UKH

Hi All,

Can anyone recommend a cheaper alternative to ClimbOn balm?

I've tried using regular moisturiser before, but it seems to leave my skin too soft (rather than tough and leathery) for climbing.

I was considering trying this stuff - http://www.burtsbees.co.uk/natural-products/body-hands-and-feet-care/hand-s... - as gram for gram it is about a quarter of the price of ClimbOn. Anyone tried it before?

Cheers,
E

In reply to Eann:

Yeah does the trick. Also, sudocream works as good, but makes you smell a bit funny. And leave a big white greasy hand print on everything you touch for the next half hour.

In reply to Eann:

I started using Burt's Bees hand salve a couple of months ago after having the same thought process as you about the price of ClimbOn balm. It has pretty much all the same ingredients and you get a lot more for your money. However it does smell quite floral .
H

In reply to dr_botnik:

I've used a mixture of Sudocrem and tea tree oil with some success.

In reply to Eann:

Have you tried Neutragena 'Norwegian Formula' already? A tube lasts absolutely ages, you only need a tiny tiny bit at a time. Works for me, ymmv.

In reply to Eann:

Just use some cocoa/shea butter. A just melt a tiny bit in the palms of your hands and it will absorb.

In reply to hthom:

Good to know, thanks.

Any one tried O'Keeffe's Working Hands balm? - http://www.amazon.co.uk/OKeeffes-Working-Hands-Hand-Cream/dp/B005PA0UV4

In reply to Eann:

It is super greasy and stays on your hands forever. I think even Grangers G-Wax (used for proofing leather boots) is less greasy and I would rather use latter than Burt's Bees hand salve. However, Burt's Bees tin makes a good finger tape holder.

I currently have Climbskin which is better than any hand salve bars I have used (Climb On, Pro Balm, etc.). It's more like cream which is absorbed quicker. Climb On bars last forever (or, in my case, until you lose it) and if you get a bigger tub, it's not that expensive in the end.

In reply to deepsoup:

Another vote for Neutrogena Norwegian. £1.84 /50Ml in Boots.

Have heard udder cream is good, but not used it.

In reply to Eann:

I've heard that methylated spirits is really good for toughening up skin and making skin leathery.

Just make sure you filter it through bread to get rid of the dye before you drink it.

In reply to Eann:

Not sure if it's any cheaper but I like the Body Shop Hemp hand protector cream. http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/shop-by-range/hemp/hemp-hand-protector.aspx. It's £11 for 100ml and lasts ages.

The Norwegian formula stuff is pretty good too.

In reply to SenzuBean:

Are you joking? Have you used it? Sounds like a shortcut toassive flappers to me!

In reply to the thread:

Greasy is not a bad thing, ask a dermatologist. Stick it on at night, all good.

In reply to galpinos:




Semi-joking. Obviously methylated spirits should NEVER be drunk (I have accidentally tasted it, used it as my cooker fuel when trekking, and stored the stove in my mug... stove had a bit of fuel left over, forgot to rinse mug... - wasted a precious teabag and some milk powder) . But plenty of guitar players use it to help with callousing their fingers, and plenty of runners/walkers use it to help toughen their feet (to stop blisters). I haven't personally used it, so I guess that's why I went for a jokey post instead of a serious one. Just wanted to chuck it out there so people know about it.

In reply to SenzuBean:

The military used to advise using it, to toughen up the skin on your feet, to avoid blisters. Dabbing it on with cotton wool though

In reply to Eann:

A topic that I've been thinking about as I find the tenderness of my fingers can limit my climbing time well before muscles ache.

Some of these replies seem to focus on the moisturing effect but, like Eann, I do not want my skin too soft. So shoild I use Burt's Bees??

(I have also heard aboyt using spirits to toughen the skin but, again, no first hand experience or knowledge of anyone actually doing so)

In reply to Eann:

Pee on em

In reply to Eann:

Burt's Bee's is certainly not a replacement for the climbon bar, hard to compare it to the liquid form though if that's what you mean? It's much closer to the liquid form of climbon and nothing like the bar. Burt's Bees is an excellent moisturiser but I don't use it any more, except when desperate because it makes my fingertip skin very soft. I sometimes use an earbud to apply it to my cuticles only to stop them cracking.

I used to use lots of different creams when I first started climbing because my finger skin would wear through so quickly but I don't bother any more as I now understand that it's because my skin is so sweaty that it wears through quickly. I prefer to use antihydral to dry the fingertip skin out nowadays.

In reply to Eann:

Lush do a solid bar of hand cream that's pretty good
https://www.lush.co.uk/products/tiny-hands

In reply to Eann:

There's also this stuff http://www.climbersbalm.com/
however I've never used it & don't know if it's better and/or cheaper than ClimbOn

In reply to Flinticus:

I dunno. Anecdotally, I find moisturising creams (such as E45 or diprobase) actually have a detrimental effect on my hands. I don't know if this is because it softens them then I climb and damage the softer skin OR whether these things by oiling your skin, stop your bodies natural ability to produce oils in the skin and self moisturise. Either way, I find natural moisturisers (such as climb on or burt's bees) that have an olive oil/beeswax base (or similar, see sudocream) stop my hands deteriorating so quickly and recover quicker. As an aside; I work in the care profession and have to repeatedly wash my hands whilst at work and often apply a moisturiser throughout the day (unless I'm climbing in the evening).
Dunno if that helps.

In reply to the thread:

This topic reminds me of a time when I was in the hostel at el chorro having a similar conversation and a kiwi mate walked in and said "what the f*ck I thought climbers were meant to be dirtbags, when did you all grow vaginas"

So yeah, the real credit has to go to the people who make and sell climb on, ten years or so ago, none of us would have even talked about this. Nowadays, if you don't have some kind of nourishing skin rejuvenator in your climbing manbag, your behind the times.

In reply to Eann:

Http://www.mnkyfst.com/

(Not used myself, but know some of the guys who use it and have heard good things)

In reply to Eann: Another vote for Working Hands. I've used it successfully for years.

In reply to Eann:

Cheaper than climb on.....those little tins last for years!

In reply to Morgan Woods:

Indeedy. I don't think I ever worried about the price after the first tin I bought because it lasted so long. Wondered about trying an alternative recently and dug this up when trying to research what was out there:
http://thesevereclimber.com/2014/02/23/a-better-balm-review-of-hand-balms-f...
It suggests that there's a real difference in performance of the various options which is interesting.

In reply to Eann:

The body shop hemp stuff is good, or Aveno or Neutrogena

In reply to Eann:

Monkey Fist... if anything... it's not from far far away... Anyway, it works and it smells nice too or if you don't like any smell they have the vegan (100% natural) option that smells of nothing

Either way I'd say the cost it's not the issue, all climbing balms last for ages, literally 1/2 tubes per year... What's that? £10/20 per year? It's possibly the smallest number in my climbing budget which is topped by petrol and post climbing beer

In reply to dek:

Surely you're getting mixed up with SURGICAL spirit which has 'skin toughening' instructions on the bottle? Meths will dye your skin purple.

In reply to Eann:

Another vote for MonkeyFist. I've used Body Shop hemp stuff, Climbon, Metolius balm, Tip Juice (I think? Green?) and MonkeyFist is noticeably the most effective at aiding recovery.

It's lasting very well too, which of course improves economy. Prices amongst these balms are much of a muchness as far as I can see, so any savings are probably just a few pounds over the course of a year. And they make donations to nice charities from their profits. I'll promptly buy another tub when this one is on its last legs, perhaps even pushing the boat out and trying the banana push pop one...