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Ready to take your finger strength to the next level? If so, the 13 hangboards in this review will play a part in your path to success. With more science behind finger training, more training companies than ever before, and more types of climbing training apparatus, choosing the correct hangboard for your specific needs can feel like a daunting task. We have put years of hangboard testing and training experience into this review to help you make the right decision and get on with pushing those grades. For this recent update, we used refreshed metrics and the most modern knowledge of finger strength training.
While finger strength plays a huge role in our ability to get up a climb, there are many other things to consider in climbing success. For all the other equipment you may need, our library of climbing gear reviews is there to help. From different types of chalk to help you squeeze the most out of your hangboard workout to the best climbing shoes on the market or the best climbing harnesses, we have reviews to help inform your next climbing-related purchase.
Editor's Note: We updated our hangboard review on May 17, 2024, to assess our lineup and to include more information on our testing process.
The Tension Climbing Grindstone takes home our award for best overall hangboard. While simple in appearance, this board packs a serious punch of features that make it exceptional for modern hangboarding. We love the feel of the edges — in fact, they're so comfortable you can easily drop fingers to train pocket climbing if you desire. The jug on top runs the whole board length and is shaped like a real pull-up bar, allowing for many comfortable grip options. We're also huge fans of the hold layout, which keeps the hands at the same width no matter which edge size you're training on. The labeled edge sizes allow for easily trackable training and transfer well to other popular boards you may find at a climbing gym. With edges from 30mm to 10mm in 5mm increments, this board allows for warming up and training hard. If you're really feeling strong, bear down on the 8mm edge that's also included.
Given that the largest edge on the Grindstone is 30mm, beginner climbers might feel limited by what they can train. If you want larger hold options but still seek the comfort of a Tension board, consider the Tension Whetstone, which is more beginner-friendly. Intermediate to elite level climbers will find plenty of edge variety with this option to train hard continually. Minimal critiques and all, we think the excellent comfort and simple layout the Grindstone offers steals the show for the bulk of finger strength training scenarios.
Here you can see the subtle labeled hold layout on the Grindstone, which keeps the hands the same width apart no matter what edge you're training.
The Tension Flash Board is not a traditionally styled hangboard, but it packs a lot of features into a small, portable, and affordable board. Highly comfortable, this board is a pleasure to pull onto. While we see the Flash Board at the crag often as a warm-up tool for hard climbing, its standard edge sizes make it a great do-it-all option. The board has standard 20mm, 15mm, 10mm, and 8mm edges. Its round shape makes it a comfy pull-up bar, and there are hold options in the center for one-arm training. Hanging the board is as simple as looping it around your foot, hanging it off a hook above the door, or attaching it to your local gym's pull-up bar. Climbers on the move and van-lifers rejoice; this board may be the solution for your lifestyle.
The Flash Board is an excellent choice for comfort and portability, but the largest edge is 20mm. Climbers with less training experience will find it to be a challenging training tool unless accustomed to this hold size. Climbers with good training experience shopping for a portable quiver of one hangboard will find a lot of use for this board. From warming up at the crag in a skin-friendly way to pulling your max hangs after work, the Flash Board offers a lot of value. If you're looking for a more entry-level model, the So iLL Meagan Martin Training Tiles edges range from 24mm to 50mm.
The author getting in a quick session with the Flash Board after a ski in the Tetons.
Material: Polyurethane | Dimensions: 12.1" x 9.1" x 3.5" per piece; 2 pieces
REASONS TO BUY
Most hold variety in our lineup
Horizontal pinches
Easy on the skin for plastic
Progression of difficulty on variable edge
REASONS TO AVOID
Non-standard edge sizes
Challenging to mount
If you don't want to be limited by what you can hang off of, it's hard to beat the Trango Rock Prodigy Training Center. True to its namesake, this board truly is a training center — with variations for practically any hold imaginable, it can be hard to find a limit to what weaknesses you can work on. The pinches really stand out as they offer three different grip positions, oriented horizontally on the board. The horizontal pinches force you to engage your thumbs to hang on, compared to vertical pinches, which you can “cheat” through compression. The variable edge sizes allow for almost limitless steps in progression as you work your way down to smaller sizes. These edges have index bumps, enabling you to repeat finger placement precisely every time you hang. When adjusting our grip based on these bumps, we found 16 different edge sizes.
