UKC

Might be a silly one, but I’ve seen lots of coloured chalk within the US and other places, and was wondering if anyone knew somewhere similar in the UK?

I have seen pink, purple, blue etc. but no brands in the UK have followed. The price with shipping across countries is too much for me. I know it doesn’t do anything for performance, just looks “cool” depending on opinions, I just want chalk that isn’t boring white.

Any advice or ideas? I’m even tempted to buy some drawing chalk and just mix it in!

1/10

?

Not even worth 1/10. Very poor indeed.

There's a half price special on it when you buy a bluetooth speaker drone in the black friday sale at stuffforbellends.com

Is this anything to do with Brazilian butt lift surgery? I don't know what's involved but it sounds dangerous according to the Beeb just now.

Yes that's a fantastic site! I get all my disposable BBQs and those little bags to hang dig sht from trees by the path from there.

Unusually for UKC, here is a response without scathing condemnation.

Coloured chalk was once available, 80s, iirc. It was an attempt to blend in with the rock and remove those awful white stains everywhere. Sandstone red, limestone grey etc. However the rock was less than helpful in matching the chalk due to variety in shading. It never took off.

If it doesn't already exist, I could see coloured chalk taking off in the gym/CrossFit community.

To save you reading the rest of the thread, a gang of folk will be along to condemn any use of coloured chalk because it doesn't look natural, without realising their folly.

Yeah, I'm sure you're right that the OP (your other new account?) isn't just a troll but instead does a lot of climbing on our pinkstone, purplestone and bluestone crags and just wants to minimise the visual impact rather than leaving 'boring white' marks.

Welcome back. It's been a while.

And the difference in impact between white and pink is?

An incumbent product profile that everyone has come to accept vs a strange new one

rom/10

Profile completed just for you my little prince/princess.

Now, remind me, what were we saying about gatekeeping?

Good to see that UKC remains its usual charming, welcoming place.

Bit of a weird reply, like?

I don’t know what you said, and I didn’t contribute to that thread, so I’m not clear why you’re raising it?  You may be confused though as that thread was about actual climbing and this thread is a troll about chalk…

I suppose some of us have seen how serial/multiple account abusers just try to create drama for shits and giggles and aren’t going to play along.  I don’t have a problem with that.  You seem to, but that perhaps speaks more to you than the other users of this site.

Still must be. White chalk is banned but (approximately) rock coloured chalk is allowed in at least one national park in the US to this day. In Capitol Reef "climbers and boulderers using chalk must use chalk that closely matches the color of the surrounding rock". I'm unconvinced how "close" they can actually get though, since desert sandstone can vary from light orange to dark purple in the course of a single pitch. 

https://www.nps.gov/care/planyourvisit/rockclimbingandbouldering.htm

If you squint your eyes up you can almost pretend that those white stains are birdsh1t

Anyone keeping track of how many new accounts he's signed up this time? There's been a lot following his usual MO in the last week or so.

Maybe someone hit report on this post in case it's not been noticed?

yeah the wideboys have a coloured chalk sponsor! https://climbingaddicts.com/pages/athletes

They are bird shit at almscliff 

I've never seen coloured chalk, or new it existed, but this does make me wonder, why don't they just make it all grey/brown as standard.?

Sure it won't match various shades of rocks, but it would stand out less than white in the vast majority of situations.

Likely because "they" don't have to, there is no demand.

A variety of available colours, red, blue pink,orange would have the same effect. Think of a child mixing all the colours in a paint pallet to make a brown sludge.

I would expect manufacturers/distributers of chalk, which will have very little unique selling points to be thinking of ways to make themselves stand out to gain a larger market share.

Unless they try they have no idea f there is demand or not. Sounds to me like there is either a lack of competition, or they make enough so they don't need to think about it.

It’s all very well using chalk that blends in but how on earth would you know where to go?

