Liquid Chalk

[HamptonMike]

I've used all kinds. I used to rock climb all the time. The liquid chalk is pretty much a waste. The block chalk is good and cheap. You can just crush it into a fine powder in a container or bag. Some of the bigger rock climbing companies (Metolius, I believe ) have tried formulating their own powdered chalk. Not much of a difference. Just more expensive. When you're really sweating you constantly need to reapply.

I have noticed a completely different approach to chalk usage between rock climbing and lifting. In climbing it is used as a drying agent when you are sweating your tookus off outside. In the gym it is used to provide "grip". Not debating whether or not it actually provides "stick" but it most certainly dries out the hands.

[Bergie]

I just received the Metolius Eco Ball from Amozon today. It is marked as a markless chaulk. I will try it out tomorrow in my chaulkless gym. I will let you know how it works.

[Bergie]

Update.

The eco ball work fairly well. It is very good at keeping the hands dry which certainly helps the grip. However, on the down side, It does not offer the protection that chalk does. Maybe I just didn't have it applied thick enough but I felt a lot of hot spots after the lifts.

[Tim Lofton]

If a sock is too thick to allow sufficient application of chalk, try wrapping the chalk in cheesecloth. Some vendors on Ebay already sell it this way.

tim

[quadancer]

Thanx for the tip! I think I had a sparse application mostly due to trying hard not to get any on the floor. I even had the nutty idea of bringing in some sort of floor cover, but that might be a hazard unto itself.

[Mr.City]

Update.

The eco ball work fairly well. It is very good at keeping the hands dry which certainly helps the grip. However, on the down side, It does not offer the protection that chalk does. Maybe I just didn't have it applied thick enough but I felt a lot of hot spots after the lifts.

Agreed. Eco chalk provides a fine layer of chalk of chalk to the hand, but it's not the same as the real deal.

[SerusMournstar]

The chalk ball is a small mesh bag that is filled with powdered chalk. Like this. Mine is about the size of a racquetball. It fits in my palm nicely. Then I bought a bag like this to keep it in, and I just carry the bag to the gym along with my notebook.

I don't know how climbers do it, but I open the top of the bag, stick my hand in it and roll/knead the ball to get the chalk on my hand. I never take the ball out of the bag. This seems to help me get the chalk only on my hand and not all over the floor. I figure as long as I don't sling chalk all over the place, the staff will leave me alone about it.

Brian

Took your advice and ordered these. Do you find that you have any problems getting the chalk out of the ball? That seemed to be the biggest complaint in the reviews.

[Benthic]

Took your advice and ordered these. Do you find that you have any problems getting the chalk out of the ball? That seemed to be the biggest complaint in the reviews.

I haven't had any problems, although I will say that it has gotten easier as the bag has gotten use. Now that there's a little less chalk in the ball, it's easier to knead in my hand. It seems to deliver just fine.

Brian