Why do climbers brush holds?
You have probably seen some climbers pull out what looks like a tooth brush and clean the holds at the wall, and wondered why?
Well at the wall or outside holds get dirty. Grease, grime, sweat, skin, chalk and shoe rubber sludge up holds over time.
This means the holds get more slippery and you have to exert yourself more to hang on. This isn't the workout you are looking for though.
Brushes are a must-have took to help you clean up the build-up on hand and foot holds.
As opposed to regular tooth brushes, our brushes are made with stiff, long lasting bristles to get rid of the excess gunk on holds.
How to brush
Everyone seems to be using a different technique, some are simply back and forth, others do small circles. Truth is, as long as you're brushing you can't do it wrong.
Your goal is to remove all the chalk accumulated on the hold and get the original texture of the hold back.
Etiquette
If you're familiar with big box gyms you probably know that you don't leave your sweat on the bench press or a big puddle of sweat sprayed all over the elliptical.
It's common courtesy to wipe off the equipment after your finished working out on them.
Brushing is the whipping off at a climbing wall.
If you have been working on a problem or a route for some time, be considerate and don't leave all your chalk, sweat and shoe rubber for the next person to clean up before they climb.
If you feel helpful you can also brush off someone's else hold to help them whilst they rest between attempts. They will appreciate it.
Simply put brushing is a quick and easy way to help leave the wall better than when you walked in.