KILTER BOARD
Kilter Board
The Kilter Board is a modern take on the traditional “woody”. As climbing moves out of the margins and into the mainstream, so too should the training technology. The Kilter Board features unique and custom holds designed by Ian Powell, that light up around their edge using an App and LED light system developed by Kilter and Aurora climbing. Each hold has been scrutinized for comfort and grip style, allowing one to train on open hand holds, incuts, pinches, crimps and slopers.
Tired of setting for yourself? Want new challenges outside of your normal style? Our app is there for you, tapping you into a global network of professional athletes, setters, gyms, and other Kilter Board users. Using the Kilter Board App (free for iPhone, iPad, and Android) the user is able to set new routes or browse through thousands of existing boulder problems with ease. The app allows users to track their ascents and bookmark their projects.
Unlike other training boards that feature a single LED bellow the grip, the Kilter Board’s holds themselves light up. Start holds are green, feet only holds are yellow, hand and foot hold are blue, and finish holds are purple. The result is an aesthetic and intuitive feel that appeals to all users, from beginners to professionals.
Available worldwide! If you are in the US or Canada you can order this right now by emailing us at holds@kiltergrips.com and we will get you in the production queue. If you are in any other country contact your distributor for pricing.
We offer discounts if you bundle a frame, holds and light kit, and mats. Our white glove service includes a full installation, meaning your Kilter Board will be turn-key when our technicians leave.
SEE THE NEW KILTER BOARD LOCATOR MAP - CLICK HERE
Check out this video about the Kilter Board
Want a Kilter Board? Signup here to receive news, and to tell your gym you want one!
QUICK ANSWERS
What size? Plan the 12'x12' adjustable if you can fit it. If you can't, don't despair, 8'x12' is also good and shares problems with the 12'x12'.
Layout? All Kilter Boards currently in the world have the Medium Launch Layout. This layout with a fully adjustable frame means climbers of all abilities can climb on it. Really! The lights make it intuitive for even non-climbers, but our pro climber friends stay entertained at 45*-55*. Gyms that have them report the same - newer climbers, kids, and groups on the low angles and advanced climbers when it gets steeper. This means the Kilter Board can serve your entire customer base instead of just the top 20%.
The simplest way to understand frames and shipping, order, or get other questions answered is to email us at holds@kiltergrips.com. Kiel is availabe for emailing or calls and can talk to you about your space, make recommendations for size, frame type, and padding, and answer any other questions you have.
Want to know more now? Read on:
FUN, INTUITIVE TRAINING
The Kilter Board raises the bar for climbing training. The entire perimeter of the base of each hold lights up, making them easy to see from any angle. It might seem like a simple innovation, but it's a total game-changer for training boards.
Developing the Kilter Board
Our friend Peter Michaux at Aurora Climbing in Canada contacted us to work on a new training wall to go with an app he wanted to develop. Peter has been climbing for decades and training almost as long, he and Kilter have been friends for a long time, and with over 10 years as a professional software engineer he was the perfect partner.
With Peter's LEDs and test app and grips poured at our US manufacturer Aragon Elastomers we set to work. It was a bit more complicated than we expected, but the end result is exactly what we were looking for. The Kilter Board Holds are the same high-quality Aragon elastomeric urethane that has proven itself year after year at gyms and home walls around the world. They can be washed like regular holds (brush them or power wash).
The Kilter App is intuitive and easy to use, allowing users to easily set their own problems, or browse thousands of boulder problems from our constantly growing database. The App allows users to make their own problems lists and rate and grade existing boulders.
Adjustability in the frame is huge, so early on we also partnered with Lemur Design, a firm founded by aeronautical engineers turned climbing wall designers and manufacturers. Their freestanding frame is truly something to behold. Using electronic actuators, it changes angle with the push of a button, has several features for user safety, and is whisper quiet.
Frame Options
In addition to Lemur, several companies now make freestanding adjustable frames available in custom colors. We have partners in the US and Europe as well as contacts with other manufacturers who can get a nice adjustable frame in your new gym or existing facility or even your garage! Contact us and we'll set you up with a frame provider who supplies your area and get you a quote. Most frames can be installed by a few gym employees, but in some areas we also have white glove install available and can include pads if needed.
For home built, we can send you grid specs but we enocurage you to get a qualified engineer to assess your loads before building.
Email holds@kiltergrips.com for frame quotes.
HIGH-DENSITY CLIMBING
Every climber wants to get the most mileage out of their training space, whether it's a garage or a gym mezzanine.
The Kilter Board provides you with thousands of potential problems in a relatively small space. Tired of setting for yourself? Want new challenges outside of your normal style? Our app is there for you with a global network of professional athletes, setters, gyms, and other Kilter Board users.
Kilter's whole team--owners, employees, reps, and athletes--is made up of professional route setters. We have two Kilter Boards at our studio, where we get regular visits from professional climbers, competitors, and setters who have helped us test holds and set climbs. Our whole team is committed to continuing to populate the Kilter Board with new and interesting problems.
Testimonial from a gym owner: When you consider the number of problems you quickly realize it is the cheapest climbing space per square foot in the gym.
FRIENDLY SHAPES
Ian made over 800 brand new handholds for us to test while deciding the Launch Layout for the Medium Board (8x12 and 12x12). Every aspect of each of those shape has been carefully considered. Meticulous attention has been paid to details like finger position, wrist position, edge radius, and taper. These subtle elements can be taken for granted, but when they aren't right it's obvious. In testing for the Kilter Board Ian rejected many shapes didn't quite cut it. The resulting collection of grips are comfortable, interesting, and fun to climb on, with challenging options for every level of climber. Now we're working on the Hard Layout as the next addition to the Kilter Training Board System.
