Best Climbing Holds Reviewed

Getting climbing holds either for your personal use in your home or for your professional organization can sometimes be difficult due to the wide variety and various uses for each climbing hold. 

You will want to tailor your purchase of the best climbing holds to your specific needs, whether they be recreational or professional, consistent or irregular.

5 of the Most Versatile Climbing Holds for Your House, Yard, and Gym

Metolius Greatest Chips Screw-On Holds 

Best Climbing Holds

The Metolius pack holds a whopping forty pieces of climbing pieces to set up on your personal climbing wall at home or your organization’s wall. Each hold is about two to three inches in diameter. The screws are strong deck screws that will be sure to stay in place even under large stress. 

Not a Lot of Hardware Included

A couple of downsides to this pack of climbing holds is that it only has one type of hardware included to secure each hold. Other sets have a good bit of other types of hardware to supplement any variations in securing your holds into place. 

Also, since screws are the only hardware that is included with this climbing hold set. Because of this, you have to make sure you don’t screw the climbing holds in too tightly so as not to cause the hold to split. 

Great Texture

A sandstone sort of feel is the texture of the Metolius climbing holds. This makes them really great because the sandstone texture makes such a good grip for any hands, even younger kids. 

They may still be tough for kids to climb, but they are more designed to accommodate adults and be on a difficulty level for intermediate and experienced climbers to practice on. 

Juvenile Color Scheme

Another problem with this set of climbing holds is that although these pieces are mostly made for adults, the color scheme is extremely bright and juvenile. 

If you are looking for a darker and more adult looking climbing wall, this may not be the set of climbing holds for you. 

The durability of the climbing are also a bit in question. This set is not really meant for hardcore continuous use especially by more advanced climbers who will be prone to consistently use this. 

Pros

  • Good for adults and advanced climbers
  • Grip

Cons

  • Lack of hardware
  • Color 

Newtion Multi-Colored Pack of 30 Rock Climbing Holds

Adult and Kid Friendly

The Newtion climbing holds are for adults and for kids. Two mounting holes are present on each climbing hold piece making it more secure to your wall. The number of pieces equal about 30 and provide a highly customizable array of holds to make your climbing wall very specific to your needs. 

Lots of Hardware

This climbing hold set also provides a good bit of hardware to secure the pieces in place. Here are the hardware pieces included in this set. 

  • Full threads 
  • Gaskets
  • Nuts 
  • Inner hexagon wrench 

Some climbing hold sets come with a limited amount of hardware to install your climbing wall. But this one is pretty well equipped which will save you time and money.

Not Great Instructions

A flaw with the instructions is that it doesn’t give direction on screwing the climbing holds into different kinds of material, drywall, stud, tree, etc. 

However, these are designed for all types of material and should hold up very well. 

Also, the material that the Newtion climbing holds are made from are very environmentally friendly but also of high quality. 

No Harsh Edges, But Lots of Size Variety

They are made for children and adults. For children, the holds are made with no harsh edges and are wide enough to be gripped by younger kids. 

But they are made for adults as well. The holds are wider than advanced climber holds, but still small enough to be a challenge to adults. Also they are strong enough to hold an adults weight so you won’t have to worry about the holds breaking off.

Pros

  • Good Hardware
  • Environmentally friendly

Cons

  • Poor instructions

Rocky Mountain Climbing Gear TC-JRNL-SNZX 50 Bolt On Rock Climbing Holds

Durable

Rocky Mountain climbing holds are great durable holds that are UV proof along with wear, water, and weather proof. 

These are great especially if you are using them for an outside climbing wall that will face a lot of harsh weather, sun, and use. 

Uniquely, it is made from non-toxic recycled material. So not only is it durable, but it was made with an environmentally friendly goal in mind. 

Lots of Pieces and Lots of Sizes

This set includes fifty rock climbing holds which will give you a huge variation in how you want to design your climbing wall and also will give you ample replacements should you ever need to so. 

There are also over two hundred different shapes of holds. This way, you can customize your climbing wall to have different difficulties in different places on your rock climbing wall.

Screws May Rust

You may want to buy your own screws however. The screws included are very strong and durable, but have been known to ruse after a longer period of time.

Also, since each climbing hold only comes with one screw to attach to a surface, there may be more of a chance of the hold spinning out of place. This can be remedied by tightly screwing the hold in, but this may damage the individual hold, causing it to crack. 

Initially Smelly and Dirty

Another not great factor for these climbing holds is that the initial opening isn’t great. They usually have a pretty strong smell for a little while, and there seems to be a lot of dirt and grit and chalk on them upon first opening them. Both these problems can be pretty easily remedied, but it is a little annoying. 

