How many gyms out there set by hold color? And what do you think the advantages and disadvantages are.
Setting routes by hold color
(17 posts) (13 voices)-
Posted 1 year ago #
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The obvious disadvantage is diversity. How many different ways can you set with the same holds? And price, I imagine getting every hold in multiple colors is pretty pricey. A fun thing I like to do though is occasionally set with a hold set theme.
Posted 1 year ago # -
This has been hashed out many times over, but the disadvantages of using hold color are huge. I actually refuse to go to gyms that use hold color, that's how much it ticks me off.
When you think about using hold color, stop and think about the fact that roughly one in ten adult males is color blind. Figuring out tape color is already a monumental challenge to those climbers - replace tape with hold color, caked in chalk and shoe rubber, and less uniform in color, and it becomes damn near impossible to differentiate your routes.
Using hold color to designate routes is perhaps the single worst thing I've ever seen a gym do. Don't do it.
Posted 1 year ago # -
tell us how you really feel?
Posted 1 year ago # -
For the opposite view...
TRG sets by hold color, it's what I "grew up" on, it's what I know, it's what I like, and I personally don't like taped routes.
If you have a nice assortment of holds (as each gym should) then there is no reason why you can't find just as many interesting combinations of holds in the same color as different colors.
Some of the problems with tape:
- It comes off easily. As in: the first person to drag their foot beside the hold (instead of on it) and it's gone. Putting the tape under the hold helps partially, but it probably won't stick back on the wall.
- You can only see it if you're on the the same side of the hold as the tape. (Which ones are for my feet again?) You would have to tape the hold in all four cardinal directions to ensure you could see the tape from any direction.
- You can't just strip a single old climb, because removing holds with two colors of tape means you need to take down those climbs as well, and it spider-webs out from there. Not a problem if you stick with the "one hold, one color tape" rule, but I haven't seen many gyms that do.
- Color blind is color blind. Tape, holds, doesn't matter.Several months ago they started an experiment of using tape in the lead-only area and it's probably 30/60/10 (like it/hate it/don't care).
Another thing to consider: Houston is a very international city with people from all over the world moving here to work in the oil and gas industries. Many gyms in Europe set by hand hold color and I have heard from many of these people that they appreciate TRG setting by hold color instead of tape.
YMMV, of course.
Posted 1 year ago # -
This is one of those topics that will never get a conclusion.
My gym uses tape, we are not a very large facility and we need to do that to optimize routes and hold use. we did a big reset in october when we installed lead anchors on several new walls and we used hold colour and corresponding tape and it looked awesome and was easy to climb on. but it is absolutely not worth it for us to set by colour.
I have climbed at facilities that set with colour ( Toronto's Rock Oasis... Hi Aidas!)And I find it makes the routes easier to see, but only if the route is fresh! once the holds are caked I cant tell the difference. The distinct advantage you have at that facility is they only have one or two route on each rope, and they usually use very different colours.
Anyone who comes from a gym that did tape is likely going to prefer tape... same with hold colour. If your gym does it one way, it is worth a try to check out the other but I bet you your members wont like the change.
SHEEP DON'T LIKE CHANGE ITS TOO SCARY!!!
Posted 1 year ago # -
Hi Kaleb.
Yeah, we use all hold colors for our routes. No tape, except in the bouldering cave where I set with hold color and tape.
Our routes are spaced enough that they dont really overlap with adjacent routes, and we always set adjacent routes with a color that is in high contrast to everything around it.
Thats a good point about the color blindness.. We have definatly had people in the past have a hard time distinguishing between similar color holds, but generally if its near you on a route, its yours. The amount of complaints we get about not being able to tell hold colors apart is way less than people complaining about missing tape on problems.I much prefer setting with hold colors. I think it looks way better, and make setting ( for me ) easier. No tape to stick on, no tape to peel off.
Some people say that it limits what holds you can use on a route..but we have a lot of holds. Many in several colors for this specific reason.I think a route looking good as important as it being a good route. If it looks like shit, even if the movement is great, less people will climb it. I don't like the way tape looks and hope we never resort to setting routes with it. Plus that added time. Not interested.
