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HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker (Read 9498 times)

DWS

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HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 07, 2018, 10:00:45 am
Looking into getting a few wooden holds for my home board.  Really like the look of both HardWoodHolds and the Beastmaker holds.  Have climbed on Beastmaker holds before at the local gym's 45'board, they are the best holds I've ever used, really skin friendly, squeezy and visually pleasing too.  I came across HardWoodHolds after a quick internet search and they look cool to. I'm only needing maybe 20 holds or so, and am inclined towards the beastmaker pinches and leafy crimps.  Anybody here used hardwoodholds before, how do they compare to the beastmaker holds? Anybody have any suggestions?

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#1 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 07, 2018, 12:43:44 pm
I've used both before. IMO, the quality of HWH is at least as good as the beastmaker holds. In my experience, they are both very high quality - not gonna injure you (i.e. not weird shapes), not gonna trash your skin and appropriate hold size for your ability and board (I get the impression HWH tailor this more than do beastmaker?).

As well as which company provide the shapes you're after, I reckon price, speed of delivery and which business you'd rather support are the things to consider.

DWS

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#2 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 07, 2018, 01:04:17 pm
Yeh, think skin maintenance is the big issue, that's why I favour wood.  HWH and beastmaker seem quite similarly priced, but it appears that there is more variety in the shapes of the HWH, particularly the mixed sets, whilst beastmaker holds seem limited to only a few hold sets, judging by the both their respective websites.

Paul B

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#3 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 07, 2018, 06:52:15 pm
I think this comes down to personal preference. There are a couple of BM boards at BUK and a few UKBers (admittedly a few 'fairly hard to please UKBers') really don't get on with the radius that's apparent on most holds (I find them quite comfy) and prefer HWH (now used on the Depot Manc board).

I bought HWH for my home board for several reasons, one being at the time BM were pretty busy! I'm really pleased with them; Will did a great job at giving me exactly what I'd asked for and they're as well finished as anything I've ever climbed on.

Doylo

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#4 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 07, 2018, 07:10:57 pm
Get a mixture of both. Cover all bases then.

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#5 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 07, 2018, 09:26:54 pm
Both make really high quality holds, probably not much in it.

Really keen on the Beastmaker mother board down the works but personally I went with HWH as the holds were bespoke. Can be made to order dependant on your ability, training needs and board angle.

Beautiful holds both aesthetically and to climb on. They clearly put a lot of effort into making them 'just right'  :2thumbsup: certainly a labour of love.

moose

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#6 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 07, 2018, 10:52:34 pm
I have lots of HWHs on my board and no Beastmakers, so cannot give a comparison but I will say that the HWH sets are excellent.  Very well crafted and skin friendly. Almost too skin friendly really; so smooth I sometimes have to dampen my fingers with a plant sprayer before using them!

I mainly gravitated to HWHs as they do symmetrical sets.  They have also customized orders - put in T-nut holes and when I mentioned my aims (i.e. particular routes / crags) given a bit of feedback and provided holds based on that .  That said, maybe  Beastmaker do the same.

moose

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#7 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 07, 2018, 11:07:45 pm
I'll put in a work for Crusher too.  His holds are more basic and less ergonomic than the HWHs efforts but they are more regular in shape and cheaper, and as the wood is softer, slightly grippier.   His sets are very good for populating a board without taking out a second mortgage.  Not just a budget decision though, my favorite holds on my board are some very positive Crusher undercuts, supposedly a design made for a Rainshadow aspirant, that Paul R copied for me. 

richie0210

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#8 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 07, 2018, 11:44:07 pm
I have had both BM holds and HWH sets on my board for a while now. The BM a couple of years longer than the HWH. Both are very good holds and a joy to climb on, not to mention look the business.
My only criticism is, I was never super happy with the level of symmetricalness(if that's a word) with the BM holds. Still very nice and symmetrical ish but never perfect enough for my ocd. The HWH on the other hand where about as perfect as symmetrical comes. Still very pleased with both brands tho.

