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Review > Metolius > Blue Ribbon's

When we receive holds to review our first thought is usually can they be put on the roof? It normally doesn't matter what size the holds are, from pinches to crimps we always try them on the roof at some point! So it came as a relief when Noodles told me he'd gotten some holds for the roof and that they were the Blue Ribbon mini jugs from Metolius and as an added bonus the Blue Ribbon roof jugs. You all know how it go's now, we climb and go through our process of looking and setting with the holds and then we end up hitting the computer.... these days with videos and whatnot we end up on or near a PC a a lot of the time :)

We received one set of roof jugs (the set includes a pair of holds, Metolius has two other sets in this line) and prices run $21.95 for the set of two and $62.00 for the full set of six. The mini jugs came in a set of five for $34.95, so with these prices you won't have to break the bank to get yourself some bomber holds. Noodles grabbed some Blue Ribbon screw on hand holds way back on the original wall at his other apartment, so they've been on the wall in various formats for a year or so, right now as we're cranking down on enough crimps at the gym we're using them as foot holds, but they're more than big enough for most people to climb on on angles up to 30 degrees, after that they become a little marginal to hang, these guys run at $25.95 for a pack of ten.

Blue Ribbon holds are true to their name as the holds only comes in the one color....blue, just like Henry Ford when he said "you can have the car in any color you want as long as its black" that's what you're getting with these, except they're going to be blue! If you do your research (as Noodles did) you will find out that "Blue Ribbon" is a term used for grading high quality livestock and for items that are deemed of a high quality, and lets face it, Metolius have been making holds for long enough to know what they're doing. You're going to get clean consistent resin shapes that stand up to a hell of a lot of abuse, cleaning, traffic, hand gunk, shoe gunk and god knows what else and they'll always clean up like new! (We find resin holds do clean up a bunch easier than urethane holds, but it depends upon the hold)

All of the holds from this series, have a distinct thumb catch ridge that runs along them so when you're looking through a box of blue holds these are pretty easy to find, and when you climb on them you're going to find yourself using the ridge as a thumb catch when the holds are set at an angle rather than flat horizontal. Like all jugs these holds are best suited for steep terrain, anything will do from an overhang to the roof depending on your climbing ability, we've mainly had the minis and the roof jugs on the roof and steep terrain and this is pretty much where they will continue to dwell unless we take them to the gym and set a 5.6 with them on the beginners wall. I set a short route that started on the overhang and into the roof. I thought it was a good set until this:

If you pay attention at the beginning of the video you can hear me say that Noodles is climbing in his regular shoes and sends it (Ok he fell off once, he did it second try). Conclusion: the holds aren`t small enough to stop Noodles in is regular shoes but for a normal climber of average ability this route and sequence would be a challenge, and that's where we think this set lies in the grand scheme of things... anyone that has a wall and needs some challenging shapes that are skin friendly and durable for climbers that are just starting out and need to gain confidence you should have a look at these! Routes that beginners haul on are going to get mucky, slimy and covered in gunk from normal everyday shoes, and this is what these shapes are for... getting dirty and then cleaning up nicely with a wire brush and some soapy hot water. Don't get us wrong, these holds are for everyone, but we'd point beginners and gyms that needs good shapes in these holds direction first and foremost. But, if you're like us and have been climbing for a long time we'd suggest getting the mini jugs and the screw ons, then you're going to have fun as you can monkey across roofs on the minis and then have some nice challenging tendon friendly screw ons for the harder part of the route!! The minis are there and are good enough if set close enough together to be a jug haul on any angle, but start to spread them out and they start to get very interesting, and as I've found out over the last few months.. not as big as you'd like them to be when I'm pumped out :)

SUGGESTED USES

MINI JUGS AND ROOF JUGS
go ahead and throw a few of the mini jugs into the roof and see if you can get across, for more of a challenge set them further apart, if you can't make the move do what we did and stick in one of the bomber roof jugs, Noodles is campusing across the roof, so they're super big, The roof jugs can only be described as huge, as their name suggests they are best suited for the roof but make for a bomber hold that any climber will feel confident grabbing onto, Seb who hates roof's loves these holds as he feels like he can hang off of them all day, they're some of his favorite holds next to the Huecos

SCREW ONS



When used as hand holds they can be used exclusively on vertical walls for the average climber. I personally would not want to be using these on any kind of overhanging terrain, but we have had them on our old 45 degree wall and they were fine there, you have to be a little careful with setting with them as moving screw ons is a pain, but we had them all over a vertical and overhung wall randomly and they were great to grab onto, not super huge and sometimes not super positive but with careful footwork they are more than doable. These days we have them as feet on the overhanging wall, not because we don't like them but because at the time when we built the wall they were close to hand and we had the drill charged! They are wicked feet as well as handholds, as they're big enough that we can use them in a pair of sneakers or a worn out pair of climbing shoes that have no edges anymore.

