[Nibile]

more on the subject: yesterday I went back to the gym for the fisrt time after starting using the magic stuff. well, I couldn't stay on any vaguely sloping hyold. I dryfired off from pinches like a missile.
so I think it's really not good for plastic.
anyone else had the same experience?
obviously excellent on grainy rock tho.

[rodma]

I found the same, but have adapted to accept the change in friction.

I had expected it to be a wonder cure, making everything feel piss-easy, but it is not. It changes the friction and not all for the good. If you are used to dragging slopey plastic edges, the antihydral definately makes this worse. You have to crush the shit out of everything in order to stick, but that should be right up your street 

[Nibile]

yes, I'd happily exchange two more goes on the project with good friction on a greased, caked plastic hold.

[Krank]

i found the same, my skin was horrible on the board but good on the grit.

[Nibile]

that's all I needed to know!!!
YYFY.

[account_inactive]

On eBay for £10 with free p+p BTW

[tomtom]

Got some antihydral from Germany (check out the comic amount of packaging for two tubes!). But as ze instructions are in German, what are the recommended ways of applying for climbers? In the evening (leave on overnight) once or twice a week? Or any different?

[rodma]

i like once a week, overnight, tips/pads only, keep it away from the creases, wash off in the morning (if you haven't sweated it off all over your pj's

will not really help for limestone bouldering imho, since you need a wee bit more skin flexibility/dampage

[tomtom]

Cheers Rodma. Perfect. Wanted it more to slow down the not climbing softening when away... see how it goes..

[SA Chris]

Agree with rodders re application, but I'd leave it on for evening then wash off before bed. Good excuse for not doing anything around the house!

If you leave it on overnight you might get a thickening of skin elsewhere

[Nibile]

Overnight for me as well, be sure you have already made love.
I find that it stats working best after some 24 hours, so to climb on a Saturday I would apply it over Thursday night.

[HaeMeS]

Twice a week overnight, Monday and Thursday evening. Sometimes a third time on Saturday for dry tips on sunday. Must skip the Monday session afterwards, otherwise glassy tips. No trouble with applying it to creases, but do have serious trouble with deep cracks in the skin  on both thumbs - but this used to happen while working in the garden before antihydral as well. Known weak spot.

Used to overheat quickly, with sweaty fingers so climbing in the 'heat' above 15 degrees or a humid gym was awful. Not having to deal with issue anymore makes a big difference - I can climb faster, no need to chalk after every single move and dont have to pull as hard as I used to. Can't imagine climbing without Antihydral anymore. Went to a crag where chalk is forbidden last Sunday and managed to pull on tiny sloping edges in 28 degree heat and 90% humidity. A game changer for me.

[Krank]

id be carefull keeping it on that long for the first few times, when i used it i only left it on for 30mins and it ruined my skin, cant imagine what it would have been like if i had kept it on over night.

[tomtom]

THanks Krank - I just kept it on for an hour or so and that seemed fine... odd it made my skin tips tingle - like after a hard day at the crag! :/

[cha1n]

Wow, I never had my tips tingle from anti-hydral!

Love the stuff though, after talking to a bunch of people on my extended climbing trip the way people use it is very individual as everyone has different degrees of sweatiness on their hands (obviously)! One German bird said she smeared it over her entire palm side of her hand, every night of the week?!?

I personally apply a very thin layer (finger prints still visible) with some flat cotton wool buds nicked from the mrs, similar to these; http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Cosmetic-Tip-Buds-1-x-80-Carton_1115757/ (the pointy end is good for working in some moisturiser into your cuticles without having you get your pads all greased up with moisturiser).

I pay careful attention to where the tips are sweating from during my session and only apply to those specific areas, usually half of the 'bump' of the fingertip and the area just below it (bump is more obvious if you look from the side). Here's an excellent representation of the coverage I use personally, courtesy of Microsoft paint:



I'll sometimes go a bit closer to the tip if it's sweating badly but rarely any more coverage than shown. Personally I'll keep it on overnight for two nights in a row and then it'll usually be OK for 2-3 days, then I repeat. I was told by someone that there's a bit of a delay in the drying out and I find that to be true. That is, if I use it for 2 nights it still seems like it could do with another night but by the end of the day it's continued to dry out and is perfect. If you press on and use it more you end up with the glassy tips that can't keep hold of much, especially resin holds.

