Expanding my climbing wall soon that will include a 45 degree overhang. I am looking at buying 20-30 holds with everything from feet to a really big hold or two. Here are the companies I am deciding between. Cast your vote and reasons why I should go with them.

Thanks,
Brooks

SoIll
DRCC
Project
Climb-It
Rock Candy
Bomber
or
Voodoo

If you have a free weekend you could always go up to the twin cities and get some nicros holds...i think that you can get blems or 2nds but only at the factory. while you are at it you could always go to willow, taylors falls or the north shore and have a mini road trip. The gym that i used to work at had a bunch of holds but i liked so ill, thought they were made well and kept their texture well

I'm partial to Rock Candy. Their tufas and horizontal crack features in particular are really good, especially for a 45 degree wall as you describe.

My nicros holds just broke on me. Both holds broke while pulling on them ofcourse. One broke in half and shockingly the other pulled right over the washer and bolt. I suggest Metolius.

Climb-It has just awesome selection of huge feature sized holds. Great bright colors too. I just tried Bomber for the first time via their ebay sales and they are nice quality too.

I’d look into what the manufacturer uses to create their holds. Some use a poly-urethane mix or poly-ethylene mix. I’ve noticed that the grip-it hold will have a more pores texture to it, however they tend to break when wrenched down to tight, especially the foot chips. We also use e-grip holds that tend to flex and contour to the shape of the climbing wall and will not break under tension. Our wall was created by Rockwerx and has natural features as well as modular hand holds. If anyone is ever in Columbus Ohio, Please come enjoy the climbing wall at Scioto Audubon Metro Park, it’s free to climb, however you need to bring your own gear.

Scioto Audubon Climbing Wall Submitted By: MAK on Sep 28, 2010

check out 3ball.

It depends on if you are building this outside or inside. If you are going outside, a friend of mine showed me a company's holds made for outdoors and I was rather impressed. Very cheap, but look and feel like real granite (at least NC slopey polished granite). Otherwise, I highly recommend DRCC or soiLL. SoiLL provides a really great gritty texture with some great possibilities on funky holds. DRCC has probably the best craftsmanship on their holds I have ever seen and are a complete blast to set on or climb on. Not to mention Allison really takes care of the customers up there in Motown.

SoIL!!!!

My suggestion is to mix up holds from different companies as much as possible. I only own a few sets from a number of different companies and always looking for new and different holds.

From my experience here is a quick summary of a few of those companies:

Soill: Good variety, unique shapes but unless something doesn't stick out to you as awesome then wait until they do. Also they do discounts all the time on their holds (at least 25% off) so I never buy unless they are on sale.

DRCC: Insane high quality holds. Also good for a few specialized holds. Buy something from them that you cannot buy from anyone else (dual texture is key) See example below of their uniqueness (photo by me of the first set of holds I bought from DRCC):

Project: I only have a couple sets and their x-large roof jugs stand out as some of best ones I own. Great texture, great build.

Climb-it: Took them forever to fulfill my order (1.5 mos), but they have the best large features I have seen or used (Font XL Jugs are amazing roof features). Don't buy from them unless you are getting something in the XL size.

For foot holds the best deal I have seen is a Nicros deal (www.nicros.com/products.cfm?Action=Results&SearchType=Cleara>>> DEAL Set of 10 Micros - MXMIX" for $16 w/o bolts. Some holds good enough for handholds. I never intentionally buy foot holds as so many companies have sent me some over the years and deals are easy to come by.

The DRCC Slots. Asked them to do some crazy colors and this is the result. Almost too pretty to climb on. Submitted By: Andy Librande on Oct 4, 2010

The smallest DRCC slot in the set with a carabiner for reference. The largest is a good two hand slot. Submitted By: Andy Librande on Oct 4, 2010

+1 more for Rock Candy.. Nate's holds are just plain fun..

Bomber Holds.......... www.bomberholds.com

the guy who designed the original casts lives in the area (Denverish), he sold it to the dude running it now, but homeboy (Count Chockula MP name) is cool, support his lineage.

Element, Rock Candy and SoIll for customer service alone.

I try to stay away from conversations about gear because typically this site pertains to my climbing life and not my work life.. but because I decided to use the companies I work for in my MP NAME I will fill you in on some tidbits.

1.) If you purchase things because they are local or look for companies that have a "green" look, Nicros is a perfect choice. Our new Corn Soy resin is made from corn, we do understand our holds may chip if thrown into a bucket but the texture tends to last 3 times as long as MOST urethane holds. For gyms who clean in a hurry (and throw holds into buckets/ 99% of the gyms out there) we will be releasing a "Gym line" made from a Eco- Friendly Urethane sometime in 2011..

2.) Our EHTS cannot be beat... The lightest largest holds on the market and we will have more volumes launching soon.

3.) Nicros has a lifetime Warranty so the first person who posted about Nicros hold breakage Email me @ nic@nicros.com, I will happily take a look at your holds and replace them along with some extra goodies to cover shipping.

One should never underestimate the importance of customer service. Way to step up, Nicros rep.

Rock candy...nates holds are awesome and from my experience he will reply super quick

DRCC makes some really awesome dual texture holds and I love their slopers and tiny round foot jibs. We've had problems with their softbacks cracking because you can tighten them too far so easily but they don't actually break in half. I also like nicrose and am not a huge fan of rock candy, can't put my finger on why that is though...

bomber makes great stuff for the price. their jugs favor steeper angles.

metolius is pretty good, i like their pinches a lot.

I've only got one hold by rock candy (the big ruffle feature), but i love it dearly.

soill is great quality for the price, but some of the sets are just wierd and sometimes injurious. Get the bandage jugs and the egg slopers. avoid the phone handles and the noses.

i've found that climb-it, project and DRCC climb really well but are cost-prohibitive.

The gym I set in have a variety of holds. Some are better for different things. Voodoo holds are my personal favorite. They definitely have the best shapers and they have a rubber back layer to prevent spinning. Rock candys are great texture wise and have amazing pinches and slopers. They do have a habit of the pores filling with chalk fairly quickly though but they clean up fine in a dish washer. 3ball and SoIll have some great stuff as well. I like nicros shapers. They have some great holds but they break much more often than brands. Their thinner stuff also don't have built in washers so make sure to use the tapered bolts on them. If you do get them be really careful on overtightening as this is the cause of breakage. I think some of the other brands just have a little more leeway with over torqueing. Just had a beefy two finger pocket on someone else problem blow off the wall yesterday. Luckily it was on me and not a patron. Check out Voodoo for sure, good prices too.
Wow did i just sound like a plastic loving gym rat, i swear i only work in a gym to fuel my expensive trad habit.

Just read the nicros rep post. Wasn't aware of your policy, glad to hear you stand behind ur product.