[measles23]

Has anyone else experimented with just a basic spray on/roll on deodorant/antiperspirant for sweaty tips?

One of those 5am half dream-half conscious ideas that seemed genius at the time but is probably gash for some reason - I tried it last week on lime and can safely say that from an uncontrolled trial of n=1 I have fuck all idea of whether it makes any difference, but it seemed a less invasive idea than mummifying your flesh with antihydral..

Am I barking up the wrong tree and the problem is greasiness from natural skin oils rather than sweating anyway?

Any thoughts?

[Krank]

i have tried a few antiperspirants recently and have had mixed results. I found this was the most effective, however, it left my skin slippy(slightly glassy) on indoor holds and overly dry.
It didn't seem as extreme as antihydral and i don't think splitting would have occurred if i had continued use it. I have stopped using it now and decided that i am screwed with greasy tips forever, Its probably worth a try though as its pretty cheap

[i.munro]

Am I barking up the wrong tree and the problem is greasiness from natural skin oils rather than sweating anyway?

Any thoughts?

These guys   
http://jn.physiology.org/content/103/1/402.full#ref-2
found that there is an optimum moisture level for max grip & suggest the existence of  a feedback mechanism to maintain that optimum level.

There's also this bit in the conclusion "Indeed, it appears that the subjects' grip adjustment was overcompensated in response to the effects of friction variation. It is also possible that at both extremes (very high and very low moisture levels) the certainty in friction estimation is more ambiguous and a greater GFs is required again as a “safe” strategy."

ie when the moisture level isn't optimum you overcompensate by gripping far harder than required ( my guess is that this will 'feel" like you're slipping when it may not in fact be the case & therefore that 'feel' is a crap way to estimate friction).

[measles23]

Interesting reading; it almost seems to validate the concept of sticky-damp, and perhaps why some drying agents can leave you feeling glassy by working too well..
I've just realised the Brut deodorant I used isn't even an antiperspirant, which are mostly based on aluminium compounds as per Krank's suggestion - oh well at least there are a few more fragrant problems down at rubicon now!

[tomtom]

I've just realised the Brut deodorant I used isn't even an antiperspirant, which are mostly based on aluminium compounds as per Krank's suggestion - oh well at least there are a few more fragrant problems down at rubicon now!

Have you really been spraying Brut on your fingers!!!?!?!?! :D :D :D

[measles23]

Like I said it sounded like a brilliant idea at 5am but felt a little fucked up doing it!

[benpritch]

i suspect that doing this will leave a nasty residue on holds that will be difficult to clean off. please don't try it.

[measles23]

Don't worry Ben, I'm not quite bonkers enough to spray the rock! Just one spray on fingers in the morning before going out, left no residue on my fingers and I don't believe any would have gone onto the rock any more than any other chemical that hands come into contact with eg soap, aftershave, washing up liquid...
I've only tried it once and was distinctly underwhelmed so prob won't bother again, just wondered if anyone else had had the same 5am brainwave/brainfart
Cheers for the replies

[ghisino]

http://www.nstoutdoor.com/pages/ecogripgel.html

this is essentially an antiperspirant for climbers' hands.

imho it really does what one asks to it : dry hands for 20-30 minutes.
it reduced my chalk consuption drastically and extended my "ideal temperature range" a bit.

two drawbacks
a) really weird texture, hard to apply properly the first times.
b) Use it too frequently and you'll grow a layer of hard dry sking that's prone to cracking and flappers...you need to file a lot unless a layer of hard skin is what you need.  Or, you just use for serious tries, unusually warm conditions, and when you're running short of chalk.

[slackline]

Err what about .....

[ghisino]

doesn't last 20 minutes! 

[slackline]

What routes/boulder problems are you on for more than twenty minutes?

[ghisino]

a few warmup boulders in a row?
several tries on a boulder?
sport onsight? (this one can really go on for more than 20 min)

anyway, for some reason, this stuff feels a bit better than liquid chalk.
If not i don't se why the friend i used to steal liquid chalk from now steals this one for me.

(oh my god. sounds as if i was paid to write so...)

[slackline]

With the exception of a sport onsight whats wrong with reapplying?  You'd dip your hands in a chalk bag to reapply, bit more faff admittedly but not insurmountable.

(Just make sure you bag the liquid chalk up if its in your hold baggage, my friend didn't and had what looked like jizz all over his clothes when we got to Sardinia  )

[ghisino]

yeah but then whats wrong with the fancy gel (apart from being french i mean).


a financial comparison (cost/number of climbing days) would be interesting (another downside of the fancy gel is that id doesn't seem to be ultracheap.

[measles23]

With all due respect to you guys, I'm now taking my hand-drying advice from these ladies - after all its only sensible to cross-fertilise between sports with similar needs 
http://www.poleexercise.co.uk/2007/05/01/5-products-to-help-you-grip-the-pole-and-why-you-shouldnt-use-them/