Contact strength is a largely confusing term in climbing. Unlike something like max hangs on a hangboard, which is a pretty clear-cut concept at this point, I’ve heard all kinds of differing opinions on contact strength. And that’s no good for us science nerds! We need consistency and repeatability in order to reach useful conclusions. So is there actually one, science-based explanation of contact strength or is it just another climbing slang term that no one can agree on?
Summary:
00:00 Intro
00:34 What Our Viewers Say
01:29 New Format!
01:39 Part 1: Answers from the Research
02:43 Part 2: Answers from the Climbing Community
03:35 Part 3: Answers from the Research… Revisited!
05:12 Part 4: Contact Strength vs. Regular Strength
06:04 A fun demonstration!
07:22 Part 5: So what is contact strength?
08:06 Part 6: Okay nerd, who cares??
08:33 Conclusion and Bloopers
Hooper’s Beta is the climber’s library for training & injury recovery, created by Jason Hooper and Emile Modesitt. Visit their website and YouTube channel.
