Different climbing walls
Bouldering area
This wall is generally a blank canvas for the setters that put routes up and allows for the most creativity with the holds the gym provides. You’ll find problems that are around 15ft tall, usually containing 1 or 2 “crux” moves (Difficult move) that the boulderer needs to solve to get to the top. Most competitions are held on walls like this and the angle switches up from gym to gym.
Typically each gym will have a slab wall (flat that the climber can lean into), and cave (overhung that puts the climber in a horizontal position), and a combination of other angles that blend the two together. If you are just starting out in the sport this is likely where you’re going to be for a majority of the time but there are other options to climb on based on the gym you climb at.
Here at Flux Training Center we have 4 different boards that are unique to the style of climbing gym we are.
Kilter Board
A newer type of climbing wall is The Kilter Board, first made back in 2018, this board offers users the ability to adjust the angle of the wall to whatever the user wants by use of a hydraulic system. Each hold has a light in the center that shows the climber the various hand, feet, start and end holds by using easy to read colors. The climber downloads the Kilter app and can pick a route (usually set by another Kilter climber), which will display on the wall in the designated colors.
This climbing wall allows any person to jump on and test their limits by being the setter and the climber at the same time. The only limiting factor to this type of board is the holds on the wall, as it’s a preset loadout of holds. This is so any user across the country can plug in and use the same loadout so if a friend from Boulder, CO puts a problem up. You could still attempt it here in Vista, CA without any problems.
Tension Board
Another popular board that’s available only here at Flux Training Center is the Tension Board 2. This board also features a full LED loadout behind every hold that lets the climber pick and choose which route they want to try. It’s at a fixed angle of 40 degrees with an incredibly comfortable combination of wooden and plastic holds. Like the other walls, the climber downloads the app provided by Tension and can put any route featured in the app on the wall itself.
As the name implies, this wall keeps the climber tense through each route which helps maximize the training each time the board is used. The layout of the holds can also be set in a spray style or mirrored layout, both having their own set of unique routes set by the climbers around the world. Flux Training Center is proud to be the only climbing gym in San Diego that owns a tension 2 climbing wall.
Spray Wall
This indoor climbing wall is a classic style that we personally grew up with called a spray wall. This particular kind of board is unique in the since that no two spray walls are the same. It’s a combination of any and every kind of climbing hold the gym has, put up on the wall at various angles. When the boulderer is attempting to climb this wall it test their creativity as well as their climbing technique. Every time something is set on these walls the climber needs to remember exactly where the target is because there are no lights guiding the climber to the next hold. It’s an essential indoor climbing tool because it challenges the climber both mentally and physically with the only limitation being the imagination of the climber.