OVERALL BUILD
Metolius is one of the original hold makers and it is reflected in their product. The back of the holds are sit flush on the wall and the texture is skin friendly. The largest roof jug has a bolt placement off to one side that's not optimal, on a roof it's fine, one of the corners lifts a little but it's never spun, what could (and probably will happen) is that if you use it on a vertical wall due to the bolt placement it will probably spin on you. The mold for this hold needs a screw hole to stop this problem, or you could put in a self tapping screw to stop this from ever happening. Thankfully if you pre-drill a small hole and then put in the self tapping screw the hold won't explode on you and you've solved the problem

All of the holds have nice flat backs that sit flush to the wall, and other than the hold that's mentioned above, the bolt placements are set so the holds don't spin when tightened properly
The hue of the color isn't all that bright, but they're good enough that you can see them against other manufacturers holds so you don't get muddled on a wall covered in blue holds, the ridge is a dead give away as well :)

RATING
NOODLES SAYS
As per usual I was pretty surprised by the holds, and again by Chris' setting, you'd think that 20+ years would see me looking at the route and going "yeah, my hands go here in this sequence" and yet again I fall off of the roof... I am blaming the torn and not healed finger on this :P
Metolius have a lot of holds out there in the World, and I've always seen them at pretty much every gym I've ever visited, I think that the Blue Ribbons will be being seen sooner rather than later at a lot of places because they are so beginner friendly. If you're more advanced then grab the mini jugs and the screw ons (Metolius should really do a box set of most of their lines) and you're sure to have a ball. I found that the mini jugs are good when you're fresh and not so good when you're pumped, the roof jugs are a "thank god" hold everytime I grab them when i'm tired, they're not all that easy to match upon, but with a little determination it can be done... I'd class the roof jugs as single handed, matchable but you need to work for it! I need to sort out a kick board on the overhanging wall and when this is done the screw ons are going back to where they belong... no longer as foot holds but as hand holds as they were intended, all I need is some wood... as per usual.

CHRIS SAYS
Sneakers (or as Noodles call's them trainers), if we're hauling about on these holds in sneakers then they've got to be good, even when you've got your feet on the roof they're fine, the holds have enough surface area to take any foot. Apart from one hold that I noticed was pulling off of the wall when we climbed on it the holds are fine in every respect, there are no sharp edges, the backs are flat and the bolt placement well thought out. I love the minis as they're a challenge on the roof, the jugs are what I use to spin my body around when I'm coming back into another wall. The entire route was Metolius holds with the starting and ending holds being from one of their other lines which is called the "Power Line" apparently Noodles brought these holds over from the UK when he first came over (He came here with a skydive rig, a suitcase of clothes and climbing holds!!!) so he must of liked those ones. The videos a bit shorter than usual and shows only one of us climbing, I'm repairing the video camera we use as the focus has gone off on us... and guess what? the camera is full of chalk! If you're starting your first wall and need to gain strength without killing your fingers the minis and roofs are good for monkeying about as much as you want, they're great holds to bounce about on.

SEB SAYS
Huecos or the Blue Ribbon roof jugs? It's a hard question to answer! I'm not fond of roofs in anyway shape or form, but when Noodles says he has some new jugs from Metolius (after I got across the roof the first time on the Huecos) I wandered over and see what they're like. I have a particular fondness of anything large and from Met these days and when I'm allowed to move holds around I do grab these holds more often than other holds that are just as big. They're not as big as the Contact holds that i'd not seen as they are HUGE, but if I can haul my self across the roof on these holds then chances are you can aswell. The mini's aren't as good for me as my hands are quite big, but I can see them being good for beginners on most slightly overhung terrain.

I'll see you all, no doubt, on the next Metolius review... Seb out

PROS

• Beginner friendly, soo beginner friendly on vertical or shallow overhanging terrain
  
• They're multi use holds (except the screw ons) strength dependant the minis and roof jugs are great on overhangs and roofs
  
• Skin and tendon friendly design, nothing that will catch your skin
• Price is pretty good
  

CONS

• One of the roof jugs does need a screw added if used on high traffic (Read lots of feet) routes
  
• Color, its a minor gripe, but we wish that Metolius would get some brighter colors
• (This is a pro as well) The holds are super easy on most terrain, so if you want hard problems these aren't necessarily the holds you want for your wall. BUT if you're starting out they're kick ass and will give you a work out
  

PRICE
Roof Jugs: $21.95 for the set of two and $62.00 for the full set of six.
Mini jugs: Set of five for $34.95,
Screw Ons: $25.95 for a pack of ten.

