Screw-On Adjustable Pinches (Sold in sets of 10)

Overview

Available in 10 Packs

All pieces have a 0° side so you can get as narrow as possible with your pinches. The degrees below are referring to the opposite side of the 0°) 

Set#1 = -10°, -7.5°, -5°, -2.5°, 0° (Easiest. Incut to 0° neutral)

Set#2 = 2.5°, 5°, 7.5°, 10°, 12.5° (Slightly slopey to slopey)

Set#3 = 15, 17.5°, 20°, 22.5°, 25° (Hardest. Very slopey)

These pinches are sold in sets of ten. Each angle is duplicated. For example, if you order a 0°/15° (0° on one side, 15° sloping on the other), you will get two of that hold.

Click here for sets of two. 

Click here for the full set as a 16-pack. 

Are you interested in creating unique climbing routes using pinches? Atomik's Adjustable Pinches allow route setters to customize each pinch's width, taper, and difficulty. Unleash your creativity and develop innovative configurations for a top-notch climbing experience!

Need inspiration? Please look at the thumbnail images for sample orientations we've created. One side of every hold features a 0° incut, while the other ranges from 10° incut to 20° sloping. Regardless of the set, you'll always be able to set a 0° incut on one side and a 0° incut on the other.

When paired, these pinches create a minimum width of 2-1/4". Each pinch in this line measures 1-1/8" across the face of the hold. The base of the holds gets larger as the hold angle becomes slopier. 

These holds stand 1-1/4" off the wall and are 5-1/4" in total length, accommodating hands of all sizes.

Used alone, each hold serves as a very narrow pinch or, when used horizontally, a deep edge.

Route setting with the pinches 

The options are limitless with what you can do, from using them as a single narrow to super wide pinches with thousands of configurations in between. There is only one orientation we want to ensure you are aware of. This is when setting the holds in a "V" orientation with the incuts on the inside. This does not occur if there are no incuts on the inside. 

Cheats (Orientation) 

When setting a wide pinch of 3" inches or more, you'll find that the 0° degree sides on the inside of the 3" orientation can be grabbed as a side pull. This is an excellent way for a less strong climber to learn the movement through that section and eventually build the strength to climb the move with the 3" wide version. 

Cheats (Tops of holds) 

When setting on 30° or less overhanging walls, you can get on top of the hold if you climb over V4. The top and bottom angle on these pinches is 20°. This is enough real estate to make them feel like a slopey edge. Home walls are usually set up where multiple problems use the same holds and even use only parts of holds. These are called "Eliminates." You restrict yourself from grabbing a particular part of the hold. If you use the tops of these adjustable pinches, go right ahead; you only limit yourself from increasing your pinch training. Remember, this is not a competition setting where we must eliminate every cheat. 

As Singles

Using these holds as singles (one hold to make a pinch instead of two) is more challenging to grip because the pinch is very narrow, at 1" to 1-1/4" wide. The width increases as the holds get slopier. Even with adding the slopiest hold for the thumb catch, narrow is harder. Below is an image of a V8 set on our 25° wall. Note the singles we used. One is an undercling (that is the 0°/-5° with the incut underneath), and one is a narrow pinch which is 0°/20° sloping. 

As Edges

You absolutely can use these holds as edges! They offer a 1-1/4" deep edge that is 5" wide.  

Difficulty

The Difficulty Chart informs you how hard the pinch moves will feel on a boulder problem of 6 to 8 moves.

We used the exact angle of hold for both your fingers and thumbs to determine grading. For example, the 10° incut is paired with a second 10° incut at a 3" width for one hand. Switching the thumb side to more incut will make the pinch easier to grip. 

You can route set with them in these configurations; however, using the many variations gives you more exciting pinch orientations. 

How to use the chart

The chart gives you a range of difficulty for each set and is intended to guide you. Please note that the grades are accumulative, meaning we tested these scenarios on 6 to 10-move boulder problems. One move will feel the easiest, but when you add dynamic moves and different combinations of holds and orientations, the holds can be easier to grip or more difficult. 

Example

If you're climbing the "X" gym grade, you should be able to hold onto the "X degrees" hold for both fingers and thumb for one to eight moves.

For example, if your wall is 45° overhanging and you climb V8, you can set a challenging boulder problem for yourself with the 10° sloping pinch for both your fingers and thumbs. If you love the 10° slope but want an easier boulder problem, changing the thumb side to 0° degrees incut makes the hold feel more like V6/7. 

Testing 

Do you wonder how we create grades for products like these? A lot of climbing! But seriously, we route set with them, which is the usual process. This works to get into an "area" of a grade but doesn't fine-tune, so you can see what we did for this product below.

The red pinches are set up in a 3" wide orientation, perfectly vertical, and the left-hand side matches the right-hand side. Setups like these allow us to run many different levels of climbers on the same setup and see which holds each climber can effectively move off of. 

We also set complete boulder problems of at least eight moves using the same hold repeated to get a feel for the accumulating load of multiple moves. 

As System Holds  

Yes, you can use these for system training! We like that you can set up an orientation in its easiest configuration ( "A" pattern), and then once your fitness increases, you can adjust it to the parallel orientation. 

Below are some example orientations.  

• Pack Size: 10 individual holds, five pairs, creating five adjustable pinches. 
• Size: The face measures 1-1/8" on all holds. 
• Size: The narrowest base is 1", which is the 0° Degrees / -10° Degrees Incut
• Size: The widest base is 1-1/2 ", which is the 0° Degrees / 20° Degrees Sloping
• Size: The height of every hold is 5-1/4" 
• Size: Every hold stands 1-1/4" off the wall
• Difficulty: See Chart