The hold market is shifting. After years of competition-driven demand for dual tex, macros and comp-style shapes, many setters are looking to make their gyms’ sets more varied again—looking for versatile holds with different textures and a wider variety of shape profiles. Holds that work in every set, every grade, every day.
Kilter and the Setter Closet, the distribution company behind some of the most recognizable names in the industry, have been watching that shift in real time, from their work inside gyms to their booth at the CWA Summit.
In this talk from the Summit floor earlier this year, Nick Gagliardi and Brendan Scorpio walk through what Setter Closet is bringing to the market. They showcase holds from the Kilter Boards—including the lesser-known Full Ride—and holds from Urban Plastix, the upcoming Urban Plastix Board, Unleashed, IBEX and Sup’r, as well as their thoughts a few years into their foray into the new material that may be the most significant development in hold manufacturing in years.
VTF, a thermoplastic that is often lighter, stronger, cheaper and more durable than fiberglass, is already reshaping what’s possible—and at more affordable prices. The popular Jimmy’s Southern Slopers Kaiju, now reimagined in dual-tex VTF—which comes in at 27-35% cheaper and much lighter than its polyurethane predecessor—is a case study in what that shift looks like in practice.
And tucked between the product talk is a piece of advice from Scorpio worth holding onto, for setters at any level: It doesn’t only matter how strong you are, what matters most is how you are as a routesetter.
This article is a sponsored story and does not necessarily represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.