Despite the significant variety offered, most of our hangboard training is on four-finger edges. Pockets and the like are terrific for route-specific training, but they can also be trained more specifically on a climbing wall. If you want maximum training options, know that the Training Center is top-tier for a reason. Even so, we know space can be a limiting factor. If you seek simplicity or a more compact option, the Beastmaker 1000 is a space-efficient design.
The Trango Rock Prodigy Training Center offers the highest variety of holds to train on in our test.
The now legendary Beastmaker 1000 takes home our pick for space efficiency. Born out of the training scene in the UK, the Beastmaker boards were made for small basement training areas like those we've seen for decades. When space matters, you have to make every bit count, and this board does just that. At only 6" high, this is the second shortest true hangboard in our test, but it packs way more into that space than competitors of a similar size. With a row of larger four to two-finger pockets in the 45mm range, a second row of pockets in the 20mm range, a 15mm edge, 2 slopers, and jugs, this board has everything to warm up on and train hard. If you have free weights at home, that 20mm edge can be used to build strength for a long time by adding weight to your body.
Given its space-saving size, the Beastmaker 1000 offers a lot, but the progression between hold depths is quite large and doesn't let you easily work through sizes incrementally. Instead, you will need to add challenge by doing hangs on pockets or by adding weight to yourself (see our article on the best weight vests for recommendations). If you want maximum efficiency, this shortcoming shouldn't turn you away, as you will get many years of training on this board without seeing limitations. When we want a hangboard to fit the smallest parts of our house without compromising variety, this classic board is it. If you prefer a model offering better progression on edges, check out the Trango Rock Prodigy Training Center.
The Beastmaker 1000 with our doorway board mount offer a lightweight and minimally invasive training setup.
Material: Urethane | Dimensions: 14" x 8" x 3" per piece; 2 pieces
REASONS TO BUY
Good holds for new climbers
Comfortable edge angles
Progressive difficulty
REASONS TO AVOID
Harder to mount
No holds under 25mm
Rougher on skin than wood
The So iLL Meagan Martin Training Tiles is our favorite option for entry-level climbers. If you've only been climbing for a year or so without training and are looking to start, the Training Tiles are a great choice. This hangboard has seriously comfy edges, which is great if you're just getting started. There are plenty of options for larger holds here that make warming up and progressing through hold sizes a breeze. The large pockets offer a great intro to pocket training, and the slopers create a pleasant platform for open-hand training.
The texture of this board is a bit rough despite the very comfy edges. This can help create friction for those new to hangboarding, but those who find it too rough can smooth things out with a light hit of sandpaper. If you're looking for larger hold options in a high-quality hangboard, the Training Tiles will keep you busy for a long time. We don't often see training offerings at this level, and we are excited this hangboard is on the market. When you're ready to upgrade to smaller holds, the Tension Climbing Grindstone is an excellent option for intermediate to elite skill levels.
For those new to finger training, the Training Tiles offer up a good selection of comfy holds.
Credit: Dom Rickicki
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Easily warm-up without trashing your skin on a portable wooden board.
Credit: Dom Rickicki
How We Test Hangboards
With a decade of experience testing and training on hangboards, our team has tested dozens of options, from stand-by classics to modern updates to up-and-comers. We purchased every single one of these boards, and our test team put them through extensive testing with the help of physical therapists, professional climbers, and undercover crushers. We considered their hold varieties, evaluated the texture and ergonomics for comfort, assessed overall versatility, and even accounted for how easy they were to install. From daily finger health workouts like Emil Abrahamsson's submaximal protocol to pre-climb hangboard warm-ups to pure max strength training sessions, we were able to log a lot of mileage on these boards and rate them on 4 key performance metrics:
Variety of Holds (40% of overall score weighting)
Comfort (30% weighting)
Versatility (15% of weighting)
Ease of Mounting (15% weighting)
Why Trust GearLab
Our lead tester Dom Rickicki used this data to test and rank all the models in this lineup. Dom is an AMGA Certified Rock Guide that brings over a decade of climbing and training experience to the table for this review. Residing in the climbing epicenter of Estes Park, CO, surrounded by some of the hardest boulder problems in the country, alpine big walls like The Diamond, hard single pitch test pieces, and a storied history of climbing, he is continually motivated to progress. As an enjoyer of all disciplines of climbing and a climber with serious attention to detail in his gear, he was able to break down our list of boards to help you choose what's best for your style, needs, and budgets.
