UKC

Tends to be chalk.

Marketing bollocks aside I've always enjoyed the chalk I use, no matter what the 'brand' or 'label'.

And like most Baked Beans I tend to think they come out of the same quarry anyway - they just get different labels pasted on.

So advertisements selling me 'the best chalk' tend not to get a second glance.

In reply to Andy Say:

If you have such an undiscerning palate as to truly believe there to be more than one brand of baked beans worth eating, perhaps your sense of touch is similarly afflicted?

In reply to Martin Bennett:


Edited to try to make sense.

Nope. I do recognise that there are an abundance of baked beans on the market. My query is whether any particular beans are actually worth 6 times the price of their competitors.

Now my tortellini is getting cold so I must move on.

In reply to Andy Say:

It's funny all these minor products that will make you a better climber. Recently read that the Fitz traverse had the equivalent of 6a British tech pitches that were done in approach shoes. Basically you've either got or you ain't. Not so much "lipstick on a pig" as "posh chalk on an average climber"

In reply to Andy Say:

Very true but they are not all the same. I don't get on with Metolious chalk for example. I believe it contains a drying agent but it disagrees with my skin. I have to raid my wife's moisturiser after using it. Well that's my excuse

Al

In reply to Martin Bennett:
Lets not forget the purpose of chalk is to absorb sweat. Other than that does it actually give any extra grip?

In reply to radddogg:

In my experience not really. I only tend to use it at the wall.

OTOH I am objectively a crap climber so maybe these products are not meant for me.

In reply to Andy Say:


Chalk actually reduces your grip; overchalking even more so as it fills the tiny pits in both your skin and the rock that create friction. It just so happens that sweat is a lot worse!

In reply to Andy Say:

The best chalk is the one having the most fun!

I also rarely use chalk as I feel it affects grip but is helpful for nervous sweaty palms. Then again I only lead vs or f6b so what do I know

In reply to Pesda potato:

Is it me? I'm amazed by all the comments re negative effects of chalk, and especially that it's only to absorb sweat. This is not my experience (and boy, at my age I have some experience!) My hands don't sweat but I find chalk is so good as to be considered an artificial aid. I find it improves grip quite remarkably, unless of course there's too much of it. I know nothing of chemistry but there's something going on that improves the interface between skin and rock. A very capable and well known climber of the 70s and 80s told me he believes chalk is even more helpful when hands are cold because then the pores close and reduce natural friction. I can well believe it.

I haven't become aware that one brand is any better or worse than another. I don't seem to suffer from skin irritation when using it, tho' I have friends who do.

I was right about the beans though!

In reply to Andy Say:

Sorry all. I seem to be in a bit of a sour mood this week. Probably as a result of coming home from Italy....

But, as mentioned above, the amount of advertising drivel spouted by a lots of brands is a bit wearing. You get it every time you open this forum.

Everything is the lightest, the best, the most efficient, the strongest. The stickiest rubber, the best chalk, the most eco-friendly. It will turn you into a superhero in the mountains and the crags. I'm amazed we didn't all die using the crap was was produced last year. It was the wrong colour, wasn't it.

It was an eye-opener for me yonks ago to hear that Karrimor, tough old practical Karrimor when it was still almost a cottage industry in Accrington, hired in a Parisian fashion consultant at mega-bucks to tell them what colour to make their kit next season. I just wanted it carry things in and keep me dry(ish).

In reply to radddogg:


Can't really give any evidence that isn't anecdotal..

Although i'd say i've spent more time removing chalk from holds than actually chalking up.

Strangely have found that the trick to latching that awkward sloper is to actually clean chalk off my hands with a bit of spit, rather than caking the hold and my hands in more powder.

In reply to Andy Say:


You can blame Mike Ashley for that

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:


Marginal gains. Nuff said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19174302

In reply to Andy Say:
I use calcium carbonate myself. It's the best!

In reply to Fraser:

Maybe...
I reckon for a sport climber wearing rock shoes the maths goes something like this...

98% of ability is down to the climber.
The remaining 2% is split 50% on the make of shoes and 49% on the weight of gear.
The last 1% of the 2% is the brand of chalk so that's 0.02% of the original.

