Long-time boulderers and beginning climbers alike all look for ways to improve their skills on the rock face. While the best practice is simply going out and bouldering, sometimes weather or distance makes that infeasible. For climbers looking for a way to train and improve their technique, either at a local gym, a personal rock wall, or just in the home, a climbing set might be just the ticket.
Climbing sets can be an important addition to a climbers equipment by providing an alternative location to practice grips and moves, when the outdoors just isn't feasible. Often foul weather or distance may make it difficult to get out into the wilderness for an afternoon of bouldering. Because bouldering takes place outside, it is limited by temperature and daylight as well. Extremely cold or hot weather may make it too painful or unpleasant to climb outside, while short winter days can limit the amount of time you can spend outdoor with visibility.
Instead, many climbers turn to indoor walls. Protected from the elements and not limited by weather or daylight, indoor walls can be a great place to practice holds and to improve technique and strengthen your arms and fingers. Climbing sets, with a variety of rock holds which can be added to a wall to create routes and practice areas, are a great way to start an indoor rock wall. Climbing sets allow boulderers to make their own routes and to concentrate on improving the techniques that they wish to practice.
Next, because they come with a wide variety of different holds, which can be positioned in an infinite number of ways, climbing sets allow great flexibility and many options for practice routes. Instead of bouldering, where a rock face is pre-determined and unchangeable, a climbing set allows boulderers to establish their own routes and personalize the wall to their own specifications. As the climbers improve their technique or strength, they can increase the difficulty of climbs and routes, for an ever-increasing challenge.
Climbing sets typically come with a range of holds, from large and easy scoop holds, to tiny slivers of rock that are difficult to cling to. By exchanging and replacing holds on various parts of the wall, and by adding a variety of different moves to a particular route, boulderers can practice any number of techniques all using the same climbing set. And the more climbing sets a boulderer has to work with, the more options they have on the wall. Mixing holds from a number of sets, each with their own surface, grip, shape, and size, gives an almost unlimited range of options.
Secondly, because holds can be mounted in any position or orientation, they give you a wide range of difficulty with a single hold. A large scoop hold, which offers a huge grip when hung normally, can be a difficult under cling when positioned upside down. Wide footholds can be put sideways to create difficult pinch holds, and large holds can be positioned at an angle to increase or decrease their difficulty. If a certain route becomes too easy, a simple half-turn of a few key holds, or their replacement with smaller holds, can bring back the excitement and challenge of the route.
Finally, climbing sets can be great practice even for those boulderers who do not have a large indoor climbing wall or practice wall to work with. Smaller climbing sets, including basic hang boards, are available which can be mounted anywhere and which allow a climber to practice various holds and exercise their arms and fingers. Hang boards are generally about two to three feet wide, and a foot or two high. They include a variety of holds and grips on their surface, from deep pockets to smooth holds, to small finger holds. Climbers who want to practice or train on hang boards must mount the board on a wall or ceiling or above an open doorway. They can then hang on the various holds, or move between holds, while strengthening their grip and improving stamina.
Hang boards are easy to mount and quickly removable, and do not take up much wall space. Thus, they are a fast and easy method of practice for any boulderer or climber looking to improve their technique.
