Last October, we reviewed holds from Groperz after they re-released some old shapes and rolled out some new ones – all featuring a grittier texture than their previous plastic. If you have not seen that review, check it out here. For the most part, we liked the shapes, but the plastic and quality control were sub-par at best. Groperz contacted us again this summer with claims of improved plastic and some new shapes – The Stumpies. They still cling to their cryptic names for the holds – categorizing them by size with their own nomenclature, and assigning each set a number. This makes communicating about specific sets nearly impossible. Which is more memorable – “XL Volcano Stumpy” or “Megalithic 10A-2”?
The
claims of improved plastic are legit.
This stuff can actually hold it’s own in the current hold market. None
of the previous flaws were observed, except when drop tested. Normal (could be considered acceptable)
amounts of chipping occurred when dropped onto a concrete floor. The texture feels great at first, but it
gobbles up chalk and rubber very readily.
Name
|
Picture
|
Price
|
Megalithics 11A
|  |
$59.00
|
Megalithics 10A
|  |
$59.00
|
Jumbos 32A
|  |
$46.00
|
Keystones 42A
|  |
$33.00
|
Keystones 42B
|  |
$33.00
|
Poprocks 22A
|  |
$19.00
|
Poprocks 22B
|  |
$19.00
|
We enjoyed setting with these holds. Their conical and cylindrical nature looks great and would attract people to routes set with them. However, there is little variability across the line. On the 20 degree wall they ended up being used mostly as pinches and meathooks – very positive overall. Expect V0-V3 on anything under 30 degrees. When they were moved over to the 50 degree wall things changed dramatically. One would think the shapes of these holds would lend to great sloper problems, but the abrupt cut offs of the cylinders do not allow the climber to engage the palm as you would on a typical sloper. These holds really shine on volumes on a steep wall. Problems got more gymnastic, thuggy – checking in in the V4-V6 range. These will yield some really popular routes in the gym.
The larger holds a predrilled set screw hole with an embedded
washer: something we love to see. The
near perpendicular contact with the wall leaves little material to work with
though, leaving the washer too near the hold surface for the screw to sink past
the surface of the hold. This is obviously
a huge safety issue. The quality control
problems we noted in the last review were still there. Once again, these holds were poorly sanded,
and a handful of them would rock back and forth on a flat surface. The invoice with the shipment even stated that
these holds were heading out for review! No matter how inexpensive they are, this is
unacceptable and needs to be addressed. Without a flat surface on the back of the hold,
you will have spinners.
We obviously understand the need for logos on holds, but in
several cases, the gripping surface was ruined with a large logo. In some
instances, a climber could possibly crimp on the logo. Some of these holds are huge and protrude off
the wall, but Groperz did not include a long bolt for any of the holds. One needed a 9” bolt. Good luck finding that
at your local hardware store. We have a great industrial supply shop in town,
and they had some bolts that were adequate, except for the largest hold. Luckily the center post on the hollow back didn’t
extend to the base of the hold, creating enough space to allow us to use a shorter
bolt coupled to a threaded rod.
