29 November 2014

Compressions sleeves could explain "market" grades

If it turns out to be true that the Vertic Sleeves will increase the climbers blood circulation, as the compression helps the veins to get rid of the old used blood faster, we just might have to start down grading the endurance test-pieces. The grading scale tries to measure and compare different styles of climbing and if it turns out that everyone can climb one grade harder on just long overhanging routes by bying a pair, all these routes must be down graded. Stefano Ghisolfi is using the compression sleeves in Red River Gorge and he has since marked all route as "Soft". "They are not magic, you cannot climb a grade harder if you wear them, but they can help. The positive thing is that you can feel the forearm, like Kinesiotape, when you are climbing, and they are very good in cold days. (c) Andrea Cossu Probably, the sleeves has just a minor effect, a very long way from one grade difference, but if it turns out that they have any positive impact at all, some of softest routes need to be down graded. Hopefully, this theoretical example can also help climbers to understand how the grades works in practice. Climbers are consumers of grades and we set them in a similar way as the market sets the price based on supply and demand. 8a will test the sleeves and make a review.
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