Training Equipment

Awesome Woodys, out of Australia, raises the bar for portable hangboards with its Cliff Board series.

This is a compact (10-by-25-inch) board with a “ribcage” that projects two lateral arms, the ends of which terminate in biscuit-like jugs that, according to one tester, simulated a very natural hand position, and four-finger pinch grips (or slopers if you bag the thumbs).

This unusual board garnered the strongest reactions from our testers: They either loved or loathed it.

Revolution Pocket Jibs10-pack for $19 Climbing indoors turns you into a sloppy fool. All the holds protrude, and climbing becomes a matter of plopping your foot onto a wart and raging.

This is the coolest-looking board, resembling an H.R. Geiger prop from Alien.

Made from a molded ceramic that feels quartzite smooth, and comprised of three dense modular blocks, the Minicrag is cool to the touch.

This mondo board measures 18 by 33 inches. With 15 good holds, it ranks alongside the EP Petite as among the most useful designs.

Climbing early-season ice is always a humbling experience. Despite dry tooling up blocks on my home woodie, I find the first ice climb of the year wakes my hibernating tool-swinging arms.

This is a broad—32-inch—slab with long, curved ergonomic holds (think frowny-face shaped) that allow you to use the edges and slopers with your hands practically kissing ... or spread clean out to shoulder width.

This wood board is the most elegant of the lineup, more closely resembling a handcrafted piece of furniture than a finger flogger.

The Hangboard flaunts positive grips, but there’s a dearth of variety.