Carpe Antiperspirant instead of Antihydral for sweaty hands?

Recently have been interested in antihydral as I have naturally sweaty hands and often all the chalk on my hands are gone after just a few moves. I realize antihydral should be used with caution as it can develop thick calluses and lead to splitters/flappers more easily and when searching I came across this product called Carpe which is an antiperspirant for hands. The active ingredient is Aluminum Sesquichlorohydrate. Apparently it stops sweaty palms. Has anyone here tried this? 

Haven’t tried it. I would just go for the Rhino stuff. The Performance cream is good and not too intense to lead to splits and stuff like that. 

Hoping to hear more feedback on this. Antihydral and Rhino stuff didn’t work well for me. 

Iontophoresis is another alternative and is quite effective. There's been a bit of discussion here, and Mark Anderson wrote a blog post a few years back.

I used iontophoresis for about a year  (circa 2015) with good results, but eventually stopped and switched to Rhino products when those became available. Plus life got busier and the major downside to iontophoresis was the time required. The Rhino products are a lot more convenient to use than zapping your hands for 20 min.

The Rhino products are good, and there are enough different options there that you should be able to find something to match your needs. Many people use a combination of products for best results. I'd suggest reaching out to the company with your specific circumstances, and they may be able to recommend the right setup for you.

Ben E wrote:

Recently have been interested in antihydral as I have naturally sweaty hands and often all the chalk on my hands are gone after just a few moves. I realize antihydral should be used with caution as it can develop thick calluses and lead to splitters/flappers more easily and when searching I came across this product called Carpe which is an antiperspirant for hands. The active ingredient is Aluminum Sesquichlorohydrate. Apparently it stops sweaty palms. Has anyone here tried this? 

Rhino doesn't work well for me, makes my hands more powdery and irritated under hot water. I've been using antihydral for a few years without issue, (no tears or splits). I apply once a week on Wednesday overnight and by the weekend I'm good to go. Just make sure to sand down the thicker areas. I also find it super helpful when I've worn my skin down to nothing since antihydral builds back thicker skin quickly. Just make sure to to keep out of the crevasses of your fingers and you'll be good to go.

i've used antihydral (didn't really like it, it made my skin hard and slick), tite-grip (anti-perspirant cream, works pretty well, cheap, easy to use), and an iontophoresis machine (definitely the best, but takes a bit of committment).  when i was a serious climber i used a combination of the iontophoresis machine and the tite-grip and that worked really, really well.  i think the iontophoresis machine alone was probably a 2 letter grade help.

Bryan wrote:

Haven’t tried it. I would just go for the Rhino stuff. The Performance cream is good and not too intense to lead to splits and stuff like that. 

Thanks for the suggestion. I saw the Rhino Dry at my gym today so picked some up. Gonna put it to the test this weekend. 

slim wrote:

i've used antihydral (didn't really like it, it made my skin hard and slick), tite-grip (anti-perspirant cream, works pretty well, cheap, easy to use), and an iontophoresis machine (definitely the best, but takes a bit of committment).  when i was a serious climber i used a combination of the iontophoresis machine and the tite-grip and that worked really, really well.  i think the iontophoresis machine alone was probably a 2 letter grade help.

Great to know. I did already getbsome Rhino Dry spray and antihydral cream. Probably gonna try them out but if I have a bad experience I’ll definitely look into titegrip. The iontophoresis machine sounds intriguing also, I’ve never heard of that. Sounds like it really works well. Thanks for the insight. 

Two notes: 

Rhino Dry is one of their more potent offerings. A great product, but use lightly and with caution, especially when first getting accustomed to using it. If the Dry seems a bit too powerful, the performance cream is a step down in potency.

Iontophoresis: If I recall correctly, slim got the legit medical iontophoresis machine. Which is the best and easiest to use, but also $$$$. If you don't want to go all in on the $$$$ medical machine, you can build a sketchy homemade version for $20 with 2 metal bowls, some 6 volt batteries, and wire connectors. This was the setup I used, and it works. Proceed with caution and research thoroughly for yourself though ..

JCM wrote:

Two notes: 

...

