Customers often ask us how many climbing holds and what size holds they should purchase for their new RopeGun Climbing wall. We also get asked to recommend climbing hold manufacturers.
There are many reputable climbing hold suppliers who manufacture a vast array of excellent plastic and wood climbing holds. Some of our favorites are listed at the bottom of this FAQ. Half the fun of putting up a new RopeGun Climbing wall is selecting the holds. If you have children, we recommend spending some time with your kids and let them pick out some of the climbing holds shapes and colors.
We strongly advise not buying all of your holds at once. Our advice for a ‘kid wall’ is to make an initial purchase of 15-30 larger holds. Put those holds up first and then order additional holds based upon your child’s experience. For younger kids you will want to have more of the larger holds wtih a smattering of smaller and mid-sized holds. For older kids and adults you will want to balance the larger holds and jugs with the medium and smaller holds.
Don’t get carried away with to many different colors. We recommend just 2-3 colors to begin with. When selecting colors, try to choose colors which complement your RopeGun Climbing wall. For example, brightly colored and neon holds really pop against a black or blue climbing wall, while, more earthy colored holds pair better with a natural or green wall.
When purchasing your holds, you will typically be given the option to add mounting hardware (i.e., T-nuts) and bolts. Great news, you do not need to purchase any T-nuts as all RopeGun Climbing panels and hangboards ship with T-nuts pre-installed. However, you will need to purchase bolts.
The standard sized bolt in the climbing industry is a 3/8-16 thread socket cap screw/bolt. The T-nuts which RopeGun Climbing supplies with all of our panels and hangboards will accept the industry standard bolt.
IMPORTANT – Different sized climbing holds require bolts of different lengths. If you are attaching a RopeGun Climbing panel or hangboard to a finished wall the bolt length is important. If the bolt extends more than 1.25 inches (1.25”) beyond the back of the climbing hold there is a chance that you will damage the wall to which your panel is attached to.
If you are attaching a RopeGun Climbing panel or hangboard to a finished wall then you have most likely purchased a panel with the integrated back mounting flange. The climbing panel is 3/4” and the back mounting flange is 1/2” for a total assembly thickness of 1.25”. Thus, a properly sized bolt will extend no more than 1.25” beyond the back of the climbing hold. If the bolt is longer than that it will damage your wall. It is best for the bolt to only extend 3/4” beyond the back of the climbing hold. When ordering bolts from a climbing hold manufacturer tell them you are installing the holds on a RopeGun Climbing wall with a “wall surface thickness of 3/4 inch.”
If you have any doubts about bolt length, we suggest that you forward this FAQ to the climbing hold supplier.
For plastic holds, we recommend Atomic Climbing Holds. They make great products with a large selection and variety of holds, and they also have excellent customer service. www.atomikclimbingholds.com Tel. 801-404-0280.
For wooden climbing holds, check out Tension Climbing, www.tensionclimbing.com.