Which chalk is the right one for me?
IMAGINE THE WHOLE THING AS A MULTI-STORY HOUSE with a wide shared ground floor featuring two separate staircases—one leading to BLOCK A, the other to BLOCK B.
Every house needs a solid FOUNDATION. At Tokyo Powder, this foundation is PURE, from which SPEED and EFFECT are created by adding specific essences. Both are versatile chalks for sweaty or dry skin. I’d recommend SPEED more for the warmer part of the year and for climbers with sweatier fingers. EFFECT is better for colder days or for less moist skin.
The WALLS of the ground floor must also be made of the finest materials, and in this case, that’s BLACK. A versatile high-friction chalk suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. Great for sweaty and dry skin alike. BLACK is synonymous with Tokyo Powder—the strongest all-rounder that delivers high friction regardless of the season or rock type. Thanks to its versatility, it's the first choice for many climbers.
BLOCK A is on the south side, sunny and warm with dry walls. On the first floor are two SUNNY, DRY APARTMENTS – SUPER B and RX. It’s hard to say which one is better.
RX is the top-tier chalk when it comes to performance in friction. It combines the qualities of BOOST and BLACK. Even though it may seem like RX wears off your hands quickly at first, the friction remains much longer. It offers incredible grip especially on smooth rock with very low natural friction or slick plastic holds.
SUPER B is the result of further development of BLACK and RX. It applies better to the hands, lasts longer, and offers superb friction. Again, the friction stays even after the chalk is gone from your hands. It performs excellently on polyurethane-based holds.
BLOCK B is on the north side, cold, damp, and leaky after rain. On the first floor are two COLD AND WET APARTMENTS – ZERO TT and V3.
V3 completely changes the game in extremely wet or cold conditions. While other chalk would have you crying into your pillow, with V3 in your pack, you can send your project even on a miserably ugly day—it’s unbelievable. The wetter it gets, the more it outperforms other chalks.
ZERO TT is a highly stable blend with excellent friction, allowing you to perform in ever-changing outdoor conditions. Its HIGH STABILITY is unique to ZERO.TT, making it suitable for all seasons—from sweaty summer days to cold winter climbs. Its LONG-LASTING nature makes it ideal for rope climbing or long boulders.
IN EVERY APARTMENT, and on the ground floor too, you can turn on the heating or AC. In our metaphor, that’s more like a DRYER or HUMIDIFIER—BOOST and REACT. While these are base layers UNDER your chalk, they are enhancements. They TAKE YOUR PERFORMANCE to another level—boosting both friction and duration.
BOOST is perfect when your skin is dry, or the air is so dry that you can’t grip the holds.
REACT is your solution when humidity is high, your fingers are worn, or you naturally sweat a lot.
I recommend carrying at least two chalk bags with different products. One bag for regular climbing days, warm-ups, and easier routes or boulders: BLACK, SPEED, EFFECT. For some climbers, even this combo can make a significant difference in friction and chalk longevity. After some individual workshops, there are climbers for whom this turns out to be the best combo.
In the second bag, something from Block A – RX or SUPER B – or something from Block B – V3 or ZERO TT.
If you’re not a fan of loose chalk when rope climbing and don’t want to use CHALKTOPUS, throw in V3 or RX chalk chunks, and you'll gradually see the benefits of powder chalk. My favorite mix for limit attempts with a rope is V3 and ZERO TT, or RX and SUPER B. It depends on the humidity, temperature, and condition of my finger skin. The beauty of all this is that if you carry something from Block A and Block B, it's very likely that bad conditions won’t be the reason for your failure.
– Riči