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Knyte260
Dec 19, 2009, 6:08 AM
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Registered: Jul 5, 2008
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This afternoon I was thinking back to my childhood gymnastics days where uneven bars and other apparatus would use foam pits for landing zones. This would certainly allow for safer bouldering falls, and perhaps additional height. I was reading online to see if such a thing existed, and saw a quote on a wall manufacturers website (RockWerx.com) "Thresh Hold is the newest indoor climbing wall business in Southern California, opening in Riverside, California in 2008. With the highest freestanding boulders in the country, foam pit landing zones never before seen in climbing gyms, and unique lounge areas" I went to this gym's website, Thresh Hold (Climbthreshhold.com), and their gallery definitely does not show any 19 foot top out bouldering area with foam pits. Perhaps at some point during their building process they considered doing this though. What is everyones thoughts on this idea? I was thinking that because the facilities need height for top roping and lead climbing, the pit could easily be raised, and still allow for 16 to 20 feet of top out bouldering. Top out problems would be better because instead of landing in the pit and having to deal with swimming through to the edge, the pit could remain less occupied. Only failure to complete a problem would land you back in the pit. As for access to the problems, noone wants to be starting with their legs in a foam pit, so the first 4 feet nearest the wall could serve as a padded walkway to get onto the problems. With an overhang, as soon as you would climb up a few feet off of the ground, you would be falling into the pit. Pit falls are without a doubt far safer than movable crash pads or even entirely well padded floors. They are also far superior in safety if the climber takes an uncontrolled fall. I myself have had several times in the last few years where I have dyno'd up to a finish hold, and lost it after hinging off the piece. I fell sometimes nearly horizontal with the floor, and luckily have never been injured.
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Varanuschris
Dec 19, 2009, 11:08 AM
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So I can see how your gymnastics experience would make you more comfortable with foam pits and it seems like a cool idea but in reality there are some issues you would need to resolve in order to make this work: Because people tend to boulder at their limits (in order to build power, learn new moves, its fun, etc.) they fall a lot. So they would constantly need to swim and that would be a pain in the ass for everyone. The padded walkway won't work either, a. people often hurt themselves in very short falls. b. it creates an edge that people can land on, just like people who twist their ankle by hitting the edge of a mat, only worse. People don't really want to boulder that much higher. The gym I climb and work at sets higher problems on the roped walls every once in a while and very very few people want to boulder above 16-17 feet regardless of how much padding we provide.
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Ry_
Dec 19, 2009, 3:38 PM
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Registered: Aug 17, 2009
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Yes people push themselves to their limits and fall a lot. However if you take a foam pit and then place a large crash mat overtop it would still provide a VERY soft landing. (I'm hoping the OP understands what I mean by crash mat, they were probably red at your gym and made by SA) There would obviously be alot of downfalls, however you are right the landings would be very soft allowing for additional height. The crash mat would prevent the need to "swim" as you could just walk off. Edited for clarity
(This post was edited by Ry_ on Dec 19, 2009, 3:39 PM)
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rschap
Dec 19, 2009, 3:45 PM
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Someone mentioned this a while back and the only thing I could think of is what a bitch it would be to clean out. People with loose chalk in their bags are always spilling it as is, then you have the kids oh god the kids. I don’t think a climbing gym is as controlled of an environment as a gymnastics gym, at least not any gym I or most other climbers would go to.
