Appreciation post: The guy at the local climbing gym changed my mind on chalk socks

Overheard him telling a buddy how chalk socks just trap moisture and lead to worse grip after 30 minutes, so I tried going back to a block of chalk and a chalk bag. Now I'm never looking back - has anyone else had better luck with one method over the other?

3 comments

3 Comments

jordan18415d ago

...and here I've been using chalk socks thinking I looked like some pro climber, but really I just looked like a sweaty sock puppet grip tragedy. Guess I'll stick to the block of chalk and my bag of regrets now.

the_reese14d agoMost Upvoted

HECK yeah, this is EXACTLY what I've been screaming about for years! People get so wrapped up in looking the part they forget how gear actually works. Chalk socks feel like you're baking your hands in a little sweaty oven, it makes zero sense. I switched to a crushed block in a chalk bag and my grip actually lasts the whole session now. It's wild how something so simple makes such a huge difference.

dylan_anderson8d ago

I've actually been using a chalk sock for like 2 years straight now and my grip is fine for 2 hour sessions at Movement Denver. You guys are acting like moisture is some unstoppable force but maybe your hands just sweat a lot or you don't change socks often enough. I toss mine after 4 sessions and switch to a fresh one, and I've never had that "sweaty oven" feeling people describe. Plus the crushed block stuff gets everywhere, I've got chalk dust in my car, on my couch, in my laptop keyboard. The sock keeps everything contained and I can just dust up without making a mess. I dunno, maybe I'm the weird one but my V5 sends haven't suffered so I'm sticking with it.