There is one issue in the indoor climbing world that is sure to be inappropriate dinner conversation. A topic so divisive that it can ruin friendships and has split countries.

To tape or not to tape.

In America it is common to place a piece of colored tape under the hold to indicate which holds the climber should use. But across the pond in Europe gyms use the color of the hold to achieve the same result.

There are of course pro’s and con’s for each method and none is perfect. But we wanted to find out what our global advice panel thinks about this decisive issue. Here’s what they recommend. Readers, what do you think?

Should gyms use colored tape or hold color to indicate routes?

Charlie Lamb –

“Geez, is there any question what the right answer is? Colored tape, of course. Tape comes in more colors than holds so it means you can put up more routes in a particular area of the wall using tape. Also, if necessary, you can use two colors of tape to set a route (I hate doing it, but have done it in a pinch). Maybe I should be more open-minded about this, but this sure seems to be a no-brainer.”

Audrey Seguy –

“I feel rather strongly about this question. A line that looks good and interesting will inspire people to climb it. I really don’t like climbing on walls that have coloured tape to mark the problems.”

“There are few things that frustrate me more than walking into a climbing gym and not having a clue what is going on. I despise it when a problem doesn’t make sense because a foothold or a handhold is ‘missing’.”

Louie Anderson –

Louie, always the diplomat says, “There are gyms out there that have chosen to use one or the other of these systems exclusively, but more and more I am seeing facilities that use a blend of the two. In these instances, the bouldering areas (and sometime lead caves or arches) will use colored tape to allow for a greater density of climbs to be set on those walls. The more open, roped walls will be set monochromatically. This seems to allow for the best of both worlds and offers perhaps the best compromise visually.”

But Louie does have a preference. “[Monochromatic setting] is probably the ideal way of indicating the holds to be used on a given climb. This method is also the easiest to follow while actually climbing on the holds.”

Johan Andersson –

“I would have to say that on easier problems and routes go color coded. For the more experienced climbers that demand more don’t let color get in the way of your creativity.”

“If the gym has the possibility to go color coded without compromising the route/problem quality it should. It looks better and it’s easier to see which holds are ok to use, specially if you’re a beginner.”

Chris Larson –

“For me, it is tape all the way for one main reason: I want to be able to use the shapes that will work best, not the ones that are colored correctly.”

Though Chris goes on to say, “I think in an ideal world, colored holds would work better; a route-setters paradise!… No tape would be a dream; no replacing ruined or ripped-off tape, no complaints from climbers about how they cannot see the tape. No constant piece of tape stuck to the bottom of my shoe.”

“But in reality, where we are often asked to set our masterpiece with a limited selection of disorganized holds of varying age and color, tape works much better despite some annoying short-comings.”

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