UKC

It's the middle of summer (allegedly) and I dont plan to climb indoors for some months yet but it seems logical that when I come to move indoors I should consider using liquid chalk, firstly to reduce the number of chalk particles (and therefore possibly virus particles) in the air and secondly for the sanitising effect of the alcohol in the liquid chalk - as Tesco say, every little helps! 

My previous encounters with liquid chalk were many (many) years ago and who know what was in the chosen potion but the net effect was to bring me out in a horrible rash and it was consequently consigned to the bin.

I am hoping that the intervening years have improved the recipe and it is now safe to apply, in which case could someone please recommend a brand that wont strip the skin from my delicate hands or cause an erruption of boils and if possible work quite well as .... er .... chalk ?

Thank you !

Make your own then you can be sure it won't upset your skin! It's basically just alcohol gel with chalk in. Get a bumper bottle of hand sanitiser that agrees with your skin and mix in powdered chalk. 

Stealing this idea! Cheers Paul!!

Have you tried not bothering?

Chalk's for ......

According to this article from the BMC, use of proper chalk may actually be a good thing at the moment...

https://thebmc.co.uk/climbing-chalk-coronavirus

Not sure if this extrapolates to use of liquid chalk as the study specifically mentions chalk dust.

"The initial results from a study on the relationship between a human coronavirus and climbing chalk suggest that the amount of infectious virus was reduced by around 99% immediately upon contact with a chalky plastic surface, whereas with no chalk dust present there was only a slight decline over a period of one hour"

.... people who climb harder than E1?

Nice work, shame I could only give it one like.

ABC report, not BMC. The BMC have, rightly, caveated this report because of it's preliminary status. It is not information that has been through peer review. 

Aye, alright Mr Pedantic. It is a BMC article though.

I've been using petzl liquid chalk (power liquid) recently and found it really good. To my surprise the effect on skin health has been less than loose chalk.

It's more expensive than some brands but cheaper than friction labs. I decided to try it because it contains an ingredient additive called styrax benzoin that is something that I hadn't seen in others and I thought might be useful as it is supposedly mildly antiseptic in an alcoholic solution. To be fair, petzl don't market that aspect at all, I just discovered it from doing a nerdy review of liquid chalk ingredients and I have no idea how effective it may be, but I have a history of bleeding cuticles a lot! 

If you're not pedantic, you're wrong.

But there's plenty of people who are nowhere near E1 using copious amounts.

Besides, if people don't try not using chalk how do they know what actual benefit they get from it?

Just  a thought.

What makes you think people haven’t tried that?  I have.  That’s why I use chalk.

Because most of the people I climb with use chalk as a comforter, and it's use by them isn't based on what they need, it's simply something they do.

I once say a mate of mine, chalk up when we were trying a no hands -  feet only problem.

Sure, but I use it because - especially indoors - my hands sweat, and that makes stuff more difficult.  I can't think when I've used it outdoors - in the UK there's usually enough of a wind to sort the issue!

I like liquid chalk for bouldering as I don't have to worry about it once I'm climbing

Sounds like a habit.  A bit like how I clean my shoes before getting on the rock, even if they are not dirty.

I'm yet to be impressed by any liquid chalk, however have found Wild Country to be the best of a bad bunch. Liquid is kinder to my skin, so I can't advise regarding your main concern. Chalk is definitely more effective.

At my wall we sell liquid brands, Ocun, Mura and something else. My tips are clear after a few moves, especially if they are hard moves, so I have to re-apply for every attempt from upper 6th grade up   I tend not to need it for most styles of bouldering below that fortunately.

Which was the point of my original post.

At least with shoes you don't know they're not dirty.

Perhaps that wasn't a serious comment. But just in case, I disagree. Chalk is helpful for any climber pushing their limits, whatever that limit is. An E7 climber using chalk on an E2 is like me using chalk on a Diff.

Martin

I believe it was a swipe at Cobra_Head, since his comment wasn't very helpful and their best stated onsight is E1. Chalk is obviously helpful at any grade, like sticky rubber.