Review > Metolius > Cobblestones 2

Way back... well a year ago we reviewed the Metolius Cobblestones

And our overall comments were this (you can read the old review here):

PROS

• They hold up pretty well in a commercial gym
• Holds get better the more they are used
• Changing a route means rotating a hold a little
  

CONS

• They only come in one color... green
• They do take a few climbs before they get REALLY good
• Depending upon how strong you are will dictate how overhung a wall they can be used on

Now Metolius has extended the line of holds to include some more shapes, rather than the normal Cobblestones we've been climbing on they've made some more:

We have the set of the left, Set A: and this time they're much more incut than what we'd seen before. As we had a pretty big session scheduled the day they turned up we gave them to Eve and she set a route to test herself, and because the rest of us are stronger than her, there was a little added sting in the tail... she put the last hold upside down so we'd all just chuck for it and then get sent flying!

After we'd all had a few go's on that route, we turned the upside down final hold up the right way so people had a chance of finishing the stretchy last move. (Chris and Noodles actually managed to match the upside down hold on their first or second trys) Doing this meant that KC and Seb who came over a few nights later were able to romp across the route without too much trouble, KC is fairly new to bouldering and Seb hates roofs so getting the across the route was pretty cool.

Now that the route was dispatched we grabbed the other Cobblestones we have and we set a route with the entire ensemble... across the 45, the 30, under the box and then onto our stepped feature. The new holds are a nice compliment to the original line, with the jugs being positive enough for the 45 degree wall when set as side pulls (We also set a route on just the new set on the 45 and they're big enough to campus up without worrying too much); they're super positive, but not space hoggers, and for intermediate climbers these holds are going to be good training on steep terrain, for beginners they're going to inspire confidence as they look smooth and shallow but are more forgiving than they'll think. That being said, as the original holds we have range between slim, really slim and slightly incut the traverse that Noodles set had a few people (him included) dabbing the padding on the last few moves.

SUGGESTED USES

As the holds are all pretty incut depending upon your level of climbing you should be able to climb on steep walls or across a roof on these holds, some of the people you saw in the first video are bouldering around the V1 / V2 level and they struggled with the moves to begin with but once they got them dialed in they were able to get across the roof without too much trouble. The holds will teach beginners (especially if mixed with the other Cobblestone holds) that looks can be deceptive and that these are more positive than they're going to expect.

Despite the fact that there is no wow factor with this set, these kind of shapes should be standard on any wall. They're great holds to warm up on and don't take up too much area, you could place them in any problem, they don't burn the skin, there's not much wrong with these holds except the color. Now don't get me wrong, I like the green, but Metolius doesn't offer any other colors and I think that if they had more variety we'd see more of Metolius's holds in the gym.

EVE
It was my first time playing with any holds in this collection. Noodles asked me to set with the 'juggy' ones and so I did. Off of the feature, into the roof and... Since I like to cause a little trouble for the boys, final move onto the opposing wall, on a hold which I cleverly set upside down. As the video depicts clearly: many triers, zero success. So, we placed the hold back up just to realize that it was enough of a challenge even that way. This is because the cobble 'jugs' are really barely that. We set another route with the complete collection and now I get it....they are jugs because the other cobbles are sorry excuses for wall protrusions. I wasn't able to go through that route but eh! Watch'ya gonna do, I tried :).

So the cobbles are pretty standard looking, they are what I assume my grandma would imagine a climbing hold to look like. The shape and color at first glance is nothing special and at second glance, looks like its been done. None the less, these little 'jugs' are a very nice set since the difference between each member of the kit really only is just how much finger space exists in the angle between the hold and the wall for you to close your hand on. This allows a setter to keep the level of difficulty of a route fairly standard since you can use the nice jugs on the angled wall and then keep the 'oh my god, how much am I suppose to squeeze' ones on a slab. Or, if your Noodles, on the 30 degrees! Either way, the Metolius Cobbles are a painless way to get a good training session in. They are skin and tendon friendly with an appreciable touch of holy s***!!!!!
JACKY
Here, spring’s back and the rock are slowly warming up. Yes, I am still complaining; I NEED REAL ROCK!!!! Hence my deception when I saw the Cobblestones from Metolius. I can’t say they are bad holds. They are well constructed with the reliability and solidity you’d expect from Metolius. We even managed to make a very technical route! On the other hand, there is not one ounce of originality in these holds (dull colour, simplistic form and uniform texture). These days, with such harsh competition and holds evolving so rapidly, it is disappointing to still see holds like these for serious training. Worse yet, are the koala-ear-like holds included in the kit, which are outrageously unnatural (except for on koala heads of course). I’m sorry, but I do not climb koalas…you know, trying to preserve nature and all. Basically, I have nothing against the Cobbles but they don’t make me want to climb, or haul myself to the gym for that matter. The worst part is, it’s exactly the type of hold you’d find in industrial quantities at the gym! For a kid’s route; OK. But for a serious climber; Metolius-man, could you at least vary the texture, because your Cobbles are about as exciting as a girl in a snowsuit.
SEB

1. LOOK: They redefine generic. What you expect to see in a gym
2. TEXTURE: Skin friendly, classic
3. VERSATILITY: Let's move to the next topic
4. ARE THEY FUN: Yep
5. PRICE: Cheap!

