Enter the "Acid Rain Pinches" from Vision Climbing.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from these little guys, as I hadn’t climbed on them, but had fondled them enough to know they were going to provide challenges. James and Lynette from Vision were nice enough to send over a set (along with their “Bumper Pads”, which will be reviewed in another post) for our reviewing pleasure.

Shaped by Chris Neal, the set comes with 5 small pinches, all pockmarked with “erosion” dimples. Nearly the entire hold is usable, so they don’t take up much real estate on your wall, which was a key feature for me, as it is for most home wall owners. The texture that Vision uses is friendly, but much like every other manufactured grip (with the exception of wood), I find it necessary for skin-friendly training to lightly sand the surface. The erosion dimples were particularly sharp edged, but a minute or so per hold was all it took to have them rounded and ready to bolt on.