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Commercially available freestanding bouldering walls

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 Remyveness 31 Oct 2016
Does anyone have any good suggestions for commercially available freestanding bouldering walls?

Im looking to get a bouldering wall for my University Club, but we are having to jump through a ridiculous number of hoops to get one. We cant get a permanent space, and we cant build anything ourselves. Needless to say we have to convince the Uni so the cheaper it is the better...

Ive seen this but it looks like a bit of a waste of time really as its too small and looks very flimsy. http://www.brewersledge.com/products/home-walls/111-boulderboard

I remember seeing something on climbing daily a few years ago but couldn't seem to find anything other than this which doesn't want to give any details.

Anyone got any other suggestions?

Remy
 MischaHY 31 Oct 2016
In reply to Remyveness:

One option might be to get yourself a moon board? These can be had freestanding and with LED's etc.

Only really good for more advanced climbers though.
 stp 01 Nov 2016
In reply to MischaHY:

I think there is the option to set it at 25 and 40 degrees depending on the difficulty level you want. I think any small, freestanding board is going to be more interesting for advanced climbers.
 jkarran 02 Nov 2016
In reply to Remyveness:

Why can't you build it yourselves or at the very least, commission someone to build it? Presumably you want something on wheels that stows away in a sports-hall cupboard like a table tennis table? It's not technically difficult to make especially if they'll put some anchor bolts in a wall to hang it from, it's just a series of lightweight (sandwich material would be ideal, rigid and light) boards that roll into place, clip to chains then some mats to slide in under.

I'd go round the uni, I haven't got the fight in me to deal with the bureaucracy. Speak to your local council and search the local property rags/gumtree etc for a lock up garage then club together with your mates for rent and materials. That or move in with climbers and build it in your lounge.
jk
Post edited at 09:55
 dbapaul 02 Nov 2016
In reply to Remyveness:

This might be another option, although I don't know if it would fit your price bracket..

http://everlastclimbing.com/products/treadwall-m6/

A good few years ago I used to use a motor powered version they had in a gym in Chesterfield. You could vary the rotation speed and angle as you went along - great fun, don't know if they are still made though.
 Lord_ash2000 02 Nov 2016
In reply to Remyveness:

Depending on the intended size most climbing wall manufactures will build you a bespoke wall to meet whatever requirements you need.
OP Remyveness 08 Nov 2016
In reply to Lord_ash2000:

Feel like we might need to do that!
OP Remyveness 08 Nov 2016
In reply to Remyveness:

The first of these walls is the one I was thinking of, just a shame its 5 grand youtube.com/watch?v=hKB2PSqsfoY&
 alx 08 Nov 2016
In reply to Remyveness:

Find out what the restrictions are that would limit what you can and cannot do, gather what your users would want to use, then approach one of the custom wall builders to propose you a solution, then get the buy in from your Uni staff and users stakeholders on the design.

You could approach the big wall builders like beacon and enterprise but there are others like wall climber https://www.climbingwalls.co.uk whom build to the needs of schools, I also think wallclimber did the boards in the New School Room run by Ben Moon.

Top tip is to keep both sets of people engaged through the process and follow up afterwards. Don't be put off with a no, keep finding out what the needs and concerns are.

Alx
 jkarran 09 Nov 2016
In reply to Remyveness:

> The first of these walls is the one I was thinking of, just a shame its 5 grand youtube.com/watch?v=hKB2PSqsfoY&

You could make that for well under £1k including a set of holds and the tools to build it but I don't really see the point, it's still far too big and bulky to stow away in a typical sports center cupboard. It also seems to me there's little chance of finding a path through a big uni bureaucracy to get a self-build accepted.

I'd find out if the uni will allow you to have a line of anchor bolts placed above head height (or threaded inserts if permanent protrusions are a safety concern) in a wall of the sport center. We never had much trouble with this for cave SRT training in the uni sports hall. Conceptually what you require is not much different to the basketball hoops they have up already. A removable climbing surface can then be very quickly rolled out of storage and safely strung up from those bolts by a team of two. When you're done they're lowered back onto a storage trolley/rack and rolled away. You'd probably still need to outsource the build so as to satisfy the uni of it's safety and to produce an adequate paper trail but that seems like the most practical 'removable' wall design to me.
jk
Post edited at 10:24
OP Remyveness 11 Nov 2016
In reply to alx:
Wall Climber look like they have some good options and might just give us the professional stamp of approval to get it through the Uni bureaucracy!

Post edited at 17:30
OP Remyveness 11 Nov 2016
In reply to jkarran:

Hanging the the wall on bolts is a good shout! Handn't considered a mobile wall that was mounted to the wall. I guess the issue with hanging the wall is ensuring it doesn't swing or wobble and actually provides a secure stable climbing surface!

Think by the looks of it we are going to have to get something built to measure or see how the DIY suggestion is received...

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