The systematic layout, wide selection of grips, and variable mounting positions all make this board a personal training center that is truly customizable to your ability and training regime.
We burned out on a whole lot of hangboards to help you find the best fit.
We've seen enough variations of mounts to be confident that where there's a will, there's a way to mount a training board. DIY-folks will especially love the challenge.
Analysis and Test Results
The most important part of training for climbing is consistency. Fad training routines may help you see quick gains, but if your training falls off after that, those gains won't last long. Most of the top-end advice these days shows that consistent training, over the course of many years, results in the highest gains in climbing specific strength. With that in mind, the best hangboard for you will be the one that you will use consistently throughout the year.
Simple boards with comfortable edges and a good progression of difficulty keep our testers consistently training.
Credit: Dom Rickicki
The hangboards that our testers most often reach for have a variety of edge depths that can be used for warming up, training hard, and varying stimuli. We value boards that maximize the comfort and longevity of the skin. We also want boards that are easy enough to mount that you actually put them up. For most boards, there is a degree of tradeoff between variety and comfort as different materials allow for either maximum variety or maximum comfort. To help you further find exactly what fits your needs, we break down our testing metrics below.
Value
Hangboards can come in at a wide range of prices. On the top end of this price range, we often see high levels of hold variety, chosen with significant research. The edge depths will be laser-precise and well-labeled while also having excellent comfort and ergonomics. For those serious about their training and who enjoy specific data points, hangboards in this category are going to be worth their cost. For those less focused on specifics and more interested in just getting some weight on their fingers, you can find a lot of value in boards at a lower cost.
Many of the boards by Metolius, such as the Wood Grips Compact II or the 3D Simulator, come in at the middle of the price range and offer relatively good variety and comfort for their price. The tradeoff here will mostly be in the form of non-standard edge depths, which may not transfer well to the hangboard at your local climbing gym. For this reason, we really enjoyed the Tension Flash Board, which has comfortable standard edge depths (including a 20mm edge) in a highly portable board for a good price. For those on a bigger budget, the Metolius Light Rail offers a few good edges in a board that's both portable and mountable at a seriously low price.
For the price, you get a lot of great standard edges on the Flash Board.
Credit: Mark Stoeckl
Hold Variety
While having a large variety of holds may seem like the ultimate goal of a hangboard, the reality is that you only need a selection of a few comfortable edges to build finger strength. What we value the most in hold variety is a selection of edges that are large enough to warm up comfortably on, a 20mm edge for self-assessment, and a variety of smaller holds for more specific training. Additional holds like pockets, slopers, or pinches can add some nice variety for route-specific training, but for the bulk of modern finger training routines, you will be on a four-finger edge.
Finding a board with a few edge sizes from easy to challenging may seem easy enough, but not all edge selections are created equal. As finger training knowledge continues to advance, we are seeing top coaches and trainers adopt more standardized metrics. With that, we also see hangboards that have labeled standard edge depths. The Tension Grindstone exemplifies this progression as it has standard edge depths from 30mm down to 10mm in 5mm increments. Other boards like the Metolius Simulator 3D, which have been on the market for a while, have non-standard sizing of the holds and gaps between hold sizes.
The major benefit of standardization is how much easier it makes tracking your training over time. If you're using different boards between your house and the climbing gym, or you want to track your progress for many years, having labeled standard edges allows for consistency. It also allows for easier communication between climbers and coaches for tailoring specific workouts.
The variable edge depths on the Rock Prodigy Training Center allow for progressively increasing the difficulty, but the edge sizes are not standardized.
Credit: Dom Rickicki
Of all the standard edge depths, the most important of these is the 20mm edge. The 20mm edge has become the gold standard for finger strength testing and tracking your progress over time. Most finger strength training plans will have a session of max strength testing to start the program and discover your current limits. Throughout the course of your training, you will come back to this testing session to see if the training you're doing is working.
Our lead tester entering the pain cave during a 20mm edge critical force test.
