Crimp vs open grip. But that's not the important question.
Crimp vs open grip Open grip: Your fingertips are on the edge and the rest of your hand is draped onto the wall. By leveraging your fingers into a position that squares your fingertips with a hold, the half crimp puts your hand in a position that makes even smallish edges feel quite secure. Because it's easier to maintain under load. After all, the forces which strong climbers inflict on their finger tendons even using open grip is way more than most non-climber humans can apply. Feb 9, 2020 · In this video, we are going to discuss if crimping is safe, we are going to break down the crimp position, and we will discuss proper training and management of crimping. This distribution of load helps to reduce strain on any one specific area of the finger. com Not only does it relate to the size of the hold you’re trying to grip, but open and crimp activate different muscle groups in the forearm. Jan 31, 2022 · HALF VS FULL CRIMPING Half crimp training alone cannot fully prepare you to crimp with all your might on a tiny edge. Aug 27, 2023 · Two common grip types used by climbers are the open-hand grip and the crimp grip. In the crimp grip, the load is Open crimp is a great tool to have, and a great performance grip position. Half crimp for training, open crimp for performance. 4 fingers open is probably more useful than 3 finger drag on the wall, but training-wise I think half-crimp and 4 fingers open have more overlap compared to half-crimp and 3 finger drag, i. While they flex inwards in the half-crimp position on the right, they are curved outwards in a more natural and less intense position in the open hand on the left. On the other hand, climbing with full crimp necessitates the use of your thumb as an extra source of force while climbing. Jun 4, 2025 · There are actually three different types of grips we can use when crimping: open hand grip, half crimp grip, and full crimp grip. See full list on climbing. This position is stressful on finger tendons, so be careful. Tldr. . If you're crimping all the way up the route, your open-hand grip will be stronger near the top, if you're open-handing up the route, your crimp strength will be saved for the crux Resting on large holds - similar to the point above, gives muscles time to recover Oct 4, 2017 · Fortunately we’ve consistently collected information about the grip type used in each assessment so we could easily compare the two. What we found was a better correlation between finger strength in a half crimp position and boulder grade vs. Oct 15, 2021 · In the sport of rock climbing, the half crimp grip finds the happy medium between the power of the full crimp grip and the sustainability of an open hand grip. Mar 27, 2019 · The drag/open grip is useful but less effective as an 'all-round' training grip than the half-crimp. e. May 1, 2024 · Open-Hand Crimp: (AKA “3-finger drag”) The open-hand crimp is used on slightly easier terrain when you want to conserve energy. Jul 13, 2021 · Half Crimp vs Open Hand Grip Really, the main difference between these two hand positions is the flexion of the DIP joints. According to seasoned climbers, the half crimp has a lesser risk of hurting your finger joints and tendons than the full crimp grip. As discussed in chapter 4, full crimping is mechanically stronger than open-handing or half crimping when on small holds. Open hand activated the deep muscles that have more mass than the superficial ones activated by crimp. Full crimping is a much more active gripping style than half crimping. finger strength in a an open grip position and boulder grade. This hold isn’t as active as a half-crimp and relies more on friction and tension than your pulley muscles. In an open hand crimp, the fingers will be laying flat and ergonomically. A rule of thumb is to do two-thirds of sets half-crimped and a third of sets dragging, although this should change subject to goals and weaknesses. Your little finger will hang off the hold while your index, middle, and ring fingers grab the hold. The openness of a crimp grip refers to where our thumb is while crimping, and the angle our fingers and knuckles make while we crimp. But that's not the important question. While both grips can be effective in certain situations, there are distinct differences that climbers must understand in order to effectively navigate different climbing routes and challenges. First, we must understand that there are 3 different crimping positions: 1) the open crimp 2) closed hand crimp and 3) full crimp. In the open-hand grip, the load is spread more evenly across the entire finger, from the fingertips to the palm. The downside to favoring the half crimp (and the full crimp) over an open-hand grip is that the crimp position puts more pressure on your pulleys and tendons. Jul 16, 2019 · Do you know the difference between the crimp grip and the open grip? Are you confused about the difference between them? Be sure to check out the video to fi Full crimp or closed crimp: You have sharp angles in your knuckles and your thumb is tucked over your fingers for extra power. Feb 2, 2025 · You should use only your index, middle, ring, and pinky fingers when doing the half crimp. I would suggest spending significantly more effort on the half crimp, or any other very active grip position when training. Feb 7, 2014 · Yes the forces are higher on some tendons + muscles in the "closed crimp" grip than in any sort of open grip. , half-crimp and 3 finger drag complement each other better. Nov 20, 2023 · The way the load is distributed on the fingers differs between the open-hand grip and the crimp grip. dzxpewrmusoshodytecsvymtdjoijarpvahcxirveyfvgbsahwjxzq