Rope climbing with Gloves... cheating?

Started by bigB, November 16, 2014 · 3 Replies · 7,693 Views

bigB
With winter coming fast, my hands have gotten dry and my rope is slippery polyplus.

 

For my rope climbing session( 5 sets of 15 ft), I decided to wear some rubber grip gloves vs Liquid Grip.

Climbing the rope has never been easier.

 

I know part of the benefit of climbing is improving grip strength.

However, every time anyone has tried to climb my polyplus rope without chalk or resin it's been a huge failure, usually not being able to leave the ground.

 

The rope is slick as silk. Someday, I'll get a chance to climb a manilla rope for comparison.

 

Is climbing a rope with gloves cheating?

 

Would quick drying adhesive be cheating?

 

Do you use anything to enhance your grip?

TANSTAAFL

I wouldn't go as far as 'cheating.' With a slick rope there's really not another option. I imagine the gloves on a slippery rope will make the overall exercise slightly easier than bare hands on a traditional climbing rope. It could also facilitate overuse in other areas more quickly (i.e. elbows, etc.) if you're not super cautious, as I would the think it would enable your grip to last longer than it would normally.

 

Just know that you want to eventually get a manilla/similar with bare hands to get the full benefit.

Murray Truelove

Chalk could be another alternative. Liquid chalk makes the least mess.

I wouldn't call gloves cheating, especially if it's a slippery rope.

bigB

Mueller's Quick Drying Adherent(spray resin) is the solution I had been looking for to keep my grip on the poly-plus rope. I just had to re-chalk and my grip was solid. It's hard to remove, I used Orange extract. Apparently olive or vegetable oil might work too.