DWS

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#9 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 08, 2018, 05:23:26 pm
Yeh, good shout on the crusherholds, have used them before, they're good, but basic, but not as aethetically pleasing as HWH or BM, I would personally rather pay a bit more for holds that look really nice aswell. Yeh, im looking symmetrical holds, BM leafy crimps look a safe bet, but can't be totally sure I'd receive two exact same pinches. Definitely think HWH caters more towards home boards than BM, their website seems to be updated with new hold sets fairly regularly.

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#10 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 08, 2018, 06:21:22 pm
I'll put in a work for Crusher too.  His holds are more basic and less ergonomic than the HWHs efforts but they are more regular in shape and cheaper, and as the wood is softer, slightly grippier.   His sets are very good for populating a board without taking out a second mortgage.  Not just a budget decision though, my favorite holds on my board are some very positive Crusher undercuts, supposedly a design made for a Rainshadow aspirant, that Paul R copied for me.

+1
At least two years of use on a commercial board and our Crushers are still tiptop.

tomtom

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#11 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 08, 2018, 09:03:39 pm
I'm no board beast - but find the BM holds feel a bit tweaky sometimes - almost too regular if that makes sense...

moose

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#12 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 09, 2018, 08:24:35 am
I'll put in a work for Crusher too.  His holds are more basic and less ergonomic than the HWHs efforts but they are more regular in shape and cheaper, and as the wood is softer, slightly grippier.   His sets are very good for populating a board without taking out a second mortgage.  Not just a budget decision though, my favorite holds on my board are some very positive Crusher undercuts, supposedly a design made for a Rainshadow aspirant, that Paul R copied for me.

+1
At least two years of use on a commercial board and our Crushers are still tiptop.

I think because they are ash, Crusher holds are a bit less "hard" than other hardwoods like oak. The ones at the Leeds Depot do look a little battered but I suspect that was a just a one-off sub-par batch and jet-washing them probably hasn't helped!  My holds, of a more recent vintage, have an appreciably harder, more compact texture than the Depot ones and still look pristine.  When I noted the better texture, Paul said that all of the timber he had bought recently has been really good.


36chambers

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#13 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 09, 2018, 08:59:31 am
Does anyone else have a problem with how slick the HWHs are?

I'm not a sweaty tipped person but unless it's pretty cold I find myself firing off the smaller ones several times a session. It's actually quite painful, like I'm about to get a huge blister every time. I prefer the crusher holds since they have more texture.

Doylo

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#14 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 09, 2018, 09:01:09 am
Does anyone else have a problem with how slick the HWHs are?

I'm not a sweaty tipped person but unless it's pretty cold I find myself firing off the smaller ones several times a session. It's actually quite painful, like I'm about to get a huge blister every time. I prefer the crusher holds since they have more texture.

They are very slick and that’s what makes them nails. Can’t say I fire off them that much though.

Doylo

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#15 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 09, 2018, 09:07:52 am
I’ve got a few Crusher crimps and I quite like them too. Not quite as slick.

moose

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#16 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 09, 2018, 09:14:50 am
Does anyone else have a problem with how slick the HWHs are?

I'm not a sweaty tipped person but unless it's pretty cold I find myself firing off the smaller ones several times a session. It's actually quite painful, like I'm about to get a huge blister every time. I prefer the crusher holds since they have more texture.

I also find the HWHs much slicker than the Crushers - they are almost too hard and ergonomic.  But for me the problem is worse in cold conditions - any skin glassiness and they feel like Teflon.  My solution has been to put a fan heater in my board room and occasionally spray my fingers with a plant mister to simulate a slight sweatiness! I find having very slightly damp hands really helps me hang slippy holds, like HWHs and the slopers on a Beastmaker fingerboard.

