Vertical Pro 2024 Round Up
On Friday 22nd November, we caught the first flight out of London Heathrow and travelled to Friedrichshafen to experience our first Vertical Pro event. Long established as Europe's premiere meeting point for the whole indoor climbing industry.
The first impression was a little anticlimactic, seeing a well presented, but empty stage, and the entrance hall being as quiet as a library! However, once we turned left into the A7 hall, everything changed; the hum of a thousand conversations, bright lights, music, and countless holds and technologies were on display. This was only the first of THREE halls, all packed with stalls and businesses wanting to talk and show off their products.
Sustainability
A major focus for Vertical Pro 2024 was sustainability. Multiple companies showcasing their new or reimagined ranges to appeal to a more eco-conscious audience. Several talks were also dedicated to the topic, presented by industry leader from all over.
Beal has introduced a new manufacturing process where they take used car tyres, break them down into polymers and spin them into new ropes. Edelrid will soon be following with a similar recycling process of their own.
Greenholds has taken inspiration from the automotive world in order to produce their first range of fully recycled, and recyclable, holds. Definitely one to keep an eye on as they partner with other hold companies.
Both RockCity and Cheeta have reimagined their modifiable macros/wedges to include a replaceable wooden insert in order to more securely attach another hold.
Thermoformed plastic macros have developed massively for this year's show within multiple businesses. Many have embraced the lighter weight, more robust material and have pushed the limits of what the material can do.
New Boards
The fastest board we have seen to date was on display with newly formed French company, Piton Equipment, and is available through Expression Holds.
Spanish company ShinyWall unveiled their Standard Wall, which looks to be an ideal intermediate-level home board or compact gym board.
American brand SoIll had their new board available to play on alongside their totally new climbing shoe line up. The circular holds carry the backlight really well.
Walltopia unveiled their Quantum Board, with Stefano Ghisolfi and others throwing some impressive moves. A novelty of this wall, along with the wide range of hold types, was having holds on both aretes. With this in mind a gym would require good clearance on all sides to accommodate it.
New Shapes
Of course there were plenty of new holds on display! Everything from Chapter with their new Apex range, shown in a loud fluorescent green and white combo, which allows for 4 dual/full texture variations for every macro.
Blocz unveiled their Esperanto range of triangular macros and minis, we had an in depth talk with Helmar on the development process of the range, and finding the limits of thermoplastics. Also on display, hanging above us, were redesigned plywood volumes, sporting an eye-catching electric blue and grey colour scheme.
Expression Holds had a revamped selection on display, ranging from plywood volumes to macros and even new toolbelts for routesetters.
We caught international routesetter and co-owner of Contact Holds, Max Ayrton, to check out an expanded Pod range. These new shapes offer more positive options to accommodate commercially-focused setting.
Routesetter House showcased an impressive number of eye catching holds in the A6 hall along with their complete routesetter solution offerings.
Hardwear
Beal has released their refreshed Birdie belay device in a delightful range of colours. Alongside this, they have shown a new design language - every part of a product which comes into contact with the user is coloured purple; this includes the inside of harness waist straps and the handle of the Birdie. A simple and effective subliminal method for guiding correct use by the climber.
Edelrid showcased their new OHMEGA belay assistance device, an evolution of their OHM series, which allows for the customisable addition of friction into a lead belay setup to better suit a pair of climbers. The stepped increases are listed as adding 10, 20 or 30kgs of belayer ‘weight’. The device is a very neat and compact offering and will be a welcome addition to the rack of many climbing partners.
General Observations
Mint is the freshest colour around! With the advent of natural wall finishes, it appears that newer, softer colours are becoming more popular. An impressive number of hold companies had at least one product in mint. Expression Holds and Artline went all-in for their displays and they looked great.
Budgets are Growing
Handshakes and the clink of bottles abound across the show. Holds, volumes, equipment orders and wall quotes were happening everywhere we looked which filled us with confidence for the health of European climbing gyms. Numerous supplier/manufacturer start-ups were also either displaying solo, or pairing with larger businesses to make important first impressions.
AI is Inevitable
From the talks in the central atrium to the several AI-enabled businesses displaying, it's evident that the technology is working its way into the industry through gym and routesetting management software, autobelay warning packages, and, of course, marketing.
We had a great time exploring our first Vertical Pro event in a cold, but sunny, Friedrichshafen, and look forward to building on these new relationships and forging more in the lead-up to the next event in 2025. We will see you there!
