There’s lots of little warm up tools and training tools available out there, however nothing ever really beats a good old fashion dangle. However, hangboards are simple tools - a board, where you hang. So, it’s not often you’ll see innovation in the world of hangboards - yet here we are.
Engineers by their very nature are often always trying to re-innovate whatever they can get their hands on. They love to design, improve, and problem solve - and Oliver Kleyn is no exception! This mo’ toting mega-crusher is no stranger to the fads and fantasies that’ve hit the climbing scene over the years. Originally making his own hangboards for fun, Oliver noticed a gaping big hole in the market for a hangboard that was just as easy to use at home, as well as at the crag. There’s boards you can bolt on, and boards you can hang up… so why not have both?
First, let’s look at the ok. Hangboard itself and see what makes the core product such a wicked, yet elegant piece of wood.
This sexy bit of timber is milled from one piece of A Grade Birch Ply by a 3 axis CNC machine, ensuring a solid and reliably consistent construction. With mono pockets, 3 finger pockets, and a double sided rail construction that has edges ranging from a 21mm in-cut, to a brutal 10mm edge with 6mm radius - this board has plenty for you to use, whether it’s for training max hangs and minimum edges, or for warming up at the crag. It doesn’t stop there though - with the speccy 4mm Dyneema cord, you can hang the board in 3 different angles of difficulty, effectively tripling the different grips you’ve got to play with.
Personally, I’ve been loving the radiuses of each rail to hang from. The larger radiuses really let you train open hand grips and are far nicer on your fingers - meaning you can train more without feeling the hurt! The rounded top of the board makes a great jug to warm up from and loosen up with, on those chilly mornings at the crag. There’s plenty to use, without it being way over the top or complicated with slopers or pinches or 746 different holds to use. Everything you need - nothing you don’t.
Though apart from the beautiful construction and rails of perfection - what it is that sets the ok. Hangboard apart, and shows that innovation we so badly crave? Two words: Wall Mount.
Traditionally, hangboards are screwed into some janky bit of wood on the side of your deck or in your garage, and used as tools to train those fingers in the off-season. What happens if you don’t have a janky bit of wood though? You can get creative with pull up bars and other mounting options, or you can opt for a portable board that hangs up. Hanging boards however lean more toward the “crag warm up” side of things, than the full training tool side of things - due to their tendency to spin, and their fact that they hang lower than a mounted board.
Well eat your heart out Optimus Prime - this board does both!
