So what about the pinches? As pinches are one of my strengths, I find myself wishing that the pinches on every hangboard were worse. Watching several 5.9 - 5.11 climbers using the pinches on the DRCC board, it was apparent that they are just about right. I also found that if I didn't grip the pinch fully, and instead only the used the outer half inch or so, it became quite hard to hold, which is what I was looking for. For the climber whose pinch grip is among their weakest, these pinches (with two levels... think thumb in the upper "pocket" or thumb in the lower "pocket") will no doubt bring your pinches up to speed.

In searching for anything negative, my first instinct was "there are no pockets". It's true, there aren't.... but that is actually a positive. Pockets give the added friction on the sides of the hold, decreasing the amount of strength you need to use to hold the grip. Instead, I found that using the smallest holds as 2 finger edges was the training I was desperately missing out on with most other boards I've tried. For some reason (maybe the radii of the edges?), holding the small edges on other boards as a 2 finger seems to be something different than a "pocket" type grip.

The only con that I personally found, and this a tiny gripe, is that several of the edges have a slight outward "bulge" in the center, so the usable surface isn't uniform across the length of the hold. The centers of these holds are slightly deeper. When I mentioned this to another tester, he hadn't even noticed.

Only one of the other climbers using the board had a complaint, and he also admitted that he was reaching for negatives, saying that the "ergonomic" shape of the board (each side angling slightly downward from center) made it a little more difficult to use the outer holds with only one arm. It's interesting to note that this tester climbs V11 and was also surprised at how small the smallest holds felt.

Across the board, every climber using the board made the same, unsolicited comment... that the dual texture completely eliminated the problem of "rolling" skin. I also attribute this to the attention paid to the friendliness of the edges. None are too sharp, and the rounded edges quickly turn into that perfectly unusable gloss surface.

Above, I mentioned that a little ingenuity could make this board perfect for the stronger climber. Two simple changes could elevate this board to the V8/5.13. As you progress past the smallest holds, you could mount the board on a slight overhang, and the small edges would be instantly much harder to use. Also, because all of the holds go through the board (meaning that the "back" of the hold is the wall it is mounted on), one could easily add a "shim". Screwing a thin piece of wood, or just wedging a piece of cardboard into the back of the holds can decrease their usable surface to whatever you need.