UKC

Hand jamming for Sissies

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 BnB 07 Jun 2014
I'm learning to jam. In fact I'd go so far as to say I might even be starting to enjoy it, which is some kind of a breakthrough. The issue is that, where my partner seems to stuff his podgy great fists to tremendous and instant effect, I can only achieve similar efficiency with taped hands.

I am a desk-jockeying, pianist-fingered, lean body-indexed weakling with a minimum of climbing experience and no talent.

I feel like a fraud when I perform the wrap of shame. Is there any hope that one day I too can have hands like hams?
 Mark Collins 07 Jun 2014
In reply to BnB:

You could count yourself lucky you don't find yourself reaching for these every time you see a crack:
http://www.needlesports.com/Catalogue/Rock-Climbing-Equipment/Aid-Climbing/...

I have no shame.

They are very effective for hand jams though, quicker than making a tape glove with tons more grip and padding.
 TobyA 07 Jun 2014
In reply to BnB:

Your hands aren't going grow, you just need to keep doing it until you find cracks where your hands are the right size and your mate's hands are the wrong size, then enjoy watching him suffer.

Crack gloves have become almost the norm where I climb, at least for climbers who don't actively seek to avoid the many cracks. It seems of the easy to find ones, the Singing Rock chockys (that I have) make your hands fatter (good sometimes, bad other times) whilst the Occun ones are slimmer and a bit more 'techy', closer to a good tape glove.
http://www.ocun.cz/en/products/technical-aids/crackgloves.html
http://www.singingrock.com/chocky

BTW, if you make a good tape glove I've found the last for weeks of daily use, with just another wrist wrap necessary as you put them on. So you can just keep them in your bag should you fancy trying an obvious hand crack during a day cragging.
 TobyA 07 Jun 2014
In reply to Mark Collins:

Interesting link - isn't Triop also Czech? Singing Rock and Occun are, so I think that is three Czech companies making crack gloves and no one(?) else.

Do Czechs just climb A LOT of cracks, or are they particularly delicate flowers?
OP BnB 07 Jun 2014
In reply to Mark Collins:

I actually own a pair of these as well, and thanks to your honesty I feel ready to admit it. So good to know I am not alone.

I keep them handy for the odd offwidth jams for which they are brilliant. Tape seems to work better for a greater variety of purposes though.
OP BnB 07 Jun 2014
In reply to TobyA:

> Interesting link - isn't Triop also Czech? Singing Rock and Occun are, so I think that is three Czech companies making crack gloves and no one(?) else.

> Do Czechs just climb A LOT of cracks, or are they particularly delicate flowers?

This may explain more than you intended. My family (on my father's side) hails from the Polish/Czech border. I must share their fragile digital DNA.
 ro8x 07 Jun 2014
In reply to BnB:

If you whisper randall 3 times I believe he appears in the thread offering sage advice on the art of making your hands stick into things.
 TobyA 07 Jun 2014
In reply to ro8x:

> sage advice on the art of making your hands stick into things.

Nowt against Tom, but it's a bit odd this as, really, how much sage advice do we need? Considering it's called hand-, finger- and fist-jamming, what you do is sort of said in the name isn't it? Ok so you can hand jam thumb up or thumb down, but beyond that I'm not convinced there is so much too it.

When people say "I don't know how to hand jam" I often think a) they haven't tried or b) what they really mean is "I don't like hand-jamming" which is perfectly valid but not the same thing!

BTW, Steve Mc wrote in his climb column some years back that a climbing doctor had explained to him how the difference between men's and women's skin structure means that jamming will be much more painful for women. I reckon all women who want to climb cracks should just wear crack gloves and be done with it; and no bloke should make even the slightest bit of a snide comment about it unless they want to get beaten to a pulp by one Pamela Shanti-Pack's Camalot #27s, and that would hurt!
 TobyA 07 Jun 2014
In reply to BnB:

> I must share their fragile digital DNA.

I've always thought of Poles and Czechs as seeming rather no-nonsense, tough types. Perhaps though the Czechs are only hard when they get stuck in the cockpit of an RAF Hurricane and told to go up and take on the Luftwaffe (again).
 1poundSOCKS 07 Jun 2014
In reply to TobyA:

I don't think it's odd. There's obviously more to it that just sticking your hand/finger/fist into the crack. I found the articles helped a lot, and I'm really just a beginner. So much more still to learn.
 Fraser 07 Jun 2014
In reply to TobyA:

> ...so I think that is three Czech companies making crack gloves and no one(?) else.

I'm pretty sure Black Diamond do too.
 HeMa 07 Jun 2014
In reply to Fraser:

I'm 100% certain they don't... BD makes aid gloves that are your basic Cham dumpster dude gloves, but more dough.

Ocun, Singing Rock and Triop, however do these cheating gloves... which are rather nice if it is gritty or the rock has a big crystals.
In reply to BnB:

Wooffinden rubbed my belly....

Basically it's down to mileage and skin desensitisation. With mileage (think a lot of mileage!) you get more efficient and adapt your technique as near to perfection as possible. With desensitisation it's more of a transient thing. It comes and goes with how much jamming you're doing. If I lay off hand jams for 6 months I find it extremely painful again but with a month of regular sessions it's very comfortable.

Final thing is - don't forget a lot is in the head. It's an attitude thing. You want the route more than anything and climb well and you'll completely forget about the level of discomfort as you're so absorbed in the movement.

That's what I've experienced anyway...
 TobyA 07 Jun 2014
 TobyA 07 Jun 2014
In reply to 1poundSOCKS:

> There's obviously more to it that just sticking your hand/finger/fist into the crack.

Not much more though! Like Tom said, get out and start doing it lots - I really reckon that is the key!
 1poundSOCKS 07 Jun 2014
In reply to TobyA:

Getting out and doing it is definitely the key, once you know what 'it' is.

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