I don't have that much to say about this set. That's what you always see in a gym, they will help you build forearm power (as they say on the Metolius website) and are what I would refer to as as classic shapes. There is no doubt that fun routes can be set with these but they will be more on the easy side (Noodles: He didn't climb the other route!) which is totally not a bad thing for me as I enjoy playing the monkey. Speaking of which, Eve's route was actually quite fun and with a high monkey factor so watch the video

They are quality stuff that will last and that aren't too rough on your hands and you know what... they're cheap!

Bottom line; I don't think that you always need to reinvent the wheel in order to create good stuff. There is also nothing wrong with classics... even if you know them! Would I buy they? For sure. They would not be high on my priority list but I can assue you that they would be on it.
KC
Those holds are fun to play with. They have a good grip, so you can place them in hard to reach places to upgrade the difficulty of a route (Chris: We all had to stretch for that roof move!) You can place them upside-down on a vertical wall, on an angled wall, on the celling everywhere you want. Want’s fun about them is that you can do a route with only your raw power… the hell with technique (ok, ok!!! Some technique).
The outside of the hold have a good grip (texture), they are a little rough but your fingers stick to it. I enjoyed them.

PROS

• They hold up pretty well in a commercial gym, even after years of abuse
  
• Holds get better the more they are used; good for beginners on steep terrain
• Don't take huge amounts of space on a wall

CONS

• They only come in one color... green
• Take a while to bed in

Review > Metolius > Hueco Roof Jugs

Hueco tanks... is a climbing mecca, that's if you can get a reservation and don't mind rocking about the place with a guide. It's in almost every bouldering film that comes out and has some of the Worlds most famous routes... for some people it's like the Fontainebleau of the US. But currently with the restrictions that are in place and areas of the park being closed on a yearly basis it's getting to a point where you're only going to be able to see and grip Hueco like shapes from a climbing company. Many company's have lines that take their inspiration from Hueco Tanks and Metolius is one of them, I've only been to Hueco once a long time ago so I was interested to see what these holds would be like compared to the real place...

We took the Hueco roof jugs set that you can see below:

First thing that you're going to notice is that these holds are pretty big, not feature sized big but big enough that when you've got them in your lap your brain running with where you're going to put them, you'll feel the huge pockets and the dimpled texture and know that like the sets suggest the roof is the place for these to go! Our roof was lacking some huge holds so they went up, all of the holds have screw holes to compliment the bolt and you're going to need to whack a few in to stop these monsters from spinning on you! We've only used one screw per hold opposite the bolt placement to stop the spin... but if you've got some big climbers kicking about the gym then we'd suggest you put all the screws in when you set with these!

Upon first grabbing the holds when they were on the roof we were surprised at how big the features of the holds actually were, we're talking "thank god this is a jug, I can now shake out" sized areas to hold onto, we knew they were big as we'd played with them when we were getting them off of their backing, but actually getting horizontal and grabbing for them was a pleasant surprise :)

We set a sequence across the roof that would allow us to go both ways, it was a little harder than expected despite the holds being big enough for most people to swing around like a monkey on...If you've got any kind of upper body strength you should be able to huck about pretty much any terrain, they're going to be great for beginners on a roof or steeply overhung wall section, but they'll also be good for kids on flat panels as they'll be able to get their little paws on the holds, match and then have a monster of a foot hold to stand onThe route we set ran from one side of the wall using a colonette (that's also from Metolius) and then following some huge holds across the back wall, onto the overhang and then into the roof for the Hueco roof traverse. To make things interesting there is only one starting foot hold and then only the holds you have for your hands thereafter, this made for some very interesting climbing as you'll see from the video. I'll admit now that I wasn't having the best climbing day and that I was blown off many times on the sequence that we did set, maybe I was tired, maybe I'm just not as good on roofs than I used to be... who knows!

What took a little while to realize is that some of the holds had areas where you can get a sneeky match in, so when you've wrong handed a sequence you can hang on and then match or in some cases you can bump one hand out and get your other in it's place.

The surprising thing with these holds is that Seb got across the roof for the first time (I didn't see it I was making dinner at the time) but I did hear the whoop that was soon followed by Seb coming to tell me he got across the roof! (Seb is about 200+ and can climb 5.10's in a few go's. He his a habitual roof avoider!!) So that was a first for him :) Some of the girls that come on past had some trouble with the spacing on the route, but they realized pretty quickly that if your feet rip off you'll probably still be hanging one armed from the ceiling and can get back on and up quite easily. They seemed to like the fact that they could get two hands into some holds, whereas we can't... overall people seemed to like the Huecos.

SUGGESTED USES



We suggest the above angles for the holds, which as you can see is everything from slabs to roofs. The holds are obviously made for roofs but if you've got young children or beginners these holds will get them up the wall with little or no trouble. Most holds have an obvious jug to hold onto but there are areas that will allow a match or a hand switch. Remember for safety to use all the screws provided.

