The VooDoo Climbing Blog: May 2007

5/31/07

new voodoo tanks

Michelle & I printed shirts last week & they turned out great! They're only $10.00 - postage paid. Ladies Ribbed Beater Tanks available in Medium & Large - 100% combed ringspun cotton

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5/30/07

Whew! What a crazy couple of weeks! It looks like Crash Pad busy season once again. The temps are perfect here in Flagstaff but Frank, Gina N. & I took off May 16th-20th for a fun trip to Moab, Utah. Frank did a mountain bike ride that started in Fruita Colorado at midnight and rode the Kokopelli Trail 140+ miles all the way into Moab. This is Frank’s idea of fun – it took him a little over 17 hours which is pretty awesome for on-sighting the trail!!! There were about 60 other riders gathered for this unsupported, group ride and I hear about 30 or so finished. Eek!
My idea of fun is camping in beautiful Moab and heading over to the Big Bend bouldering area for a couple of warm sessions, playing in the river, hanging out with good friends, drinking margaritas & eating yummy food. Shelly & Jonathan joined us on Saturday and we had a great time bouldering & waiting around for Frank to finish the ride! While we all drooled over the cool slick rock riding - Shelly talked us into a fall trip to the Canyon lands to ride the white rim trail. Good times!

5/15/07

sandstone bouldering

Michelle & I climbed at Kelly Canyon on Saturday. Not many photos since it was just the two of us but it was a fun sloper session.

5/8/07

more custom crash pads

A super cute Highball 4000 custom crash pad made for James S. - a gift for his girlfriend!

Here's a wild 4000 made for Annie - it's a super plush wavy fur fabric - I want to put it under a shady tree and take a nap!

5/7/07

chalk bags in stock

We spent last weekend in Tucson visiting Frank's Parents - Pierce & Wilene. It was a short trip but we made time to play. Pierce, Gina N. & I did a 10k race on Sunday – Pierce placed 2nd in his age group & we both ate his dust!). Frank did a long road bike ride up Mt. Lemmon while I got the grand tour of Mt Lemmon climbing possibilities – we are definitely going back to climb some routes! (Thanks Jeff & Gina for the tour!)
Okay, back to business… Pierce & Wilene make all VooDoo chalk bags, chalk kegs, chalk floor bags, Accessory bags, and gear bags. They produce the highest quality products & they’ve been hard at work on chalk bags lately! Above is a photo of their most recent run of chalk bags. Wilene also found time to work on a new prototype of the new VooDoo Tote bag - it's very nice and I know it’s going to be tough to decide which color I want – I might have to get one for everyday of the week! I'll post a photo of the new bag soon.

5/3/07

my new highball 5000

I was torn between a swanky gold velvet and this super bright aqua velvet. I L O V E it!

5/1/07

fun bouldering

We spent last Saturday bouldering at the Draw. The weather was gorgeous, the climbing was fun & the company was awesome! Michelle took some great photos –I’ll post more when I get them - here is a cool photo of Scott on Twister.

A few VooDoo Innovations

Environmentally Responsible
The original environmentally responsible urethane climbing hold: VooDoo holds are made with a bombproof semi elastic mix. Our specially formulated polyurethane mix is non TDI, non mercury and our pigments are lead free, creating a safer climbing hold for the buyer and the manufacturer. After 15 years of working with urethanes and understanding all of the benefits we’re happy to see other hold companies are finally switching to urethanes.

Pure Base Technology
VooDoo created a unique manufacturing process that allows us to laminate a pure, semi-flexible base (comparable to the consistency of a modern skateboard wheel) to the standard core material of our holds. The advantages:
*Semi-flexible base adjusts to the surface contours of climbing walls
*Softer base creates more friction between the hold and the wall, dramatically reducing spinning holds.
*Improves the safety and durability of our holds by allowing the edge of the hold to flex rather than chip off and create ugly and sometimes dangerous sharp edges.
*Pure Base does not alter the shape or the texture of the climbing hold, and has been tested to withstand the common cleaning solutions used by climbing gyms across the country.

Dual Texture holds
VooDoo was the first to create dual texture holds and we are still the best at it. The slick texture forces the climber to use the textured gripping surface on the hold which requires more accuracy. Dual texture holds are many course setters’ favorites because they make it difficult to cheat a move.

Hollow Back holds
VooDoo revolutionized the hold industry by inventing the hollow back hold. The hollow backs make our holds lightweight and easier to handle while setting routes. By using less material we keep the cost of the hold and shipping down.

Sliding bolts
Another VooDoo innovation, with a sliding bolt there are more options to use existing t nut locations, allowing you to slide the bolt where you need it. Two attachment points make it so the bigger holds can’t spin.