In an ideal world lemonade would flow down mountains, doughnuts would make you thin and climbing holds would never spin. But until that day happens we route setters must rely on our own ingenuity and get fat from too many glazes’.

Spinning holds are such a headache for setters that many refuse to use or buy grips that look like they were made to spin. These holds can also pose serious risks to a climber if the hold they are holding or standing on spins and causes them to fall unexpectantly or awkwardly. (There has been at least one lawsuit resulting from this exact situation.)

Even though more and more grip makers are using urethane and rubber backings that adhere better to walls and thus reduce spinnage, they are still creating long and skinny holds that have major spin potential. These holds have made setters throughout the years wonder if manufactures are actually setting with their own holds.

But all is not lost. We can still use the skinny’s by utilizing one of the fast and easy anti-spin techniques listed below.

Anti Spin Technology

Set screws: “Mr. Routesetter, what is that little hole in some of the holds I get? Did the company forget to drill all the way through? Is this a defect?” No it’s not a defect; it’s a setscrew pilot hole. Many companies produce holds that even they know have a tendency to spin. So to stem the tide of windmilling holds manufactures developed a low-tech feature called a “pilot hole”.

This little hole makes it easier for a setter to put a setscrew through the hold and thus stop the spin. Urethane, however, is soft enough that you can place a screw right into the hold without a pilot.

You’ll have a hard time however if your wall is coated with the concrete of yesteryear. If you want to setscrew a hold on one of these walls get ready to spend hours drilling even with a self-tapping screw and you’ll most likely break any mason drill bit you try to use.

Bolt in t-nut: One of the easiest ways to stop the spin is to find a nearby t-nut and finger tighten a bolt into it so the hold is pushed up against the bolt. This is a simple fix but it can be hard to find the exact right t-nut. If you’re trying to force a move or want that perfect angle you may want to consider the setscrew. This method of anti-spin is a great way to save your wall from unneeded screw holes. And if you happen to have the less than desirable concrete walls this is also a great way to stop the spin.

Hold on hold action: If you cant find a bolt hole and can’t set a screw, there is still hope for you. Just butt an appropriately sized hold up against the hold you want to keep from spinning. It’s best to find a stopper hold that is low profile and flat. You can even integrate the stopper hold into the problem. But usually the stopper is not considered “on”.

Comps

When everything is on the line and a spinning hold could be the ruin of a competition the best thing to do is… screw it. At this year’s U.S. ABS bouldering nationals every hold on the wall had a setscrew in it. The event went off with no technicals and no spinners. It took the crew only a few minutes per problem to put the screws in and saved countless nerve racking moments for the setters.
(It helped that the walls were wood and that the host gym didn’t mind the setters turning his walls into swiss cheese.)

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