Incut jugs!! Huge, monster, put any name you wish to these! They're big, the main feature is always super incut, there are areas where you can match and these are pretty well incut as well. When you put these holds onto shallower terrain you'll be able to match on the outside of the hold as a sloper.



OVERALL BUILD
Resin based holds are always pretty heavy, these aren't as bad as you think they're going to be, they do have a good heft to them but they're not that bad. The bolt and screw placements are well thought out and will stop the hold moving around when people are climbing on it, the area to grab is well defined and has no burrs other than the Hueco dimples.

The backs of the holds are flat, and the resin is some of the best we've seen (there aren't huge air bubbles within it), the texture of the holds is grippy but not overly so, enough that you can monkey across a roof with no feet and not rip the skin off of your fingers.

Our holds are a what I'd call "baby yellow" or "canary yellow" which is fine by me, Metolius run some pretty nice Earth tones and and primary colors and although they're not the brightest holds on the market the do still a good presence upon a wall.

RATING
NOODLES SAYS
Ok the video shows me having a real bad day, but overall the holds are a really welcome addition to the roof of the wall. I've been hauling on these holds for a while and when I'm getting tired from running laps and am about to take a tumble I grab these holds as a gimme, or for a quick rest and a shake out. Are the holds like Hueco? Yeah they're pretty similar, of course they're not rock but these are a pretty close. From what I remember the dimples and the shapes are pretty realistic and similar to the real thing, what matters most is how they climb. And they climb pretty damn well, they're big enough that we've managed to get Seb (who hates roofs) across and lapping pretty well, he's a big guy and needs something with some beef behind it to hold onto when he hits the horizontal.

Matching is possible when you're back to the floor, but it does require some effort and bouncing on the holds to move your hands. The texture is good and although the holds do take rubber more than most holds, because of the dimples, they clean up remarkably well. The holds could be a little larger so you could get both hands easily into the jug part of the hold, and in some case's they could possibly be a little smaller as they do take up a fair amount of surface area on a wall, gyms won't have a problem with this... these holds did get a little slick from time to time, it is warm in our area, but never to the point where my hand slipped and I fell off of the route, more chalk was needed when we took the video that's for sure

Overall, they're fun to monkey about on. Make of them what you will, if you have kids or beginners at a gym that need something super positive to hang off of then these are a pretty good bet. We've got them up as a warm up route, but we'll move them at some point and will get them onto the second wall when we build it. Two holds are $21.95 so they're not going to break the bank.

CHRIS SAYS
Crash helmet? Why are we wearing a crash helmet in the videos? Simple, we're not onto stage two of the wall build yet and where the holds are placed there is a nasty ledge right underneath us... anywho onto the holds :) If you set anything like Noodles does (harder than expected) then even if the holds are huge the moves will be long and hard, add using the holds for feet and it gets very interesting on this bad boys! The holds allow for some interesting matching, and some really creative foot work, you can get some nice toe hooks onto areas of these holds and that's a move you don't see too often at a gym.

Any hold that allows Seb to get across the roof is great for us and better for him, it means we might actually get him onto some of the roofs when we hit the gym!! I was expecting some movement from the holds with him on them with just a single screw and bolt holding them but they were fine. These holds inspire confidence in climbers that don't like roofs all that much, so they'd be good for anyone that looking to get better at climbing roofs. These aren't my favorite Metolius holds, but they're up there... for me they're good for a warm up route and just for playing about on the roof when mixed with other holds.

SEB SAYS
I've actually managed to get across a roof that's more than 4ft, which for me was a personal goal. The wall over at CHR is always changing whether it be the holds or the routes that are set there, Chris and Jeremy always have some easy warm up routes that I've struggling to get around especially when it comes to the roof! Thankfully with these holds I can now do whichever route they've set and know that I can skip the roof (for now) and go across on something that I have nailed. I've got pretty big hands, so these holds aren't all that big for me, I'm unable to get a hand swap in and some of the divots that the others are using to match the hold are just too small for me to hold onto, maybe in time I'll get stronger and will be able to use the whole hold rather than the huge bits that they have.

I found them to get a little bit slick so had to chalk up on some moves, but this wasn't so hard as if you've got your feet placed well you can just hang off of your arm, chalk and then continue. I've not had much experience with Metolius holds (I'm not like Jeremy that can name every hold and every set thats on the wall or in the bins about the floor) but I know that if I see these holds at a gym I'm going to be able to haul through the sequence on pretty much any angle that they're placed.

As I'm new to the game, and climbing roofs especially I like the holds, they've enabled me to be able to do something that I'd not been able to do before. My guess is that now I've got across the roof is that Jeremy will change the sequence, he'll be cheeky and will probably just swap two of the holds, he's fun like that :P

PROS

• Skin friendly texture
  
• Nice shapes with no burrs
  
• Matchable, but you have to look for it
  
• Good for any angle...
  
