By Stephen RegenoldThe manufacture and replica Tag Heuer watch sale of artificial rock-climbing holds is a small industry and one of those esoteric tiny areas of dedicated people and passionate companies that makes the outdoors world so neat. An even tinier niche focuses on artificial holds and bolt-on-the-wall mediums to simulate frozen-watell ice climbing.This year, Off-Belay LLC of Woodbridge, Calif., made another go at the unlikely product category with its IceHoldz line of permeable plastic holds.
You can swing an ice ax into the holds or step and kick in with crampon spikes.The holds work with a proprietary composite plastic shell thats filled with a rubbery material. The plastic shell is about 1/4-inch thick, meaning you need to penetrate the smooth medium replica Bell & Ross watch and get your ax pick or crampon front-point inside to stick.The goal is to mimic the properties of real ice. You can use the outer shell of an IceHoldz for months or years before it wears out, according to the company. Then, when youre in need, the outer shell can be shipped back to Off-Belay LLC for recycling and replacement. (There is a discounted fee to replace used shells.)I swung an ax into an IceHoldz at the Outdoor Retailer trade show this past summer.
Nooks and crannies on each IceHoldz product also allow for hooking and dry-tool training without penetrating the shell.Years ago, I trained for ice climbing via dry replica Rolex Datejusts watch tooling on wood strips screwed on a plywood wall. One year, Midwest Mountaineering, an outdoors shop in Minneapolis, opened a tall climbing wall to the public. It was covered with a dense foam that would take ice ax swings and could support body weight. Swing too hard, however, and the ax was almost impossible to remove. The IceHoldz line looks like a significant upgrade to jerry-rigged systems of yore.