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climberslacker
Dec 19, 2009, 3:55 PM
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Ya, I did gymnastics when I was younger too, and we had a foam pit. You can fall from some serious hight into a pit and not get hurt! We would routenly practice rings in a foam pit at least 10 feet off the ground. ANd for those f you who don't know, those things are at least 8 feet deep, maybe 10. -CS
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dynosore
Dec 19, 2009, 4:07 PM
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Knyte260 wrote: This afternoon I was thinking back to my childhood gymnastics days where uneven bars and other apparatus would use foam pits for landing zones. This would certainly allow for safer bouldering falls, and perhaps additional height. I was reading online to see if such a thing existed, and saw a quote on a wall manufacturers website (RockWerx.com) "Thresh Hold is the newest indoor climbing wall business in Southern California, opening in Riverside, California in 2008. With the highest freestanding boulders in the country, foam pit landing zones never before seen in climbing gyms, and unique lounge areas" I went to this gym's website, Thresh Hold (Climbthreshhold.com), and their gallery definitely does not show any 19 foot top out bouldering area with foam pits. Perhaps at some point during their building process they considered doing this though. What is everyones thoughts on this idea? I was thinking that because the facilities need height for top roping and lead climbing, the pit could easily be raised, and still allow for 16 to 20 feet of top out bouldering. Top out problems would be better because instead of landing in the pit and having to deal with swimming through to the edge, the pit could remain less occupied. Only failure to complete a problem would land you back in the pit. As for access to the problems, noone wants to be starting with their legs in a foam pit, so the first 4 feet nearest the wall could serve as a padded walkway to get onto the problems. With an overhang, as soon as you would climb up a few feet off of the ground, you would be falling into the pit. Pit falls are without a doubt far safer than movable crash pads or even entirely well padded floors. They are also far superior in safety if the climber takes an uncontrolled fall. I myself have had several times in the last few years where I have dyno'd up to a finish hold, and lost it after hinging off the piece. I fell sometimes nearly horizontal with the floor, and luckily have never been injured. A good idea fro a "fun" stnadpoint, but one that I would never do if I was a gym owner. Gym Rat A falls on Gym Rat B from 15 feet and bones are broken. Gym Rats sue gym, gym's insurance goes up. I think not.
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rockforlife
Dec 19, 2009, 5:13 PM
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dynosore wrote: Knyte260 wrote: This afternoon I was thinking back to my childhood gymnastics days where uneven bars and other apparatus would use foam pits for landing zones. This would certainly allow for safer bouldering falls, and perhaps additional height. I was reading online to see if such a thing existed, and saw a quote on a wall manufacturers website (RockWerx.com) "Thresh Hold is the newest indoor climbing wall business in Southern California, opening in Riverside, California in 2008. With the highest freestanding boulders in the country, foam pit landing zones never before seen in climbing gyms, and unique lounge areas" I went to this gym's website, Thresh Hold (Climbthreshhold.com), and their gallery definitely does not show any 19 foot top out bouldering area with foam pits. Perhaps at some point during their building process they considered doing this though. What is everyones thoughts on this idea? I was thinking that because the facilities need height for top roping and lead climbing, the pit could easily be raised, and still allow for 16 to 20 feet of top out bouldering. Top out problems would be better because instead of landing in the pit and having to deal with swimming through to the edge, the pit could remain less occupied. Only failure to complete a problem would land you back in the pit. As for access to the problems, noone wants to be starting with their legs in a foam pit, so the first 4 feet nearest the wall could serve as a padded walkway to get onto the problems. With an overhang, as soon as you would climb up a few feet off of the ground, you would be falling into the pit. Pit falls are without a doubt far safer than movable crash pads or even entirely well padded floors. They are also far superior in safety if the climber takes an uncontrolled fall. I myself have had several times in the last few years where I have dyno'd up to a finish hold, and lost it after hinging off the piece. I fell sometimes nearly horizontal with the floor, and luckily have never been injured. A good idea fro a "fun" stnadpoint, but one that I would never do if I was a gym owner. Gym Rat A falls on Gym Rat B from 15 feet and bones are broken. Gym Rats sue gym, gym's insurance goes up. I think not. Gym with no foam pit.. Gym Rat A falls on Gym Rat B from 15 feet and bones are broken. Gym Rats sue gym, gym's insurance goes up. yep no difference EDIT: who stands in a foam pit??
