Escape Climbing Nemesis Line Review

Escape Climbing Nemesis Line Holds Review from The Proving Ground on Vimeo.

The Nemesis line from Escape Climbing Features 10 holds:

• 5 Pinches - $69
• 4 Slopers - $63
• 1 Ledge - $65

They all feature a “bubble-wrap” like texture, similar to the Egrips Bubble Wrap line, though these bubbles are quite a bit smaller.  All the holds in the line are hollow backed, reducing weight & cost, though the ledge still seems heavy for its size.  These holds look really cool. They sport clean lines, with a prominent logo that does not interfere with the gripping surfaces.

Minnesotan tallboy for scale.

The Nemesis Pinches are all parallel, meaning there is no change in the angle of the opposed gripping surfaces.  On the 20 degree wall, they lend themselves well to V0-V2, and when set purely on the 50 degree wall (no volumes) the easiest you could set would be around V4.  You could easily break into harder grades with these if you spread them out and turn them to funky angles.  They can also be used on lower angle terrain with the positive side down to set some slopey problems with cool thumby grips. In the case of the more positive pinches, the texture is a bit aggressive. The bubbles protrude enough that we all noticed a bit of skin pain when climbing on the 50 degree wall.

The Nemesis Slopers are not slopers in the traditional sense. They are triangular sloping edges and have angular transitions between all surfaces.  This is an important distinction to make, and we feel Escape should rename the set so buyers are not surprised with what they get.  Semantics aside, these are some really cool holds!  They vary in slope from nearly perpendicular to 25 degree slope.  These were great on the 20 degree wall and yielded problems in the V3-V5 range.  They worked really well on volumes, and would be great on vertical terrain as well.

Minnesotan tallboy for scale.

The Nemesis Ledge is the largest in the line.  While it features a good hollow-back, it is pretty hefty.  It is also fairly expensive at $65.  Perhaps a little more material could be taken out on the hollow-back to reduce weight and cost?  The bolt hole has some issues.  It was deep enough that you could get your thumb into it and use the hold as a pinch. This surely was not the intention.  The deep bolt hole also created issues with the bolt getting stuck.  This issue resolved itself when some of the urethane in the bolt hole was abraded away.  After speaking to Escape about these issues, they plan to address them by raising the washer, and were really appreciative of the feedback.  The hold will be remolded in the coming months.

Minnesotan tallboy for scale.

We did some durability tests on Escape’s plastic, and did our best to break one of the pinches.  We placed a bolt behind the hold prior to setting it to the concrete gym wall and cranked as hard as we could anticipating an explosion – no such luck.  We also threw it around a bit in the driveway and off some ladders – no chips.  This stuff is bombproof.

Bottom line, these holds are really fun, and can be enjoyed by climbers of all different skill levels.  The Ledge and the Slopers are enjoyable holds, but the Pinches are a must have for any gym or homewall.  

ESCAPECLIMBING.COM