing Hold Review Link
  • Why: These are great holds, however only about 5 out of the 10 holds are good for hand holds. That leaves 4-5 feet that are not much different from any foot chip on the market.
  • Result: ~$45/set goes from ~$4.50 per hold to closer to $9+ per usable hold
• Nicros K-Oss
  • This set doesn’t exist anymore, however it is a good example because so many of Nicros hold packages are built this way.
  • Why: Includes several large pinches that are really fun. However 4 of the 7 holds in the set are purely foot-holds.
• So-ill Migrane:
  • Product Link
  • Why: These are awesome holds and properly advertised as “Hard”, however as with many sets vaguely labeled there is a range of difficultly in the holds. There are three very usable holds in the set including a jug, a positive crimp, and a harder but doable crimp/pinch. The other two holds would be useful on near vertical walls or as (expensive) footchips.
  • Result:  At ~$49/set puts the holds at ~$10/hold and $16/hold if you factor in the hold waste. These holds have been on my wall since 2005 however one of them has never even been set.

Identifying and Eliminating/Dealing with Hold Waste:

• Hold Waste is most harmful to new walls and new hold purchasers. Now that I have my wall and a ton of holds having hold waste is not as big as a deal as I can usually find places for anything. However when starting you want your dollars to go as far as possible and hold waste means wasted $$.

• When looking at sets try to maximize the value of the set. I have always been a proponent of buying quality over quantity and that means getting sets where each hold looks like it can be used on your wall per your skill-level.
  • Example of a Purchase I want to Make but Haven’t:
    • The So ill On Call Jugs: Since these things have come out I wanted the set because it is cool looking and a lot of fun. However I have not bought them because of Hold Waste.
    • Look at the set it includes 2 awesome jugs and 3 smaller holds for $70.
    • The phone handle jugs look amazing however the other 3 holds are not very inspiring and not something I want to spend money on.
    • Therefore to me the set is essentially $35/hold because I am prone to not use the other 3 holds.

• A lot of Hold Waste Can be Turned into Expensive Foot-Holds. At least that’s my opinion; foot-jibs are cheap and a lot of companies have sent me free foot-chips with orders so I seem to have an abundant amount of foot holds why do I want to gummy up new nice looking, expensive (but kinda useless) holds with shoe rubber.

• Volumes can help reduce hold waste. Like a climbing gym with a volume you have more options thus less chances of hold waste.

• Skill Level can help reduce hold waste. Most holds that I have identified as hold waste are very small, crimpy holds that come with the hold set. Depending on your skill these can actually be useful for your wall. It is always good to have plenty of hard holds as you improve, however there is a fine line between hard and usable.

• Easy ways to Identify Hold Waste when Shopping:
  • Skill level ratings on holds: If the holds have a difficulty associated to them which may be above your current skill, then realize you may get holds that are unusable
  • Foot-chips included in set: Easily identified because they are not much larger then the bolt holes. To save money and get a good cost per usable hold, avoid sets that appear to have several foot-chips
  • Small, Flat Holds: Any holds with a low-profile photo generally tend to be less versatile.
  • Use Peer-Reviewed websites: Climbing Hold Review has extensive videos and reviews on a lot of holds. Always check different sites before committing.

If you have encountered hold waste please sound off in the comments!!!