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#17 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 09, 2018, 10:17:21 am
Like Doyle, I find the difficulty of the hardwood holds to be the slickness, but I don't find that I fire off them particularly. I like how active I have to be to squeeze the pinches because of the slickness

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#18 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 09, 2018, 12:15:31 pm
I’ve mentioned this before somewhere, but I have a couple BM 2000s and another sloper/edges board I made myself.
Hanging the 45’s on the BM, is easier for me with no chalk and slightly damp fingers (both boards). My board is Iroko (like mahogany) at 50* and 55* slopers. I had to actively texture it with 40 grit and wire brush and requires bone dry fingers and chalk.
The 12,10 & 8mm edges I made are way more positive and the 12’s are easier to hang than the BM 18’s (I think they’re 18).

moose

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#19 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 09, 2018, 09:42:52 pm
Just received some Beastmaker "leaf crimps" in the post today (curved one-pad edges).  Not put them on the woodie yet but they look very nice.  So far as I can tell without climbing on them, the texture seems more grippy than the HWHs (which sometimes feel like they are oozing some kind of plant sap / oil) but less positive than the Crushers.  They are as well finished and beautifully sculpted as the HWHs but they seem less dense and more somehow drier and more brittle and "bright".  Bash a couple of HWHs together and they make a dull "thunk", do the same with the Beastmakers, and it's more of a "clack" - like a baseball bat hitting a baseball!  Anyhow, acoustic properties are irrelevant.... its a woodie not a xylophone..... where is my drill-driver!

By the way, another name not mentioned - SillyGoat - they make very nice tufas, used by the Depot for their wood circuits (I have a couple on my home board).  Their facebook page shows that also do sets of simpler crimps and pinches etc for woodies - look gorgeous but a bit pricey for me for populating a home board. 
« Last Edit: May 09, 2018, 09:48:03 pm by moose »

DWS

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#20 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 10, 2018, 10:20:56 am
Im surpirsed the BM leaf crimps are about a pad edge, I always assumed they'd be about a half pad.  I think the thick BM pinches look great, might get a set of them and then try some crimps from HWH.  SillyGoat tufas look so so cool, would love a big tufa running up the middle of my board.  He has some really interesting shapes for holds too, I like how some of the edges aren't just straight, but more ridged, resembling something closer to real rock.

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#21 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 10, 2018, 11:43:28 am
something closer to real rock.

Why not try real rock...



 :slap:

DWS

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#22 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 10, 2018, 12:08:28 pm
Think my board would collapse under the weight of rock holds :badidea:

dunnyg

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#23 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 10, 2018, 04:34:09 pm
For a video about climbing holds you could barely see them!

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#24 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 10, 2018, 07:03:33 pm
Im surpirsed the BM leaf crimps are about a pad edge, I always assumed they'd be about a half pad.

Now they are screwed on, I see that you are right.  They have a curved section and on my woodie (40 deg), I cannot drag or curl my fingers around then - have to proper bone down on the apex with just my fingertips in a full crimp. 

DWS

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#25 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 10, 2018, 08:40:39 pm
How do the BM leafy crimps compare to crushers 15mm crimps?  Are the BM crimps harder? crushers 15mm crimps look like they have a nice bite/incut to them, whereas the BM leafy crimps look a bit more rounded on top.

moose

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#26 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 10, 2018, 08:57:27 pm
Not really tried the Beastmakers in earnest - just a quick play whilst screwing them on.  A preliminary impression is that the Crushers are easier, a tad more incut and you can thumb-pinch the corners.  The contact surfaces of the Beastmakers are very curved, both along the top of the hold and in cross-section; they are too shallow to get your fingertips behind so I was reduced to full crimping the apex - just tips of fingers in contact.

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#27 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 10, 2018, 10:48:51 pm
How do the BM leafy crimps compare to crushers 15mm crimps?  Are the BM crimps harder? crushers 15mm crimps look like they have a nice bite/incut to them, whereas the BM leafy crimps look a bit more rounded on top.

My leafy crimps are much harder to use than the Crushers.

DWS

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#28 Re: HardWoodHolds vs Beastmaker
May 11, 2018, 09:39:29 am
Thanks for the info guys, just ordered a few sets of the BM leafy crimps and pinches now.

 

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