UKC

As most of you on this site are chalk user,I wonder if some of you could try this"eco ball", just to see if it really low down your capacity to climb,or make it the same.
If enought people are willing to try we may ever get sponsor for it.Let me know{im off to scotland for a week so i may not ansewr right know].
Any comment about eco ball welcome{good or bad}

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In reply to brixton climber: I'm planning on investing in one tonight and maybe testing it this weekend or sometime soon at least. I'll let you know.

In reply to Craig Geddes:

thank you.
mon cher Ggeddes
Also let me know wich grade and rock you use it for,and the price you bougth it for.
thank again.
Brixton Climber.

In reply to brixton climber: It was going to be the metolious stuff - I was going to trial it indoors first (so I can compare it directly to normal stuff and as I'll be buying it at the wall anyway) and then it'll probably be me working an E2 gritstone slab project this weekend alongs side some VD-VS warmups.

In reply to brixton climber: I've been using one for a few months (indoors and out). Apart from the fact that it falls off - the attachment of ball to string is poor(fixed it with a cable tie in the end) - I like it. Dries my hands out for ages. Probably not very good if you have skin probs. £3 from climbing wall (who don't like chalk). Limestone up to VS (lead) and indoors to 6A+.

In reply to sh1:

Ecoballs do not leave white marks like chalk, but they do leave a residue that gradually builds up and is much harder to remove than chalk. They are used much more in america than here where some walls have banned their useas it ruins the holds.

In reply to brixton climber: I got one of these - to do my bit in reducing the amount of chalk knocking about the indoor wall and crag. I promptly returned to the trusty chalk ball. I thought it was crap. It does dry your hands well but 2 seconds later I found myself sliding off the wall. It's now somewhere at the bottom of a rucksack destined never to be used again.

In reply to brixton climber: I used it yesterday and found it superb - I will post furher findings once I have used it in warmer conditions where such things make more of a difference.

In reply to Anonymous: Was that only at walls that they found a problem or was it affecting popular crags as well? Walls see more more solid use than crags I think.

In reply to Anonymous:
dear someoene
do we have any proof or info regarding your comment about eco ball residu. Do we known what eco ball is made from?

In reply to maresia:
dear maresia
sliding off the wall why? was it really the fault of "eco ball"
Brixton Climber.

In reply to Craig Geddes:

if it affects walls it will affect crags eventually. isn't this just another go at marketing resin which is well known to have residue problems? these occur much faster if crags see a mixture of both resin and chalk use. which is why chalk is a compleate no-no at font and anybody using resin at harisons will be shown another use for belay bolts...

Personaly still use chalk, however seeing that I have bought one ball in the last 2 years for use both indoors and out I think using is a bit too strong. I may have chalked up outside once last year sometime

In reply to brixton climber:

No, the sliding off was the fault of my rather sweaty hands at the time! But the eco ball didn't help as it's supposed to. I've found chalk far more effective

In reply to davidwright: It won't nessecarily affect crags - walls see much heavier use than even the most popular crags and don't get rained on is my point. However if it was to start affecting crags and prove hard to get off I would stop pretty sharpish - at least chalk marks are pretty easy to get rid of unless they are REALLY ingrained.

It's not resin though - it's a powdery drying agent of some form (i think it's just a concentrated version of what metolious put in all their chalk).

In reply to davidwright:
Cher david
its not resine.
im still awaiting to know where it affect wall or crag.
Brixton Climber

In reply to Craig Geddes:

In reply to brixton climber: I bought an Ecoball to test out. Normally climb about E1 but only lead around HS-VS and do a lot of limestone routes in the southwest. Didn't like it on LS, but happy with it indoors. We have a few holds in our flat and it is all we use then. No chance for buildup cos there isn't much use on those holds. I do find that I use it a lot when I do yoga, though, as many postures that require interlocking fingers and stretching are easier with dry hands. Works a treat for that!

In reply to brixton climber:

I have used an eco ball a number of times and i find it has the same characteristics of pof. If you have ever used pof then you will know that it improves grip for your shoes slightly but due to it (POF) being a resin it sticks to the rock and polishes it. This makes it harder to climb in the furture.

In reply to Simon Frost:

eco-balls are nothing like "pof". Pof is a resin, the whole point of which is to leave something behind to improve friction.

As someone else said, eco balls are simply metolius' own proprietary drying agent with a little bit of chalk mixed in as a carrier.

Metolius Super Chalk is lots of chalk with a little bit of drying agent added (i.e. the opposite of the eco-ball).

Eco balls leave next to nothing behind, and what is left behind can be blown away with a stiff puff! Far better than chalk - especially on well used grit boulder spots, which are becoming more and more unsightly with chalk build-up (and less fun working out the sequences when the chalk leads the way!)

I climb almost exclusively on grit, and actually gave up all forms of chalk due to skin problems for a couple of years. Started using Eco-balls recently (last few months) and they seem much kinder to my skin than MgCO3 chalk. However i am always careful to wash my hands and MOISTURISE.

In reply to brixton climber: i use the eco ball and have had no problems it dries your hands nicly and your throat to if u get a whiff of it the only down side is that if u get confidence by seeing chalk all over your hand then your screwed with it but it does work.

In reply to ibopioneer: Still using mine and still finding it just fine. The crunch text will be when we get some really sticky weather coming in.

I agree it doesn't have the psycholgical satisfaction of chalk and will possibly revert to chalk if I am preparing for a really scary route (every little helps for a punter like me)!

In reply to jessedavies:

I use an eco-ball and it's much better at drying my skin than normal chalk balls. I do find that it's not as kind to my skin, which does feel quite rough and dehydrated afterwards - maybe I need to be better at moisturising afterwards.