A Dive into Chalk

Now, you’ve been climbing for a bit and either you already have some chalk, see everyone else using it or maybe, are just trying to figure out what works best for you regarding chalk.

Well, Today we’ll go into the four ways chalk is usually bought what purpose it has, its cost and just a bit of science along the way so we can all decide what you think is best for you!

Well to start with Why Chalk?

Well in rock climbing the primary use of chalk is to remove sweat from our hands in order to better be able to hold the various rock climbing holds without slipping!

Yes, even sweaty and clammy-palmed individuals can climb with chalk added to their hands!

So now we have a way to let’s do a dive into the form of chalk that’s newer and people and got really popular during the dark days!

Liquid Chalk

Liquid chalk to little tube sitting on the desk counter or in the cabinet with the high price tag that just screams hand sanitizer.

Well, it’s not a hand sanitizer though it is generally an alcohol-based chalk that makes it so you don’t make a mess of dust every time you clap and your hands are thoroughly coated.

Now, how is liquid chalk used?

You take your bottle squeeze the content out onto your hand and rub it in like a lotion on your palms. As it is generally an alcohol-based solution beyond drying pretty quickly as long as you didn’t take too much it also has the benefit of drying out your hands. Which is great for when you climb. On top of that lots of commercial gyms may ban the other forms of chalk but allow liquid chalk due to the reduced mess.

On the other side, liquid chalk also tends to dry your hands and removes the natural oils on your skin which are also important. It also takes longer to be ready to climb after applying as though quickly you still need to let it dry and sink into the skin for a minute or too before climbing. Additionally beyond that, it is more expensive than all other forms of chalk to purchase and tends to be great for a first layer of applying but then has reduced returns especially if the liquid chalk you bought has a resin inside it as a component!

If it’s just alcohol and calcium carbonate then it has less negative impact on the hold and hands as resin won’t build up.

Overall Liquid chalk is great and has its uses and pro like to use it as a base layer on their hand before using powder chalk for the rest of their climbing session.

Dry? Chalk

Now Dry Chalk or Powder Chalk is how most would refer to the elusive one hidden in the various bags and containers at the gym. It comes in a poof of well… chalk as people put it on their hands and clap.

The purpose of the chalk is to get into the skin and absorb the moisture in your hands and stick to your natural oils in order to absorb sweat and allow you to have a better grip on the wall. Generally, finer powder chalk does this better than rougher textured powder chalk but people would debate that.

Now, what is there to know about this chalk beyond its use of helping you hold onto the holds? Well, one thing to note is beyond coming in effectively three forms depending on how you buy it affects different things.

Block Chalk

First off the cheapest method of purchase, Blocked Chalk which is exactly what it sounds you buy a literal block of chalk which you shove in your chalk back or container and when you need it rub it on your hands and maybe crumble it up if you want in order to stick to the wall. It’s the cheapest method and leaves you with either a neat block that makes less mess or if you crumble it up slightly thicker clumps of chalk that you rub into your hands.

Powder Chalk

The second is just the powdered chalk already crumbled up into a fine powder. The difference between powdered chalk and blocked chalk is that the people you bought the chalk from have finely ground the chalk up to make it smooth and easily coat your hands. There are variations from brand to brand and price but overall it’s used to coat your hands and get them chalky while easily making a mess being by far the messiest of all the chalk options! It’s also generally climbers’ favourite version of chalk to use.

Chalk Ball

Finally, we have the “most expensive” version being chalk balls being powder chalk but in a mesh fabric ball that holds all the chalk together in your bag to reduce the mess you make and “waste” less chalk. Now why the quotes on waste and most expensive well… It’s only the most expensive if you buy a chalk ball every time you buy chalk instead of refilling it as it has an initial charge otherwise you can then fill it up afterward with your favourite powder chalk. The reason for waste is you make less mess. The chalk doesn’t go up into the air as much and coating your hands takes longer thus not coating unnecessary parts of your hand.

Overall Powder chalk is great at sticking to your hands allowing you to quickly apply it and climb in any of its forms at an affordable price. It’s the most liked version though is banned at some locations either requiring liquid chalk or balled chalk in order to use it.

Now One Last thing for Powder Chalk!

Your chalk bag! Now there are many ways to go about this and you may have bought this before even buying a pair of shoes as they generally are much more affordable.

I’m now going to list the three main questions you should ask yourself when you buy a chalk bag!

Can I fit both hands into the bag comfortably? No? Then find a bigger bag!

Does the bag close up well without letting chalk leak out? No? Then maybe look for one that does a better job at that unless you are good with your gym bag being a chalky mess.

Do I like how the bag looks? No? Then why did you even grab it get the bag you like the look of I shouldn’t need to tell you that!

So in conclusion just buy something that you can fit your hands in closes well and looks nice. Hell, you can even use a large ziplock bag if you want or the bag the chalk came in if it’s resealable. It’s truly up to you!

Wrapping it Up!

For anyone who climbs you may or may not want to use chalk or not but if you do now it’s time to pick what you like best. Experiment too, try liquid chalk and try powder chalk as well as try out the different brands and find what you like best in your chalk price range. So ready to pick out a chalk to try?

Cause, I think it’s time to Chalk up!

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