[Nibile]

no, not the Guano Apes song.
I am very close to moving back to Siena, with the fantastic prospect of building my own wall.
I don't have a big experience with plastic, so I am asking all plastic monsters here to give me some advice about which holds to prefer and which to avoid. not in terms of the brands, but in terms of the shapes and prehensions. I can make them from wood.
the wall will be quite steep.
with time, I've learnt to avoid:
- monos
- all holds that are too small for the four fingers (except pockets)
- all holds that split your fingers to the two sides of the bolt
- all holds so uneven that while a finger is fully crimped another can be straight
so, any suggestion to help me have a safe session while still having fun? I'm thinking about flat edges, slopers, pinches, but nothing too small or too sharp.
thanks alot.
ps. do you recommend making it symmetrical like the Beastmaker board at The Works? is the effort worth?

[b3n99]

From a little experience from my board i would definitely recommend buying any slopers and especially pockets in the resin variety as wooden slopers seem to have to be almost incut to use on a steep board as they are so slick and homemade pockets are a recipe for finger tweaks! Bleaustone are quality! Maybe a little expensive but the pocket range especially is fantastic and they come in pairs for perfect for a systems board.
Also i would say a variety of small footholds is great for building tension!

[Nibile]

Hey thanks!

[richie0210]

We changed our regular random hold set up to a symmetrical set up a little over a year ago and haven't looked back since. Just be prepared to have every little weakness exposed. I personally still find it hard to believe I have such varied strengths and weakness to the left and right side of my body. On the down side making and buying holds becomes a little more awkward.
I'm also not a lover of the sloper on the board as find them very unpredictable to when your going to come off. I believe increasing the chance of injury as you try and take up the slack with you opposing had as you slip unexpectedly. Obviously this can be said for any hold but slopers seem to spit me out without warning(but then thats probably weakness).

[Milford Cubicle]

How do you train using the symmetrical boards? climb straight up the same holds like a ladder?

If you get some tulipwood or something similar you could make your own holds.

mc

[Nibile]

How do you train using the symmetrical boards? climb straight up the same holds like a ladder?

that's more a system board. a symmetrical board means that you can climb a problem as in a mirror, exchanging left and right.
if a problem starts with a dyno out right to a pinch, there will be a replica that starts with a dyno out left to the a pinch, and so on.