Liquid Chalk?

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I actually enjoy using liquid chalk, especially in the summertime when my hands sweat most. It lasts a long time and it makes it so you use far less powder chalk. I also think it makes the powder chalk work better.

...and Dave Macleod uses it, so it must make you climb better.

But for $10? I bet it doesn't last very long either. I wonder if some cheap hand sanitizer (without lotion) would remove the oils from your skin. Then you add some chalk. Anyone tried this?

I usually mix epichlorohydrin and bisphenol-A which seems to work pretty well adhering to just about anything, but it gets a little warm.

I've used liquid chalk and it definitely lays down a good "base" coat on your hands. Doesn't mean you won't want chalk again that day, but in super humid conditions or for the big SEND it might come in handy.

I really dries out your hands though, so be careful not to overuse it and have all your skin peel off. Been there.

I have tried it. It is a pretty good product and it works well to put on liquid chalk as a base and then continue to use regular chalk as needed (but I feel like I use less regular chalk than I would otherwise). Alas, while I like it, it is over priced and I just bought one tube as an experiment. If a get real experimental, I may try to make my own, but it's probably not worth the bother.

Serious sport climbers (is that possible?) have mixed rubbing alcohol and climbing chalk together for many years and it works great. Especially on greasy limestone routes. Mammut recently got the idea of making a buck off of it.
R

I have tried it but not in the climbing context. Someone gave us some Johnson and Johnson type liquid powder for our baby shower. My wife won't put it on the baby and was about to throw it out when i snatched it. I tried it out, it dried my hands up good. I sweat a lot so I think I would still have to use regular chalk regardless. I agree probably a good base.

i've made my own with isopropyl alcohol (cheap from the store) and regular chalk and it works great. i also have terminally sweaty hands, and as paul said above, it lays down a nice chalk glove that acts as a good base level of dryness. give it a try. the first time you put it on your hand, your first reaction will be "this is the stupidest thing i have done all day", but then, after a few moments it will dry and you will be psyched.

Tyler King wrote:But for $10? I bet it doesn't last very long either. I wonder if some cheap hand sanitizer (without lotion) would remove the oils from your skin. Then you add some chalk. Anyone tried this?

Sounds interesting, I'll have to give it a go. Definitely cheaper than the branded liquid chalk. Seems like you would need to use it sparingly and/or use a healthy amount of lotion (after climbing) to keep your skin from falling off!

To those who have done the alcohol and chalk: do you mix them together and then apply, or would it suffice to put the alcohol on your hands followed by an application of chalk.

EDGE wrote: Put a finely powdered dry chalk in a heavy duty ziplock baggie, and slowly add isopropyl alcohol until you can knead it into a toothpaste-like consistency. Ideally you can now cut off a corner of the baggie and squeeze it into a plastic squeeze container with a screw top. Worst case is you cut off a corner of the baggie and apply it like decorating a cake, or open up the ziplock and reach in; either way is a bit messy. As stated above, this makes a good base layer before a hard send, particularly if you find it otherwise hard to chalk up. The alcohol does dry the skin, but also carries the chalk into your skin's creases like nothing else can. I used to give it to my youth competitors before big USA Climbing on-sights as both real and psychological advantage. Just follow up with a good moisturizer at the end of each day, and 2-3 times every non-climbing day.