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Climbing Hold Composition:
Most climbing hold producers use one of 4 general types of plastic:
Holds distributed by KCH.com are made with Pure Flexible Polyurethane by Three Ball Climbing. Three Ball has used and tested holds made with all four major types of plastic. They break them on a regular basis with a torque wrench to test their limits. TBC makes holds with pure flexible polyurethane because it stands up to abuse the best. Pure polyurethane grips are far more durable than those made with less expensive materials. If you push a Three ball hold to the limit, you'll be more likely to break the t-nut than the hold. Structure: Even the strongest plastics have their limits. Without a good solid structure climbing holds made with the best materials will break. When necessary TBC designs holds a little bigger, a little thicker, etc. to make sure they'll be able to handle the forces climbing movements will generate. Basic performance pros and cons: When shopping for climbing holds safety should be your top priority. You want to avoid buying holds that are prone to breaking and spinning. If a hold breaks, it is usually caused by overtightening when fastened to the wall. Several things can make holds prone to spinning: Poor design (bolt in the wrong place), overtightening (holds are too brittle to withstand proper tightening), soft urethane (material that compresses over time, or flexes too much). Polyester Resin Holds: This type of material is very rigid and brittle like glass. It lacks flexibility and will snap or crack instead of rebounding when placed under pressure. When dropped on a concrete floor, this kind of hold will sound like glass and often chip or shatter. If you are not careful they will break when the bolt is overtightened. If the wall has an uneven surface the hold will usually snap before the bolt is tight enough for climbing. If these holds are not fastened tight enough, they will be prone to spinning when grabbed by a climber. Polyurethane with fillers added : Pure Polyurethane is usually more flexible than polyester resin. When fillers are added, you can make more holds with less urethane, but the holds become more rigid and brittle. They are still usually stronger than polyester holds, but it depends on the type and quantity of fillers added. They are slightly less prone to cracking and spinning than Polyester holds. Pure Flexible Polyurethane: This type of urethane is not likely to crack, but because of the flexibility / softness they are prone to spinning. When overtightended the plastic will usually compress and deform instead of cracking. Gradually the area around the bolt-hole at base of the hold can become raised as pressure from the bolt pushes toward the base. This can be a problem if it keeps the majority of the base of the hold from making contact with the wall. If the base of the hold is not flush with the wall, the hold may spin. This type of hold is the least likely to chip around the edges when dropped or fastened to an uneven wall. It is also the least likely to crack or break when overtightened. Pure Rigid Polyurethane This type of material is flexible enough to slightly conform to the surface of uneven climbing walls, but rigid enough that it will not deform and become prone to spinning. The balance between stiffness and flexibility make this type of material good for making climbing holds. Because they can be tightened with extreme pressure without deforming or cracking, they are least likely to spin. The downside to Rigid Polyurethane is it can crack when abused and overtightened with significantly more pressure than necessary. The edges will also chip easier than a more flexible urethane. |