• Great for beginners!! They're big enough that they can climb on these in sneakers
  

CONS

• Not everyone likes screws to fix holds to a wall. But due to their size they are needed, if you don't like screwing into your wall them you might want to avoid these (I'm sure that we'd not have them on anything without a screw, because of the size of the holds they would spin without the extra fixing)
  
• If surface area is at a minimum then these are quite large holds and do take up space
  
• Will get a little clogged with shoe rubber and chalk after a while (They do clean up ok)
  

PRICE
Each set (two holds) are $21.95 each

Review > Metolius > Inside Outs

Hands up who's had a spinning T nut... if you own a commercial wall or a home wall this will become a problem at some point. I have the answer... Inside Outs from Metolius!! All you're going to need is some of these...And one of these (a circle cutter depending upon the size of hold (ours was 3 1/2 inch)):
And maybe a jigsaw if you get the larger ones!... (you can actually just use a jigsaw if you want)
Now what you're going to get is a hold that is going to have to be placed INTO your wall, thankfully as these screw onto the wall from the front you don't need access to the back (thank god for that because only Chris can get round there... just), they look like this from the side..
..a hold that when in the wall sits flush to the face panel, and a large bit that goes in the hole that is obviously the hole that you'll use. Now I don't have any spinning T nuts, but I did have some space on my panels that were just screaming out for some of these.. Now grab your powerdrill, and a handy Chinesse man called Chris and put them both to work :) The first thing you'll need to do is cut a hole in the wall, this uses a drill, the hole cutter and if your drill has an extra handle I suggest you use it, because when these things bite into the wood they're going to try to break your wrist (I'm NOT joking)
(What you can hear at the end is the neighbour banging on the floor telling us to shut up!)
Then when you realise you need to have a hole thats a little larger than your cutter size you grab the jigsaw and make the hole larger...then add the hold with the screws..
and get ready to climb!!! They take a while to get into the wall, not as long as you think, if you have the correct tools and are pretty organised. The holds that have a round back are a 3 inch diameter, but what we found was that the inset part bows out a little so we needed a larger bit to cut the hole.

I didn't have any spinning T nuts on the wall so I grabbed them and put them onto a side wall to give it a little more life, having the holds up now means we can start around the corner of the main face and move into some of the routes, it also means we can hook and grab around the corner for some moves. The holds we were sent we all pretty big... it meant that as soon as the holds were up I just got onto them in my sneakers :)
They're bomber! Some of them are full size loose your hand jugs and some of them are two finger pockets, but really really deep pockets.. deep enough in some cases to put a mallion into!

You can even get it into the smaller holds (picture above on the right), and lets face it that means that they're pretty deep.

Some of the larger holds that are in the range are monsters, big enough for double hand matching within the hold area (on some of them)..
They'll make wicked cracks for your wall if you place them in the correct fashion (vertically), this means that if your walls are untextured you can cut the holes, place these into them and then make huge crack systems, which I think most commercial gyms are lacking in these days. A friend of mine has gone so far on my wall in the UK to place these everywhere and he's practicing placing cams into the slots when he's bouldering so he's getting ready for the trad season. REMEMBER: These holds aren't rated for a fall, so don't try dropping onto gear on them as you're just going to get hurt and have a broken hold to boot!!

Now our large Inside Out is horizontal (because I'm a dumb ass), you're going to need to jigsaw out a house brick sized hole in the wall (3" x 6"), so make sure you want to have these on your wall, but you'll not be sorry that you put them up, that's for sure. The good thing about most of these holds is that you can use the pocket (in some cases match in the pocket with two hands) but if they're the smaller holds you can match on the outside of them aswell, making some really fun problems. But climbing on them is fun... I've been having a blast on them the last few nights, just getting up to some screw ons I have on the side of the wall..See how you have to be with your feet? My foot slipped out of the hole as the camera went off and I went flying! You really have to get your foot in the right position, really in the right postion..so you can milk it for all its worth. Overall if you want to add some life to you wall these are worth a look, they're going to help you train for exact dynos (otherwise you miss and nail your fingers) and they're going to help your footwork alot.

RATING
NOODLES SAYS

Spinning T nuts or not these holds are a pretty good addition to a wall where you need to shake it up, or have some blank side panels that need some holds :) The holds make for some really interesting hand / foot matches, and will make anyone work on their foot work for pockets, grab them and put them on an overhang and you're going to have a great hand, but have to be precise with your feet to find the sweet spot.

I do have a couple of minor gripes with the holds, and they are only astetic. I'd prefer the holds to have a smaller area outside of the inset part, so I can basically get more of them into a wall. But as the holds do have such a large outside area it means that they're sculpted and you can match on them. The other thing that I think that could be added to the range is making the outside on some of the holds dual texture (i.e: slick) so they could be used in a competiton setting and the climber would have no choice but to put their toes into the pockets.