Iontophoresis: If I recall correctly, slim got the legit medical iontophoresis machine. Which is the best and easiest to use, but also $$$$. If you don't want to go all in on the $$$$ medical machine, you can build a sketchy homemade version for $20 with 2 metal bowls, some 6 volt batteries, and wire connectors. This was the setup I used, and it works. Proceed with caution and research thoroughly for yourself though ..

haha.  my first one was a pair of big 6V batteries.  my second one was a DC current supply (~100 bucks) which ranged from 0-30V (but also up to something like 10 amps, which is fucking crazy. i always had to double check it to make sure my wife wasn't trying to kill me). my 3rd one was about 500 bucks, but definitely the best.

with a "low budget" iontophoresis machine you get a pretty good "taste of it" (as electricians like to put it...) when you first dip your hands in the water and also when you take them out.  with the nice one, you put your hands in at zero voltage, it senses that you have completed the circuit and then raises the voltage to whatever setting you made. then, when it times out it tapers back down to zero. much more civilized!

man, when you have your skin just right it is like velcro suede leather. the holds feel so fucking good!

I found that iontophoresis skin (dry but still pliable) was best for smoother holds on fine-grained rock (such as at Index), whereas antihydril skin (thick stiff callus) was best for sharper holds on coarsely crystalline rock. I distinctly remember lowering off after sending a hard (for me) thin face climb in Squamish (Vorpal Sword) with tiny crystals for holds and saying to my partner there is no way I could have held on to those crystals without antihydril. 

Ive been using Carpe recently after using Rhino.  I think I prefer Carpe over Rhino.  I use less product and definitely don't chalk up as much using Carpe.  

I used this years before I started climbing and it worked super well!! I didn't use it a ton though so I'm not sure what the effects of overuse could be

Kevin Mokracek wrote:

Ive been using Carpe recently after using Rhino.  I think I prefer Carpe over Rhino.  I use less product and definitely don't chalk up as much using Carpe.  

Good to know. I ended up getting rhino dry, it works fairly well but not amazing. The actual antihydral cream I got works better but it seems super strong. How often do you use the Carpe? Just before climbing? Or every day or few days regardless? 

Steve Olson wrote:

I used this years before I started climbing and it worked super well!! I didn't use it a ton though so I'm not sure what the effects of overuse could be

Glad it works well for you. How often do you use it? 

Ben E wrote:

Good to know. I ended up getting rhino dry, it works fairly well but not amazing. The actual antihydral cream I got works better but it seems super strong. How often do you use the Carpe? Just before climbing? Or every day or few days regardless? 

Just before climbing, maybe 30-45 minutes prior to climbing seems to work well.  I only use it prior to climbing and not a daily not on a daily basis or days prior.  I haven't used it right before climbing as in a few minutes before but would think it would probably work fine.  I also use about a pea size amount, a little goes a long way.

Kevin Mokracek wrote:

Just before climbing, maybe 30-45 minutes prior to climbing seems to work well.  I only use it prior to climbing and not a daily not on a daily basis or days prior.  I haven't used it right before climbing as in a few minutes before but would think it would probably work fine.  I also use about a pea size amount, a little goes a long way.

Great, that sounds a lot more convenient then trying to remember the night before and sleeping with antihydral on. Going to pick some up and try it out this weekend, thanks! 

I tried antihydral for my hopelessly sweaty hands recently. I applied a thick coat every night for 5 nights in a row and had 0 effect. I sweat right through that shit. Anyone else have the same experience? I'm so sick of never being able to climb hard because I am sweating. It's always the crux of every climb for me.

Michael Brown wrote:

I tried antihydral for my hopelessly sweaty hands recently. I applied a thick coat every night for 5 nights in a row and had 0 effect. I sweat right through that shit. Anyone else have the same experience? I'm so sick of never being able to climb hard because I am sweating. It's always the crux of every climb for me.

really. that's impressive!
Maybe ask a dermatologist and check out this recsource Sweat Help

Mr Rogers wrote:

really. that's impressive!
Maybe ask a dermatologist and check out this recsource Sweat Help

Thanks, I'll check that page out! It's extra frustrating because I don't have hyperhidrosis or anything like that and I don't sweat excessively any time other than when I'm climbing, and it's exclusively my fingertips. But the second I start climbing my hands are just soaked. I can climb pretty well once it gets below freezing, but that time frame just isn't long enough and there's usually snow on the ground during that season which complicates things.