Climbing Holds 101: Choosing the Right Grip for Your Wall
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If you’re building an indoor home climbing wall, choosing the right holds can make the difference between a wall you use every week and one that never quite feels right. The best setup balances variety, challenge, and fun. Before you start buying shapes at random, it helps to understand what different climbing holds do and how they affect movement.
What Are Climbing Holds?
Climbing holds are the features attached to a wall that climbers use for their hands and feet. Artificial climbing holds are commonly made from polyurethane or polyester resin, while some training holds are made from wood or other materials. Their purpose is to create hand- and footholds that let route setters and home wall builders shape movement and difficulty. Some are also designed to mimic features found on natural rock.
Because holds come in so many shapes and sizes, it’s worth learning the basics before you start filling your wall.
It’s also important to think about footholds, often called foot chips. These smaller pieces are designed primarily for your feet, but climbers sometimes use them as handholds on harder problems. Even the tiniest pieces on your wall can influence how a climb feels.
What Kinds of Climbing Holds Are There?
Once you know what holds are, the next step is understanding how different types change the climbing experience. Bigger doesn’t always mean easier, and smaller doesn’t always mean harder. Shape, direction, texture, and body position all play a role.
For example, slopers often look generous because they can fit your whole hand, but they rely heavily on friction, body tension, and the direction of pull. That makes them surprisingly challenging.
Here’s a quick breakdown of common hold types:
Crimp
A crimp is a small edge that usually only fits your fingertips.
How to use it: Place as many fingers on the edge as possible and pull with control.
- Open-hand grip on a crimp: Your fingertips rest on the hold with only the first joints bent.
- Half-crimp: Your fingertips are on the hold, and your knuckles are bent to about 90 degrees.
- Full crimp: From a half-crimp position, your thumb wraps over your index finger.
Two outdoor climbing terms you may still hear are cracks and flakes. These are natural rock features rather than standard hold categories for a home wall, but they’re useful vocabulary to know.
Crack
A crack is the negative space in the wall rather than a protruding hold.
How to use it: Fill the space with the part of your body that fits best, whether that’s fingers, a hand, a fist, or a foot. Crack climbing is its own discipline, but it’s still a useful term to know.
Flake
A flake is a thin, partly detached feature that can often be grabbed from more than one side.
How to use it: Outdoors, climbers first check whether a flake is stable before trusting it. If it is secure, it can sometimes be used like a jug. You’re more likely to hear this term outside than on a home wall, but it’s good climbing vocabulary to know.
Jug
A jug is a large, positive hold that feels friendly and secure.
How to use it: Curl your fingers over the hold and pull. Jugs are often the easiest holds on a wall and are great for warming up, building confidence, or creating more accessible movement.
Ledge
A ledge is similar to a jug, but flatter.
How to use it: Stay underneath the hold to use it most effectively. As your body rises above it, the hold often becomes harder to keep tension on.
Pinch
A pinch is a hold you squeeze between your fingers and thumb.
How to use it: Wrap your fingers around one side and your thumb around the other, then apply pressure from both sides.
Pockets
A pocket is a hole or recessed feature that holds one, two, or three fingers.
How to use it: Use as many fingers as comfortably fit. Deep pockets can feel more secure, while shallow pockets often behave more like crimps.
- Mono: A pocket that fits only one finger.
Sloper
A sloper is a rounded hold with little to grab directly.
How to use it: Maximize contact with your hand and pull in the direction that creates the most friction. Slopers reward open-handed strength, body tension, and careful positioning.
Undercling
An undercling is any hold oriented so you pull up on it from underneath.
How to use it: Keep tension through your core and stay positioned so you can pull upward without swinging away from the wall.
Side Pull
A side pull is any hold turned so you pull sideways rather than straight down.
How to use it: Create opposition with your feet and hips so you can pull against the hold efficiently.
How to Choose the Right Holds for Your Wall
Once you know the main hold types, you can start choosing the right mix for your wall.
1. Match the holds to your space
If your wall is small, oversized holds can eat up valuable real estate. Smaller holds often give you more flexibility because you can fit more movement options into the same space.
2. Start with versatile, confidence-building holds
A set of jugs is a smart place to begin. They let you warm up, move comfortably, and build routes that are fun to climb. If you buy a set with a range of sizes, you can create climbs that gradually feel more challenging.
3. Train your weaknesses
Most climbers have hold types they naturally avoid. Maybe crimps feel uncomfortable, or maybe pinches expose a weakness in thumb strength. A home wall is a great place to work on those gaps intentionally.
4. Make sure the wall is still fun
Training matters, but so does motivation. If every hold on your wall feels punishing, you’ll be less likely to use it consistently. Mix in hold types you genuinely enjoy so your wall stays inviting.
Enjoy the Benefits of a Home Wall
A home wall can make climbing more convenient, especially if you’re balancing work, parenting, or a packed schedule. Even a short session in the garage or basement can help you stay consistent.
The right holds make that time more valuable. Start with a thoughtful mix, build around your available space, and choose shapes that help you train and have fun. And if you still want inspiration for movement or hold selection, your local gym can be a great place to see what kinds of grips keep climbers coming back.
