Why don’t they make indoor boulder pads softer?

I’ve travelled to many places, and more often than not the pads at the indoor climbing gyms are as hard as a rock. Jumping from the top can easily result in a broken foot when I slip off from my v2 project. These indoor pads generally have multiple layers and they are pretty thick. Why don’t they purchase pads that are softer? Aside from having to replace the pads sooner and therefore costing the company money. Even a tad bit softer pad goes a long way, and that doesn’t necessarily mean the company will need to replace the pads that much sooner..

when I sit on indoor pads, I’ve never thought “oh this is such a good softness for falling”, it’s usually alongside, “this is so rough”.

1/10

Climber Reviewer wrote:

I’ve travelled to many places, and more often than not the pads at the indoor climbing gyms are as hard as a rock. Jumping from the top can easily result in a broken foot when I slip off from my v2 project. These indoor pads generally have multiple layers and they are pretty thick. Why don’t they purchase pads that are softer? Aside from having to replace the pads sooner and therefore costing the company money. Even a tad bit softer pad goes a long way, and that doesn’t necessarily mean the company will need to replace the pads that much sooner..

when I sit on indoor pads, I’ve never thought “oh this is such a good softness for falling”, it’s usually alongside, “this is so rough”.

To make a real difference to injuries the pads would have to be too soft to walk on. Do you want to wade a ball pit to get on your proj?

Having reviewed Climber Reviewer’s post history, we find that he/she/it/them is a tad bit soft. More than a tad bit, to be honest. A firming layer of iron supplementation and testosterone replacement therapy would make for better reading.

Troll or not, they have a point. Tall walls + rough, stiff pads means nobody wants to risk falling sideways once they're halfway up the bouldering wall.

Big Red wrote:

Troll or not, they have a point. Tall walls + rough, stiff pads means nobody wants to risk falling sideways once they're halfway up the bouldering wall.

Yeah, weak troll, but I have definitely been to many gyms where the mat quality doesn't stand up to their wall heights. There are couple local gyms where I'm willing to go to the top, and couple where I absolutely won't try a hard move in the last 5 feet of the wall.

And there is a lot of variation in mat firmness/thickness between different gyms. Seems like it would be one of those things that would be standardized by now, for insurance reasons, if nothing else. Or maybe it IS already standardized, and the gyms have an option to choose from "basic" (lowest safety-concern-acceptable), "premier" (more durable/better cushioning), and "lux" (the one that climbers want, but gym isn't willing to pay for, lol).

In a lot of gyms I have noticed that the mats they have under Kilter/Tension board is of different quality (and usually better) than the mats they have in their general bouldering area. I wonder why that is...

Tradiban wrote:

Do you want to wade a ball pit to get on your proj?

absolutely 

Tradiban wrote:

To make a real difference to injuries the pads would have to be too soft to walk on. Do you want to wade a ball pit to get on your proj?

Yes. 

Lena chita wrote:

Yeah, weak troll, but I have definitely been to many gyms where the mat quality doesn't stand up to their wall heights. There are couple local gyms where I'm willing to go to the top, and couple where I absolutely won't try a hard move in the last 5 feet of the wall.

And there is a lot of variation in mat firmness/thickness between different gyms. Seems like it would be one of those things that would be standardized by now, for insurance reasons, if nothing else. Or maybe it IS already standardized, and the gyms have an option to choose from "basic" (lowest safety-concern-acceptable), "premier" (more durable/better cushioning), and "lux" (the one that climbers want, but gym isn't willing to pay for, lol).

In a lot of gyms I have noticed that the mats they have under Kilter/Tension board is of different quality (and usually better) than the mats they have in their general bouldering area. I wonder why that is...

I've had the EXACT same experience.  I won't name the gyms, but there's a bouldering only gym in SE Va that I always go to when I'm down that way.  They have walls on the taller side, but the pads are sweet.  There is a big pad, then thinner, softer padding all surrounded by a cover that allows you to kind of slip into an awkward fall instead of coming to an abrupt stop.  Another gym, in Richmond, has had at least a dozen people that I know of break bones from falling from the top of the wall.  The two different venues have exactly the same bouldering wall height. One of my friends who was a fairly avid and strong boulderer quit climbing entirely because of his extensive injury.  Honestly, I don't know how there isn't a class action suit against the gym.  I guess waivers do serve a purpose.  The only difference between the two gyms basically is the padding.  At one, I'll throw for something at the top while heel-hooked over my head and not really think twice, and at the other, I downclimb after a clean send halfway down the wall because the padding sucks THAT BAD.

Climber Reviewer wrote:

I’ve travelled to many places, and more often than not the pads at the indoor climbing gyms are as hard as a rock. Jumping from the top can easily result in a broken foot when I slip off from my v2 project. These indoor pads generally have multiple layers and they are pretty thick. Why don’t they purchase pads that are softer? Aside from having to replace the pads sooner and therefore costing the company money. Even a tad bit softer pad goes a long way, and that doesn’t necessarily mean the company will need to replace the pads that much sooner..

when I sit on indoor pads, I’ve never thought “oh this is such a good softness for falling”, it’s usually alongside, “this is so rough”.

Before these new fangled flooring systems, we had US Gym Mats, which is intended for gymnastics, they were pretty hard. To supplement, we made huge movable bouldering pads stuffed with foam, so the customer can choose if they wanted the harder or softer landing.

Climber Reviewer wrote:

I’ve travelled to many places, and more often than not the pads at the indoor climbing gyms are as hard as a rock. Jumping from the top can easily result in a broken foot when I slip off from my v2 project. These indoor pads generally have multiple layers and they are pretty thick. Why don’t they purchase pads that are softer? Aside from having to replace the pads sooner and therefore costing the company money. Even a tad bit softer pad goes a long way, and that doesn’t necessarily mean the company will need to replace the pads that much sooner..

when I sit on indoor pads, I’ve never thought “oh this is such a good softness for falling”, it’s usually alongside, “this is so rough”.

Do you wear your helmet?

Tradiban wrote:

Before these new fangled flooring systems, we had US Gym Mats, which is intended for gymnastics, they were pretty hard. To supplement, we made huge movable bouldering pads stuffed with foam, so the customer can choose if they wanted the harder or softer landing.

I liked this system, the big soft moveable pad with tapered edges worked well for tall projects. Gyms are probably too crowded for this nowadays.

I get the hard landings, they suck. You really need to climb in more control with the stiff pads and crumble/roll when landing from high up.

Its all better than a 4'x4' pad on the rocks.

Tradiban wrote:

Before these new fangled flooring systems, we had US Gym Mats, which is intended for gymnastics, they were pretty hard. To supplement, we made huge movable bouldering pads stuffed with foam, so the customer can choose if they wanted the harder or softer landing.

Oh yeah, those! I remember the extra dose of excitement you’d get when some Gumby would blithely walk underneath you mid-climb to pull the bouldering pad over to his problem.