Posted 1 year ago # -
This would be for a new gym. Stone Gardens is opening a new gym and thinking about going this route for the TR and lead. Bouldering we will still use tape. We use tape now and will continue to use tape at our old gym. At the new gym we will have about 11,000 sq ft of rope terrain, our anchors will be about 6' apart on center with 3 routes on each line. Ascetically I think it looks great, but I’m trying to figure out if it’s worth it. Thanks for your all of your input.
Posted 1 year ago # -
We set by color of hold mostly for aesthetic purposes (but also because of the previously mentioned problems with the visibility of tape and its propensity to come off on shoes). We've tried to cater to our color blind climbers by marking easily confused colors with a sharpie (reds have a line next to the bolt hole, purples have a cross through the bolt hole, whites have a line through the bolt hole). It's not a perfect fix, but once people understand the system it seems to work pretty well.
Posted 1 year ago # -
"Color blind is color blind. Tape, holds, doesn't matter."
Horse shit. Are you color blind? I am. I can differentiate tape colors most of the time, and can barely differentiate hold color half of the time.
I've climbed in many gyms that use tape, and they do not have nearly the problems you claim with tape coming off the wall.
Props to teagen for at least trying to accommodate color blind climbers, instead of hand-waving them off with an arrogant "you don't matter" like many gyms do.
Posted 1 year ago # -
always have used tape in a city that uses nothing but tape. not against hold color but seems way more expensive/limiting from a monetary perspective. if budget is not an issue then by all means do it by hold color.
Posted 1 year ago # -
If you don't use tape how do you make a huge medicine ball out of the old tape?
There is nothing better in the climbing gym then a tape ball that can cause serious injury!
Posted 1 year ago # -
Our gym used to hand out little 1"x2.5" stickers printed with the date when you checked in. We started a ball with those stickers and it's about 10" in diameter and weighs a good 8-10 pounds.
I hated those stickers (they would end up all over the gym) but I sure miss folks adding to the sticker ball.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Sloperslapper......I agree with you, we have tape come off sometimes but its really not a big deal when it does. either i go up and put a new piece of tap on or i would say about 7 out of 10 members usually know when something is missing and will come and ask me for tape and they are very great about wanting to put a piece of tape back up. Also, i am VERY color blind and i usually can tell the difference between bold tape colors but can never tell the difference between holds. I get so much jokinglyshit from people about being a color blind routesetter and being a artist (Painter). Its frustrating sometimes. I'm "color dumb" as i tell people.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Coming from a small gym (drained pool), we use tape, it is a little messy, but it's a whole hell of a lot cheaper. Plus we can go out and buy our own custom tape colors, which helps reduce the dirty look of old tape. I'm trying to push people into using more contrasting colors with routes to help those that are "color dumb". Tape is easier to work with and is cheaper, but hold color looks really nice, when it's a new route.
Posted 1 year ago # -
When I was coaching I had a zero tolerance policy when I came to my kids complaining about "not seeing the tape" for a key foot hold. It is a lame excuse for not properly preparing for an onsite attempt by visualizing the moves and paying attention to where holds are before hopping on the route.
Besides, this only really matters in a comp, where onsite points are important. Comps have such a lower census of routes where crossing routes is almost unheard of. When you are climbing in a gym with dozens of routes on the same wall there are three scenarios that come up: 1) you climb a route, use the wrong foot...don't notice and go about your day telling everyone that the V4 in the corner felt too easy. 2) climb a route, use the wrong foot and your friends tell you, and you go back and do it the right way. 3)You are working a project and some tape has come off...that doesn't really matter 'cause you have the moves so dialed you stopped looking at the tape weeks ago.
Like someone said before, this is a debate that will have strong supporters on both sides and will likely never be resolved.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I've worked with both, climbed both ect.. while is right that there is no right or wrong answer, it can be shown with proof that one can be more popular. I think the attraction of the climb will draw someone to the route before they actually try and climb it, so maybe one or two color hold combos mixed in with tape or not taped would catch the eye... hold sets are nice because they also have the same look and texture, all important in apperence. It seems this thread more relates to apperence/attraction, and with that in mind we can either follow what works or try something different and hope it works out.
Posted 1 year ago #
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