Performance and environmental responsibility have always been driving motivations to make continual progress. The concept behind our new Mg2+ was to go further.

Solar seawater magnesium is a by-product of the salt industry requiring the flooding of coastal ponds with salt water.

Our process uses minimal space where ocean water is pumped into baths and the magnesium is precipitated out over the course of 20days. The process is slow and specialized producing only what we need. The final result is the highest purity chalk using XRD testing, with minimal environmental impact and maximum friction.

CHALK RESEARCH PROJECT UBC & FLASHED

TRANSPARENCY

With the climbing growth comes higher expectations of performance and the impact of the equipment and practices. Flashed continually looks to improve our products to support personal progression, community growth, and environmental stewardship. Suppose you've followed us over the years. In that case, you'll have seen us change from plastic buckles to metal, reduce or eliminate packaging, incorporate more natural materials (wood brushes), and bespoke personalized printing, to name a few. Key in all of these changes is transparency.  We value people's trust and give precise info on our products.  We list every ingredient in our chalk and liquid chalk, for example.  No secrets here.  Everyone deserves transparency to be able to make informed decisions for themselves.

TESTING

How do we make better chalk? First, we need to ask what we are using now.  The first phase of this project is to answer that question. We want to study as many different chalks on the market as possible. What is inside? How does the purity compare? Naturally, the pursuit of science is impartial, so we are also putting Flashed chalk in the mix and are keen to see what comes out! This project is in conjunction with the University of British Columbia, which will conduct testing and analysis of the chalks.  They will also publish the results separate from Flashed to ensure we are removed, and the data remains pure.

COMMUNITY

However, we want this to be a project for the whole climbing community.  Please come along for the ride and be sure to ask questions so we can discover this together.  What testing is planned? What results are expected from that testing methodology?  What will that test miss, and will it tell the whole story? What do you want to know about chalk? This is an opportunity to work together to collectively learn about a key product we all love and journey towards understanding and maybe even development so we can all make our own informed decisions.

To keep updated with the Flashed Chalk Research Project check out the Flashed Blog.