Are you interested in creating unique climbing routes using pinches? Atomik’s Adjustable Pinches allow routesetters to customize each pinch’s width, taper, and difficulty. Unleash your creativity and develop innovative configurations for a top-notch climbing experience!
Need inspiration? Check out the thumbnail images for sample orientations we’ve created below. One side of every hold features a 0° incut, while the other ranges from 10° incut to 20° sloping. Regardless of the set, you’ll always be able to set a 0° incut on one side and a 0° incut on the other.
When paired, these pinches create a minimum width of 2-1/4″. Each pinch in this line measures 1-1/8″ across the face of the hold. The base of the holds gets larger as the hold angle becomes slopier.
These holds stand 1-1/4″ off the wall and are 5-1/4″ in total length, accommodating hands of any size.
Used alone, each hold serves as a very narrow pinch or, when used horizontally, a deep edge.
Routesetting with the Pinches
The options for what you can do with them are practically limitless, from using them as a single narrow to super-wide pinches, with thousands of configurations in between. There is only one orientation we want to ensure you are aware of and avoid: setting the holds in a “V” orientation with the incuts on the inside. This orientation does not occur when there are no incuts on the inside.
Cheats (Orientation)
There are a number of “cheats” for how the holds can be used. When setting a wide pinch of 3″ or more, you’ll find that the 0° sides on the inside of the 3″ orientation can be grabbed as a side pull. This variation is an excellent way for a less strong climber to learn the movement through that section and eventually build the strength to climb the move with the 3″-wide version.
Cheats (Tops of Holds)
When setting on 30°-or-less overhanging walls, you can get on top of the hold if you climb over V4. The top and bottom angle on these pinches is 20°. This angle provides enough real estate to make them feel like a slopey edge. Homewalls are usually set up where multiple problems use the same holds and even use only parts of holds. These problems are called “Eliminates” since you restrict yourself from grabbing a particular part of the hold. If you use the tops of these adjustable pinches, go right ahead; you only limit yourself from increasing your pinch training. If you’re not setting for a competition, you don’t have to worry about eliminating every cheat.
As Singles
Using these holds as singles (one hold to make a pinch instead of two) makes them more challenging to grip because the pinch is very narrow, at 1″ to 1-1/4″ wide. The width increases as the holds get slopier. Even when adding the slopiest hold for the thumb catch, narrow is harder. Below is an image of a V8 set on our 25° wall, with multiple singles used: one is an undercling (the 0°/-5° with the incut underneath), and one is a narrow pinch which is 0°/20° sloping.
As Edges
You absolutely can use these holds as edges! They offer a 1-1/4″ deep edge that is 5″ wide.
Difficulty
The Difficulty Chart below informs you of how hard the pinch moves will feel on a boulder problem of 6 to 8 moves.
We used the exact angle of hold for both your fingers and thumbs to determine grading. For example, the 10° incut is paired with a second 10° incut at a 3″ width for one hand. Switching the thumb side to more incut will make the pinch easier to grip.
You can routeset with the holds in these configurations; however, using the many variations available gives you more exciting pinch orientations.
How to Use the Chart
The chart gives you a range of difficulty for each set and is intended to guide you. Please note that the grades are accumulative, meaning we tested these scenarios on 6 to 10-move boulder problems. One move will feel the easiest, but when you add dynamic moves and different combinations of holds and orientations, the holds can be easier to grip or more difficult.
Example:
If you’re climbing the “X” gym grade, you should be able to hold onto the “X degrees” hold for both fingers and thumb for 1 to 8 moves.
For example, if your wall is 45° overhanging and you climb V8, you can set a challenging boulder problem for yourself with the 10° sloping pinch for both your fingers and thumbs. If you love the 10° slope but want an easier boulder problem, changing the thumb side to 0° incut makes the hold feel more like V6/7.
Testing
Do you wonder how we create grades for products like these? A lot of climbing! But seriously, we routeset with them ourselves, which is the usual process. That process enables us to get into an “area” of a grade but not fine-tune that grade, so for this product we took things a step further.
The red pinches were set up in a 3″-wide orientation, perfectly vertical, and the left-hand side matched the right-hand side. Setups like these allowed us to run many different levels of climbers on the same setup and see which holds each climber could effectively move off of.
We also set complete boulder problems of at least 8 moves using the same hold repeatedly, to get a feel for the accumulating load of multiple moves.
As System Holds
Yes, you can use these holds for system training! We like that you can set up an orientation in its easiest configuration (“A” pattern), and then once your fitness increases, you can adjust it to the parallel orientation.
- Pack Size: Two individual holds, which will create one pinch.
- Size: The face measures 1-1/8″ on all holds.
- Size: The narrowest base of one piece is 1″, which is the 0°/-10° Incut.
- Size: The widest base of one piece is 1-1/2″, which is the 0°/20° Sloping.
- Size: The height of every hold is 5-1/4″.
- Size: Every hold stands 1-1/4″ off the wall.
Make Your Own Perfect Pinch
We hope you enjoy getting creative with these pinches! The options are just about endless. Below are some more example orientations to consider using:
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story was first published on Atomik’s website here.
The sponsor paid for this story and it does not necessarily represent the views of the Climbing Business Journal editorial team.
Atomik Climbing Holds is a one-stop shop for high-quality, affordable and colorful climbing holds for any climbing wall, whether you’re building a wall in your home or running a modern gym. Frequently voted by routesetters as the Favorite Homewall Holds in CBJ’s annual Grip List, Atomik’s wide selection of holds for sale ranges from bolt-on starter kits to pinches, slopers, training holds and more. Atomik also manufactures its holds, which means we can ship orders of any color within one to five business days.