Pros

  • Great variety
  • Made from recycled materials

Cons

  • Initially dirty and strong odor
  • Only one screw per hold

Escape Climbing Starter Pack | 51 Premium Plastic Rock Climbing Holds

Great for Beginners

The Escape climbing pack is definitely suited for beginner to intermediate climbers who want a personal climbing wall set. The variety of climbing holds will still challenge you, but it won’t make you too frustrated with extremely difficult small or harshly edged holds. 

Durable and Textured

The surface is also very textured to ensure that the climbing holds will hold up really well to abuse and wear that comes from constant use. 

Don’t worry about taking these holds to task daily when climbing, they can take it. The surface also has a nice matte finish which makes the holds look really nice. 

Lots of Sizes

A large range of shapes and sizes is available in this set as well, from big and wide climbing holds, to small and narrow ones. You will be able to customize your wall pretty well, making easy and hard sections for yourself and others. 

Not Much Hardware

A downside to these holds is that they come with only the bolts, no nuts or any other kind of hardware security items so you will have to buy your own if you feel like you need them. 

The material may be a concern for some climbers. 

It isn’t made out of elastomeric like some other very quality brands of climbing holds. However their material is still worthy of a durable climbing hold rating. 

Great Customer Service

A word about the company that makes these climbing holds. They are a very small company so they are actually really good with customer service. The owner is pretty hands on especially with larger orders to climbing gyms and their return policies are very fair. 

Pros

  • Good beginner set
  • Durable

Cons

  • Not the most quality material

Atomik Climbing Holds

Easy Installation

Easy installation makes the Atomic climbing holds a really great choice for your at home climbing wall or for your professional climbing space. They will be very secure when you mount them because included in their hardware are zinc, four pronged t-nuts. This adds to their quality a whole lot. 

There is a great variety in the pack for various difficulties and include holds made for hands and feet. 

Good for Decline Set Up

If your climbing wall has a decline, the Atomik holds are specifically made for a slant in your climbing wall, which is a great versatility feature. 

Material is a big deal when it comes climbing holds. The Atomik climbing holds are made out of very strong polyurethane material which means they can take a beating.

A concrete backing can be used for these climbing holds as they are very durable, however you will need stronger hardware than what comes with the kit. 

Not Great for Children

You will have to take into consideration that these climbing holds aren’t necessarily meant for children. They are pretty small in some cases and harder for younger people to hold on to.

Also, the look of these holds is much nicer than most. The colors are more serious which make them a better choice for adult use climbing holds. 

Pros

  • Easy install
  • Good foot holds

Cons

  • Hardware not good for concrete
  • Not for children

How to Choose the Best Climbing Holds

For quality climbing holds, you will want to be aware of a couple of factors to look for. Not only will this help you get the best climbing holds possible, but it will make your search a whole lot easier than if you didn’t know the foundational features to look out for. 

You will want to cater your search to be specific towards your personal goals as well. Will you be setting up your climbing wall inside or outside? Is this going to be primarily for kid use or adults? Do you need strong hardware for the type of wall you will be mounting the holds onto?

Below are a couple of considerations to take into account. 

Size

The sizing of the best climbing holds is very important. It affects the difficulty level as well as the age range. If you are looking to up your game and practice more difficult climbing, smaller sized holds will be your best bet.

However, if you are looking to build something for your children to climb up and down on, larger hand holds will be required for them to not get frustrated and probably be safer for them. 

Texture

This factor again will affect difficulty and personal preference. For children or beginner climbers, you may not need something textured to resemble gritty rock. But if you are more advanced and want to get as close as you can to outdoor feeling climbing, you will want to look at the texture of the holds pretty hard. 

Hardware

Things like screws, nuts, washers and bolts are the only way you will get your climbing holds attached to the wall. You will want to look at the quality of the hardware to ensure that the surface you will be attaching the holds to isn’t too tough for the screws and such that you have.

Some hardware is also prone to rust, so make sure to get quality screws and bolts that won’t rise over time.

The Best Questions About Climbing Holds

Q: Can my children use climbing holds?

A: Yes, however you will want to get holds that are built for children, ones that are bigger than normal so they can more easily hang on to them.

Q: How do I attach my climbing holds?

A: Usually climbing hold sets come with hardware that you can use, but some do not, so you may have to do a small bit of measuring and make a trip to your local hardware store. 

Q: Can I use the climbing holds on concrete?

A: Yes. It is more about the hardware, such as the screws and bolts, than about the actual holds that will determine if you can use them on concrete.