That aside I'd think that if you need to add something to a wall thats got a little bit static then these, although permanent, are a good addition to look at. Mind you if you do get the holds all in the same size then you can move them around with a few turns of a screw driver, and of course they can be rotated easily aswell, so one week you could have positive pockets and then the next week go and rotate them and change the entire route!! You can even do this with the larger holds aswell, you can't rotate them 360 degrees, but you can turn a once useful pocket to the opposite side and make the climber have to go onto the other side of the crack to progress.

I know that i'm not sorry that I asked to see these holds, they've added life to a section of wall that would have just laid dormant for ages. They were fast to get into the wall so we could do what we like, climb. They're more positive than you think, and you could get away with putting them into some really steep terrain.

Even Jean-Marc looked at them and I know he's thinking about adding some of them to our local gym, and when I think of the opportunitys to play with the climbers on long crack climbs I just sit back and smile knowing I'll be the one that has the route nailed and then he'll rotate a hold on me and i'll just get pitched off :P

They remind me of climbing in the Verdon (South France), for steep walls they are really good...not so positive and you really have to keep track of where your foot will go once you move past... good fun, if you have the space

CHRIS SAYS
I can imagine huge crack systems with these holds, it'd be a whole bunch of fun to climb on. I've used these mainly to work on my footwork and my tracking, and i've seen a pretty good improvement on some movement when I'm trying to find the pocket and its around a corner.

Like Noodles says we did have an easy time to put the holds in, but we're pretty well equipt. I would check the holds diameter before hand (not just the base) as the hole cutters are expensive pieces of kit to have kicking about the house. I've not seen insets like these before and I was pretty skeptical about how they'd climb, but the ones we've got are completely bomber and easy to pull on, you can loose you hand in some of them :)

PROS

• Quality holds that you've come to expect from Metolius, this time as inset holds
• Nothing like these out there
• You're going to end up with some precise footwork!
• Larger insets can be used for training cam placements for trad climbing
  

CONS

• Once inplace they're going to stay there unless you change the panel or have lots of the same sized holds to move about
• Limited color options
• Fairly large surface area
• Could be a pain to set up, if you don't have the right tools
  

PRICE

• The smalls are $10.95
• The large ones are $12.95
  

Review > Metolius > Cobblestone

If you look in the dictionary (or in these days of technology.. dictionary.com) and look up the word "Cobblestone" you will be given the following:

Cobblestone – noun :
a naturally rounded stone, larger than a pebble and smaller than a boulder, formerly used in paving

And when you get these holds from Metolius...

..they're almost exact definition of what the dictionary says... Now these days as climbers, our roads are vertical and not horizontal, and the only time our feet will touch a Cobblestone is when we're trying that tricky hand / foot match on that new problem at the gym, rather than walking about town in Victorian times :) So the holds are aptly named!

The holds come in Macro, Modular and Micro sizes (we've got the modular) so depending upon your needs you can get pretty much whatever you want...The holds all have a pretty aggressive texture when you first start to pull on them, I'd go so far to say it's a little bit too much for my taste, but thankfully with some blood, sweat and chalk it evens out after a while. Our local gym has had some one the wall for about the same time as we've had ours and with the amount of traffic that the holds get over there headed down midweek to have a sneaky climb and to see how they felt... I was pretty impressed, despite the fact that someone should get up there with a brush the holds were still positive to pull on (mind you this is on a 40 degree wall and the holds are part of the crux sequence on a 5.10)... so the texture came into it's own as even with a lot of traffic, the holds were still nice to pull on, surprising really, no one likes slick holds. If these get too slick give them a quick brush and have another go at the route, I think you might be surprised, they come back to life.

But saying that, don't be afraid to get out the ol sandpaper if you want to knock down the texture some, the holds are all good even shapes and its not hard to do.Now normally with holds once you've had a route up for a while you'll end up taking it down and moving the holds about (I know, I do it A LOT) but one thing I found nice about the Cobblestones is that you can just turn them... the holds generally have an area that you want to pull on (i.e: the best (biggest) bit) and then they taper into the wall, so all you need to do is rotate a hold a little and your V1 just became a V3, I found it a nice way to keep people on their toes. Chris was over twice last week and he's climbed the route a bunch, so when he left I turned all the holds... leaving them in the same place and then a few days later suggested he try it again. Oh the fun I had watching him flail about on a route that he'd nailed before, I left it for a few goes before I told him that's what I'd done.

The Cobblestones all look like they're pretty similar at first glance, but there is enough difference in the radii of the holds to make them all feel unique... Most of the holds aren't that positive (but there are a few) so they're not really destined for any super overhanging walls, but if you're strong and know how to use that core tension you're going to have a whole bunch of fun setting problems with these.