So a 1% increase in the effectiveness of the chalk would improve overall ability by 0.0002%. Ie there's a gnats cock of difference in it.

In reply to Andy Say:

The white powder i use is the mutts nuts...just talk for hours and get lots done

In reply to Martin Bennett:

Put your hand on a mirror for 5 seconds then remove it. You'll see fogging. The chalk is stopping that. I'm pretty sure that's the only thing the chalk is doing.

In reply to Martin Bennett:
A very capable and well known climber of the 70s and 80s told me he believes chalk is even more helpful when hands are cold because then the pores close and reduce natural friction. I can well believe it.

And I'd surmise that this is due to the temperature differential between your hand and the rock. Take a cold beer bottle out of the fridge in summer and within seconds it is dropping with condensation. Take a cold beer bottle of of the fridge in winter and there will be little or no condensation formed.

Perhaps that's why friction in general is better in winter, if your hands are cold they won't sweat and won't naturally release any vapour due to the press being closed.

In reply to Fraser:

It's not marginal gains. It's banned drugs.

In reply to Andy Say:

Never really noticed a difference between brands, except one, which just feels a bit weird on your hands and not quite right.

In reply to Andy Say:

Did any of you actually read the scientific basis behind the friction labs chalk, which I presume is what has spawned this thread? Simple version is that magnesium carbonate keeps your hands drier for longer.

Now, if you're climbing VS, then you're climbing routes that were done well before the introduction of chalk as an aid to prevent sweaty hands, and obviously the benefits will be less apparent. Big jugs and bomber jams don't tend to be too bothered by a bit of hand sweat.

Once you start hitting higher grades, chalk becomes steadily more relevant, and as you hit even higher, the *type* of chalk then becomes relevant. As you become a more refined climber gains come much slower, and marginal gains become more relevant.

Simples!

In reply to zimpara:


I'm not sure what you're saying here, is it that those using banned drugs were actually poorer performers and the British won as a result or that the British were using banned drugs, performed better and therefore won?

In reply to Andy Say:

I dunno, the chalk I was using wasn't doing a great job; I get very sweaty hands when I climb and it gets worse when I'm nervous on a climb and worse still if I'm working up a sweat by working hard. The chalk I had would eventually make matters worse by just turning into sludge on the holds and my hands. I tried another chalk and I don't have that problem anymore so for me the chalk is helping me get a better grip by not doing the sludge thing. I appreciate not everybody is afflicted with sweaty hands when they climb so can perhaps get away with using whatever chalk they get but for me it has made a difference. It won't magically make me go up a grade or anything, I know that, but it what it will do is help stop my hands just sliding off holds because of chalky sludge which no amount of grip strength or technique is going to save me from!

Moon Dust
keeps fingers dry for long time.

In reply to Andy Say:

I don't use chalk at all, even in the height of summer I don't find it helps my axes and crampons grip any better.

In reply to EddInaBox:

I find it helps me grip the hammer and peg when the furious hammering leaves me sweaty palmed.

In reply to Andy Say:

The best chalk is no chalk

In reply to Andy Say:

I agree with Fraser here. Marginal gains. If Friction Labs chalk helps me hold on 5% better, then I'm more likely to do a certain move, and complete my project. Also, if I have to use 5% less energy it means I'm every so slightly fresher when it comes to the redpoint crux. Also my skin feels like it's in better condition as I tend to not split my tips as much so I can train more often which turn makes me a tiny bit stronger. All of these factors on their own are a small difference, but they add up to make a significant difference to me.

As previously mentioned, it won't make much difference on a lot of routes/boulder problems, but when you're at your limit I think it helps.

How much money do people spend on a new pair of climbing shoes because they are 5% better than their previous pair? A lot more than anyone will spend on chalk.

In reply to Greasy Prusiks:





Never mind sports climbers. Check out the old videos of Ron Fawcett in Hanwags (what god-awful shoes they were. I had the purple and yellow variety) with centimeter thick soles plus wearing nice thick hiking socks.

In reply to radddogg:

Chalk definitely does something. Whether it's preventing slippage from moisture/ grease or some other factor I don't know.

The improvement is akin to trying to unscrew a tight jar lid with bare hands and then doing it with a towel in your hand.