Well... that's where teh Ice Pond Scale steps in.

the verm system bolsters the egos of 14 year old kids that can then report their numerically superior accomplishments to all the other little kids at the gym on monday. I propose this new rating system

this problem I can probably do. (tpicpd)

I dont think I can do this problem. (idticdtp)

yikes, look at that thing. (ylatt)

these can all be subdivided into plus and minus i.e.,

" bootylicious is definitely idticdtp + now that that hold broke."
or, "ever since chris downrated chunk-daddy to ylatt - mikes been getting no love from the chicks"

The "V" scale certainly has too many grades. It is impossible to give a rating that finely divided to a problem.

it serves a purpose to give you an idea about what you're getting into

We're talking bouldering here not multipitch trad climbing.

If people spent less time with their noses in the damn guidebooks and actually looked at the boulder they would have a pretty good idea of what they were getting into.

So you can pinpoint the V-grade of a problem just by looking at it? That's impressive, cause most can't.

In your rush to sarcasm, you missed the point.

For people without your magical powers, grades will help them find something in their range of difficulty.

Myself, I love guidebooks. I don't use them for finding problems or identifying grades, but they are invaluable for getting directions to a specific area.

Hardly. Most problems have a consensus grade.

Don't get me wrong, there's no point in emphasizing grades. The V scale is certainly inflated (just because it's harder than V14, is it really V15?). But it serves a purpose to give you an idea about what you're getting into. Maybe it's tough to tell the difference between V5 and V6, but most will agree that the difference between, say, V5 and V7, or V5 and V3 is obvious.

If you can't be sure if something is off by one "V" grade (as you admit above) but you can tell the difference between problems separated by two "V" grades--then there are too many finely divided grades. And, that was my original assertion.

Maybe it's tough to tell the difference...

The V scale is certainly inflated (just because it's harder than V14, is it really V15?).

...I may have magical powers...

My issue is not the V-scale (or IPS or 'B' scale etc.) it is with some of the lame excuses people use to follow them.

My point still stands. If you want to know what you are 'getting yourself into' it is better to really look at the problem rather than say 'the guidebook says it's V-4 I should be able to do it'.

Is that agreeable?

To the original post, there are four general systems that people use for bouldering. The big issue is that an overhanging crimp problem is completely different than a slab, a 6 foot 200 pound guy has different strengths than a 5 foot 90 pound woman. So bouldering is tough to rate beyond any general specifics.

1. B-System which is a sliding scale meant to move upwards as the standards get higher.
2. V-System made for those who really are trying to get granular and pinpoint a "number".
3. The Yosemite decimal system.
4. The "easy" "moderate" "hard" and "What the f@#k?" system for most of the rest.

Anything else provides nothing further than what is above. Curt said it best, check out the rc.com recognized definitions to get a start. Beyond that, just start pulling.