RATING:
NOODLES SAYS
At first they're going to make your hands burn... and then over time they become nicer to hold. Too much chalk build up will make them a little slick especially if your wall is warm, but a quick brush and you're cooking with gas again! If you want some good slopers that are going to last a long time then you can't really go wrong with these holds, I've climbed on all of the sizes and they're as good as each other. If you're tight on space on your home woody so for Micro, if you have room to spare go with the Modular, if you want something larger then hit up the Macro's, three sizes and one common goal... to make you strong and yet be tendon friendly :)

CHRIS SAYS
You had me fooled on this one noodles! Rotating these holds a few degree's make them especially harder to stick. Some of the holds in our set were a little too small for an open hand and too round to crimp so its all about footwork on these guys. They have enough texture to stick them on a slight overhanging wall like we did but be prepared to be shut down a few times. The set is well rounded (excuse the pun) and is great for anyone who is looking for a way to train hard and save tendons.

PROS

• They hold up pretty well in a commercial gym
  
• Holds get better the more they are used
• Changing a route means rotating a hold a little
• Very tendon friendly shapes, not a sharp edge in sight
  

CONS

• They only come in one color... lime green
  
• They do take a few climbs before they get REALLY good
• Depending upon how strong you are will dictate how overhung a wall they can be used on
  

PRICE

• 5 pack of holds is $34.95 = $6.99 per hold
• 15 pack is $97.50 = $6.50 per hold
• 30 pack is $177 = $5.90 per hold
• (They come with all needed hardware :P)
  

Review > Metolius > Wood Grips

Metolius have been around for years and have the name that go's along with being a first rate hold manufacturer! Well there's always been Metolius holds on my walls, either here or in the UK and a welcome addition came in the shape of some Wood Grips. I've been aware of the holds since they came out, and always wondered what they'd be like to climb on, thankfully Brooke headed my call and sent me some over...

Now when you get the holds you're going to think that someone has just chopped up some wood, sealed it, chucked a bolt hole through it and then packaged them, well you'd be wrong! I've always thought of holds as works of art, and a climbing wall (if you have one in your home) as a piece of furniture and this is where we get to the holds. They're made from offcuts from a furniture factory, they're ALL hand sanded, shaped and hand sealed so essentially you are buying a work of art! A GREEN work of art, Metoilus have taken someone else's waste and turned it into something that people buy, I wish I'd thought of the idea.

But what are they like to climb on?
At first pull you find yourself being very very delicate on them, they're slick and hard to hold onto, but once you take some time and learn how to get onto them you start realising that they're amazing... point blank amazing. Climb on them for long enough and you'll realise that the more chalk, sweat and hand oil that touches these holds the better and better they get... skin friendly, these are probably the friendliest holds that are on the wall!
So the more they get used the better they get... at the start there would be no way I would have attempted this:
NO WAY, i'd have tried that (Sorry about the video quality, I really should get a new camera)

Let me wax lyrical about the texture some more...
Image a big dual texture hold..
Without the grippy bit!
This is what these holds will feel like the first time you climb on them, add some chalk and hand oil and they get better and better! If you want to loose some of the sealer because you want some more grip? Grab some fine grade sandpaper and sand down the area you want to hold.. you can dial these holds in as you want... I'd suggest just climbing on them for some time before you do this though

We've only got 5 of these holds but there is all of these and two training boards available, the compact and deluxe versions and they're well worth a look at:
RATING:
NOODLES SAYS
Hard to hold, but pleasing to grip. An environmentally friendly hold that should be the staple of any home wall, I wasn't sure what to make of them once I had them and climbed on them but they just get nicer and nicer the more they get used. They are complete buggers for you feet, so they will help your footwork, you're going to find your feet slipping all over the place so careful placement is paramount!
These holds probably aren't for everyone, but if you have beginners on a slab, vertical wall or very slightly overhanging I think that they'd be a welcome addition, you beginners will thank you for the skin friendliness. For anyone that's a "hardcore" climber you're going to find these holds give you more pump per movement as they're harder to hold onto.

CHRIS SAYS
After a little chalking these holds turned out to stick better than expected. Really good to hone technique and you could set a sequence with them without worry of burning skin or injuring tendons. At first I thought noodles was going mad when he suggested a dynamic move to the one crimp of the set and after a few goes its obvious that these holds have a lot to offer.

The Metolius Wood Grips look great on any home wall and would turn heads at the gym but we believe that they would not last in that kind of environment

PROS

• Skin friendly
• Environmentally friendly
• Holds get better the more they are used
• Look amazing on a wall and will make anyone look twice
• Would make an amazing addition to a home wall
• You don't have to brush them, they are better with hand gunk on them :)
  

CONS

• We're not sure what they'd be like in a commercial setting... how would they hold up to the traffic
• They do take a few climbs before they get REALLY good

PRICE

• 5 pack of holds is $39.50 = $7.90 per hold
• 25 pack is $110 = $4.40 per hold