Comment from a pro climber: I never board train because I always hurt my fingers on them, but I just climbed on this [Kilter Board] for 5 hours!
LAYOUTS
The Medium Launch Layout is done and ready to purchase. This layout fits the 8x12 and the 12x12, so the boards can share problems. The 8x12 is contained within the 12x12 layout. The 12x12 has 3 extra columns of holds on each edge, so there will always be more available problems on the 12x12 layout than the 8x12. The difficulty of this layout is ideal for gyms and for most home walls as well.
We will eventually add more layout options for the Kilter Board system but this Medium Launch Layout is our Foundation and we will continue to support it. It is the best option for most facilities because it can comfortably serve the needs of such a wide ability range. If you'd like other future layouts as well, we recommend planning for multiple Kilter Boards in your faciilty.
The Medium Launch Layout holds are very friendly and approachable, and with an adjustable frame we have kept everyone from brand new climbers to some of the strongest pros entertained.
We've had multiple pro climbers who climb V15 stay entertained on the Medium Launch Layout for hours, then come back to climb on it again in the same week.
Our friends who regularly climb V11/12 outside spent months helping test the Medium Launch Layout, and they enjoyed it as much as our friends who climb v4-8.
Even our new climber friends were able to climb the easier lines at the lowest angles, and pull moves on steeper angles because there were were holds they could use.
The adjustable frame board even works for kids and groups - just make it vertical or low angle and have the new and young climbers follow the lights!
Text we got from a friend who spent all summer on the Kilter Board: I'm doing moves in Hueco that I've never been able to do before! Everyone is asking me how I've been training.
THE BOARDS
Kilter Board offers a couple of size options and we recommend making the angle adjustable, which you can do yourself if you know what you're doing. We can provide the drilling grid upon request. Please seek professional help for construction to make sure whatever you do is structurally sound.
Lemur Design freestanding 12'x12' frame.
If you want an easy way to make sure your adjustable wall is secure email us for frame options.
The Kilter Board App supports adjustable or fixed angles walls from 0˚-70˚ at increments of 5˚.
We are focusing on two sizes of Kilter Boards. If you aren't sure which wall will fit in your space, email us or download our spec sheet here and use the wall angle/room height guide.
The recommended footprint varies depending on if you have an adjustable angle or fixed angle board. The footprints below include space for the entire frame (including the kickboard) and the ideal amount of padding to reduce edge danger. That said, you do not need 4' between the edge of the wall and a side wall. If you have limited space you can get away with close to flush, but we recommend at least 1' if possible, and of course up to 4' on each side is also fine. We definitely recommend 4'on each side for a freestanding board in the middle of a weight area. For the "out" dimension, that is from the back of the wall to the far edge of the padding. It can vary for fixed-angle boards based on how steep the board is. You can gain some space if you build a 1' kickboard instead of a 2' kickboard. Basically, if you have space limitations we're happy to help you figure out what size and angle board you can fit. Just email us!
8' x12'
- The most popular training board size on the planet
- 8' wide, 12' tall upper, 1-3' exposed kickboard (4 sheets of 4x8 plywood)
- 209 bolt-on holds, 102 screw-on holds, 630 LEDs/kit
- All 198 handholds are unique, no more than 2 of a foothold shape
- Recommended footprint w/adjustable board frame and max padding* 20' (out) x 16' (wide)
12'x12'
- 12' wide, 12' tall upper, 2-3' exposed kickboard
- 323 unique bolt-on holds, 153 screw-on holds, 1060 LEDs/kit
- All 306 handholds are unique, no more than 2 of a foothold shape
- Recommended footprint w/adjustable board frame and max padding* 20' x 20'
- We've tested this size extensively and think it is the best size for gyms but also amazing for home walls, outbuildings, garages, etc.. It is the same height as the 8' x 12' so it should fit in most garages just as well as the smaller board does. The extra width makes a huge difference!
12'x14'
- 12' wide, 14' tall upper, 2-3' exposed kickboard
- This layout has not been finished yet. It is 3 rows on top of the existing 12'x12' layout, so it will share problems with the 8'x12' and 12'x12' layouts. We were delayed in finishing it and will release it when we can.
*max padding is recommended size if you have pad edges people might fall off. If you have a side wall or other climbing wall next to this you don't need 4' on each side of the board.
INSTALL
Choose any or all of these services. You may need to have 1-3 staff on hand to help the tech with install.
Frame/Wall Install - You can have your wall builder build and install your frame and boards, you can order a custom frame and have in installed or install it yourself, or you can build your own frame.
Lights/Holds Install - Some wall builders will also install the lights and holds for you or with the help of 1-3 of your staff. This will come at an extra cost as it will take two people several hours to do everything OR you can install the lights and holds yourself using the instructions we will send and the remote support we will provide. Some frame options come with cnc marks for hold number and angle at each t-nut.
Pad Install - Mats can be installed by the mat company, by your wall company, by you, or by us.
WHITE GLOVE SERVICE
US and Canada. Includes frame, boards, mat, holds, lights, and techs to come install everything. All you have to do is clear the space, have a regular power source for us to use and hook the wall to, and assure us there are no wires or pipes running under the slab where we are attaching the frame and mats. Email for pricing.
UK - we can talk with Rock City to find technicians to install for you.
JOIN THE KILTER BOARD MAILING LIST AND STAY UP TO DATE
TELL YOUR GYM YOU WANT ONE!
Send us an email to holds@kiltergrips.com with the name and contact of your gym, and we'll let them know you want one!