As a matter of interest we as climbers use light magnesium carbonate. We used to buy it from chemists in powder form. I think it’s used for indigestion but I used to buy it by the bucket which always raised a few eyebrows. The white (chalk) cliffs of Dover are calcium carbonate - but because of different molecular structure it doesn’t absorb our sweat. Presumably adding colour would add cost and have potentially unattractive consequences medicinally!

Great addition really insightful. Hope it was a good use of your obviously special time

Clearly, your life is long suffering. Get another hobby

Honestly, what could I expect from people that are all muscle and no brains? I appreciate your normal and kind response. It wasn’t difficult to be civil was it? Some people clearly have some major issues in life and need to take it out on a stranger in the internet. Sad really… also entertaining, if I wasn’t happy with my life I might take it to heart hahaha.

It is a shame it never took off, definitely could see a big market for it, natural colours and others maybe for indoor climbing?!

Try dying your own? Food dye plus water, soak chalk block, dry in oven or airing cupboard.

I’m not necessarily talking rock coloured chalk. I’m mostly an indoor climber,  I think it would be fun to be able to use something different. My partner also said about medicinal consequences, which is what I imagine has slowed the market for coloured chalk. Could be interested to experiment myself.

It was available in various colours approx 15 - 20 years ago, but just didn't sell. At all. My son even won a bag of cinnamon scented chalk (I kid you not.......) in a comp. Scented chalk didn't sell either........

I believe coloured chalk is still available in powdered form, but don't know if its magnesium chalk or the stuff used for art / drawing.

I'd hazard a guess that it's the same way that lots of sports clothes are in white: folks don't want their hands unecessarily looking all grubby and brown?

For indoor stuff, I rather like the idea of varied colours of chalk - I'll add "set up a colourful chalk company" to my list of post lottery-win activities

If I climb indoors I use my bag of red chalk for routes with red holds etc, because I am considerate like that

Would be pretty simple to do, just buy block chalk, drop food colouring over it, dry in a cool oven and then powder/mix in a blender. Sell it in chalk bag sized portions (i.e. very small) at huge markup. Hint, but don't state in a legally binding way that different colours are better for different problems.

The only thing is your target audience won't see the technology or socially engage unless it has an app to accompany it. Dream up a spurious app and you could have a product. Make sure packaging has a QR code. Best of all if it could be linked to a climbing app somehow (so climbing app registers which chalk used on the problem). Lastly you need an influencer promote to say how it changed their life and ask people to comment which colours work best on which problem.

Simples

Edit: by the time negative publicity about colour staining hands hits, run off with the money

Because magnesium carbonate is white and making it any other colour (a) is more expensive, (b) might adversely affect its properties, (c) adds an artificial colouring that adds an unknown levels of health and environmental risk (it would almost certainly leave more of a residue than plain magnesium carbonate which is naturally occurring and completely soluble) and (d) there’s no consumer demand (what colour anyway?) 

Tie in with walls which use coloured circuits, find a spurious slogan to sell colour matched chalk.

"Get a green light on the red circuit with crimson crush"

It will all go really well until the white supremacists step in 😁

I’m aware that in certain national parks you have to use coloured chalk (that matches the colour of the rock). But while travelling around the USA climbing. I never rlly saw this outside of those places, and it’s probably not going to be as good as regular chalk. I think it would just look silly to have pink chalk on stanage or something.

Any sillier than white?

A variety of colours would leave a brownish residue similar to that seen in a child's paint pot after a water colour session. Much easier on the eye than white, or pink for that matter.

How about two chalk bags, red and green, port and starboard. Leave the beta behind for the next climber.

I used a Metolius Eco chalk ball once, it was colourless, but sadly a bit rubbish.

Or 'sandbag beta', possibly? I recall watching 'Choe' attempting Zukator; late 1970s, probably. At some point, shortly before falling off, he appeared to be trying to layback the left arête; this was quickly followed by a return to a wide bridging position - but with a difference: he was now facing out. Thereafter, gravity acquired the upper hand. The resultant 'beta' would have been confusing, at best!