(This post was edited by rockforlife on Dec 19, 2009, 5:14 PM)
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zeth01
Dec 19, 2009, 6:56 PM
Post #8 of 18
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there used to be a gymnaastics gym in chicago that had a foam pit on their climbiing wall but they changed to padding and individual pads. if i remember correctly they actually use regular bouldering pads there. oh well the gym sucks and theres random ass shit all over the walls or at least there was when i was there a couple years ago. the one major problem with the foam pit is that they had all these foam pieces in a pit and where do you think all the excess chalk went? they couldnt sit there and vacuum each individual foam piece. the place was a mess. f you lot your key you were screwed and t definitely felt unsafe to fall into.
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Knyte260
Dec 19, 2009, 7:03 PM
Post #9 of 18
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Registered: Jul 5, 2008
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Ok I did some more reading. Some pits are actually made with a liner on top so that the foam isn't exposed. In this way, it is actually a bit more dangerous than falling into open foam blocks, but still much safer than falling onto a standard padded floor. I think most peoples opinions above are correct though, this could be a nightmare. And for most boulderers, the padded floor and extra crash pad system is fine. Any gym that had this, we would need to have much more regular bouldering area. Then the foam pit could be a limited section that is really just a novelty. I think it could peak some people's interest when you walk beginners through and say that "section" allows unroped climbing up to 20 feet! Info on pits: Types of Pits Loose foam pits – 6 to 8 foot deep pits filled with foam blocks. Resi-pits – Vinyl covered 30” to 36” inch thick lattice foam mats. Bungee tramp loose foam pits – A combination style pit with a Bungee trampoline about two feet off the pit bottom covered with 4’ –6’ of loose foam blocks. Bungee tramp Resi-pits - A combination style pit with a Bungee trampoline about two feet off the pit bottom topped with a Resi-pit. And here is several selections in order of safety: (they word it is a progression for more and more experienced gymnists) Pit Progressions In a superbly equipped gym, there would be a variety of pit types that would serve as an equipment learning progression. The progression for each apparatus would be: Bungee tramp loose foam pits Loose foam pit Bungee tramp Resi-pit Resi-pit Regulation mats on Resi-Pit From there the equipment progression would proceed to standard matting set-ups like 12 inch thick crash mats, 8 inch thick crash mats and on to regulation competition matting.
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desertwanderer81
Dec 22, 2009, 12:13 AM
Post #10 of 18
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I want a ball pit beneith me while I'm bouldering! You know, McDonalds playroom style!
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freezorburn
Apr 15, 2010, 1:41 PM
Post #11 of 18
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Registered: Oct 19, 2005
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Great Idea!, Imajine a gym like that Plus a Pool for deep water solo.
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airscape
Apr 28, 2010, 10:55 AM
Post #12 of 18
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Registered: Feb 26, 2001
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This is a deep water solo pool at a camp we sometimes stay at. This is not me:
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edge
Apr 28, 2010, 12:33 PM
Post #13 of 18
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Registered: Apr 14, 2003
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Not open foam, but my local gym has a pole vaulting pad.
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osu_cowboy
Apr 28, 2010, 1:28 PM
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There was a small local gym that opened up here in Oklahoma City that had a foam pit bouldering area. It had one large area with normal mats and a pit that was probably ten feet deep with 20-25 foot problems. It was bad ass to fall in that thing, but it was hard to do any real climbing since you had to go one at a time; it was more of a fun novelty to make different than the other gym in town. That gym closed in about two months so... If you google image "holdistic" there is a pic on a local guys blog. Should be the first image.
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sidepull
Apr 28, 2010, 1:40 PM
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edge wrote: Not open foam, but my local gym has a pole vaulting pad. [image]http://www.rockclimbing.com/images/photos/assets/1/219981-largest_20900.jpg[/image] This is only slightly better: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3umtw179KA
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nkane
Apr 28, 2010, 3:42 PM
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WOW i remember that gym! Haven't been there since high school; looks smaller now. Doing flips onto the pad is a nice way to cool down from your session.
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dancottle
Apr 28, 2010, 4:15 PM
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Registered: Oct 25, 2009
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Pretty sweet!
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