Flare Pinch

Team Canada coach, Dallas Mix described a device that was missing in climbing training tools. He needed a tool for his athletes that targets lumbrical engagement specifically for slopers and flared pinches that are commonplace in competition climbing. Additionally, he disliked the inefficiency of loading pins, plates, carabiners, and traditional training blocks. This led to the development of the Flare Pinch.

After a full competition season of training with the first prototypes, the The Flare Pinch is the refinement of the initial iterations. It is specifically designed to work on open handed strength while also engaging the thumb muscles used in pinching. The lumbricals are very specific muscles that we engage when we’re using open handed slopers but we can’t train with traditional hangboards. This pinch block is a simple effective solution to training those muscles. 

The thumb side is gently incut to provide a confident grip on the Flare Pinch while the finger side features a subtle convex curvature for ergonomics and optimal lumbrical engagement.

The hook is specially designed for quick efficient turnover when changing weights in a team training environment when used with dumbbells. Training tools need to be shared. When multiple athletes need to use the same block, the time it takes to swap out plates, unclip caribiners, and lift adds up and slows the efficiency of practice. The hook design allows you to swap weights in a few seconds instead of a minute. Additionally, the shape of the hook is thoughtfully tailored for strength along the primary load bearing axis through thickening of the points of max moment forces.