Obviously, applying to any type of damaged fingertip (e.g. split, weeping, etc) makes you a moron and deserved of the bad things that follow.

When you perfect using it you can still have soft skin that has grip on slick holds but you can be sweating all over your body, EXCEPT your finger tips. This is the true sign of a seasoned anti-hydral user imo (yes, I'm currently out of work and bored).

Go forth and conquer.

[Tommy]

Anyone got any knowledge on current Antihydral supplies in the UK? I'm happy with brand new or partly used tubes!

[tomtom]

http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php?topic=24561.msg455558#msg455558

[Tommy]

Weird, I searched for that and couldn't find it. I'm a dunce.

Ta for link :-)

[tomtom]

Weird, I searched for that and couldn't find it. I'm a dunce.

Ta for link :-)

Theres a few antihydral threads/links I think... so easy to get the wrong one etc..

[Will Hunt]

My specific issue is that I seeny to be very susceptible to split tips when climbing on grit. It's an enormous ball ache.

Does antihydral help with this, either by toughening/thickening the skin or by reducing moisture production and thus reducing slippage on small holds? Or is it better at just improving friction?

Other than ordering a dodgy box from Germany are there any other products out there except Rhino Skin? I notice that Rhino Skin Tip Juice is not FDA approved - is it snake oil or unsafe? Anyone have experience using it?

[Wood FT]

My specific issue is that I seeny to be very susceptible to split tips when climbing on grit. It's an enormous ball ache.

Does antihydral help with this, either by toughening/thickening the skin or by reducing moisture production and thus reducing slippage on small holds? Or is it better at just improving friction?

Other than ordering a dodgy box from Germany are there any other products out there except Rhino Skin? I notice that Rhino Skin Tip Juice is not FDA approved - is it snake oil or unsafe? Anyone have experience using it?

The Rhino Skin dry works well for me. Much less faff than Antihydral

[teestub]

Does antihydral help with this, either by toughening/thickening the skin or by reducing moisture production and thus reducing slippage on small holds? Or is it better at just improving friction?

Stops tips sweating so skin wears slower and therefore gets thicker. I wouldn’t say it necessarily improves friction of skin, sometimes the opposite in fact, as your tips can become less malleable and leave you open to a potential Nathanieling!

[mark20]

Anti-hydral thickens and dries the skin and I’m not sure it will help if you’re already splitting often, possibly make it worse.

[moose]

My experience is that antihydral makes skin a bit leathery  / plasticky - if anything, friction is worse, as the surface is too dry and less pliable (mind you, I have naturally dry skin. The pads of the fingertips wear through slower - so it is good for mitigating abrasion from a few days of climbing on rough but not sharp holds.  But if you do use antihydral and get a split or are sliced  by a crystal, it makes matters worse - the sides of the slice are thicker and dryer and more reluctant to knit together.

Personally, I keep away from the stuff during my normal "weekend warrior" routine but might have a one-off treatment before a holiday or long weekend (e.g. 3 or 4 consecutive days of climbing) when raw, seepy pads are a possibility.  So, it's not a panacea for bad skin but it has its place (and lasts ages - my tube must be near 10 years old and near full, and seemingly still effective).

If you want to borrow my tube and have a few trial runs, and ever pass through Ilkley (or want me to drop it off if I'm passing through your area) let me know.

[nai]

My specific issue is that I seeny to be very susceptible to split tips when climbing on grit. It's an enormous ball ache.

Does antihydral help with this, either by toughening/thickening the skin or by reducing moisture production and thus reducing slippage on small holds? Or is it better at just improving friction?

Other than ordering a dodgy box from Germany are there any other products out there except Rhino Skin? I notice that Rhino Skin Tip Juice is not FDA approved - is it snake oil or unsafe? Anyone have experience using it?

The Rhino Skin dry works well for me. Much less faff than Antihydral

I find Performance even betterer