Credit: Dom Rickicki
You may consider a board with a variety of pockets, slopers, or pinches if you desire to train for specific routes. Generally, hangboard training that involves hanging from small pockets or other such holds is done prior to a trip or redpoint attempt. This pre-training helps the body adapt to certain holds you may not climb on often. For those serious about projecting or taking trips, consider looking for some variety in your hangboard.
For pocket training, we love the staggered depth pockets on the Trango Rock Prodigy Training Center as it allows for excellent comfort on holds which are generally not very comfy on rock. For pinches, this board also shines as it has three different pinch grip options that are all horizontal. When training pinches, a horizontal orientation is going to be more useful than vertical because vertical pinches allow you to create compressive force and take stress off your thumbs. For slopers, it's hard to beat the massive, comfy slopers on the So iLL Iron Palm 2.0.
No thumbs needed on the easy to cheat vertical pinches of the Iron Palm 2.0.
Credit: Dom Rickicki
When selecting a hangboard for hold variety, remember to focus on what your actual goals are. If the goal is to build finger strength, choosing a board with a solid variety of edges will benefit you the most. If your goal is to do a lot of route-specific training at home on a hangboard, then selecting something with a large variety of hold types is going to benefit you most.
Training two finger pockets on the Beastmaker 1000.
Credit: Dom Rickicki
Comfort
Hold variety is great, but if you can't comfortably hang on the holds, you'll be less likely to use your hangboard. It is important to remember that consistency comes from a board you'll actually use, and the board you'll use is one that is pain-free to hang from. When a board has good texture and good ergonomics, you'll be able to put all of your effort into your max hang rather than tolerating pain.
The first and most obvious thing differentiating the comfort of a hangboard is texture. Regarding texture, you essentially have two choices; wood or plastic. Plastic hangboards come in two flavors, polyester resin and polyurethane. The main difference between the two is weight and durability, with resin boards being heavier and more likely to chip. With all that said, the texture between the two materials is going to vary only by manufacturer and not by type.
The polyester resin of the Simulator 3D (bottom) and the polyurethane Iron Palm 2.0 (top).
Credit: Dom Rickicki
Plastic boards tend to have more creative shapes and holds, but they are rougher on the skin due to the added texture needed to create friction. Boards that are rough on the skin can be helpful for building calluses but also require some healing time after a workout. If you are warming up for your climbing day on a hangboard, consider wood over plastic to help keep your skin in top shape for the day. If you value variety in your holds, plastic boards may be worth the cost of some skin.
Wood is the standard for maximum comfort in hangboarding. With its smooth texture and soft edges, wood offers the best option for keeping your skin pain-free throughout a session. While plastic hangboards are getting better with smoother textures, they still do not match up to the smooth texture of wood. Due to the porosity of wood, you can train on a smoother surface without sweating off of it as easily as you would on a plastic board of the same smoothness. The smoothness of wood also makes it a bit more challenging to hang onto, which can add a little extra oomph to your workouts.
Wood boards offer a lot of comfort, while plastic boards can have limitless variety.
Credit: Dom Rickicki
The second thing we consider in comfort is ergonomics. Weird hold shapes, pockets that are too tight, holds that get in the way of each other, or sharp edges can all create painful hanging experiences. In general, most of the boards on the middle to higher end of the price scale all have holds that are ergonomically shaped, with the only difference between them being how sharp the angles of the edges are. Boards with nice smooth edges distribute pressure evenly, which helps facilitate even wear of the skin. Of the wooden boards we tested, the Tension Grindstone and Tension Flash Board have the most comfortable edge angles. Of the plastic boards we tested, the Rock Prodigy Training Center has the most comfortable edge angles.
Rob Scrivner, DPT, testing out how comfortable it is to 3 finger drag on the Tension Grindstone
Credit: Dom Rickicki
The biggest advancement in ergonomics, which is surprisingly simple, is the repeated symmetry of the holds on the Grindstone. This design puts all of the holds the exact same distance apart from each other, so you are always training at the same width. Most hangboards are bilaterally symmetrical, which makes the holds on the furthest sides of the board feel very wide and the holds in the middle feel uncomfortably close together.
The layout of the Training Center has bilateral symmetry which is the most common for hangboard design. This means that the width of your arms will change depending on what edge or hold you are using.
The layout of the Grindstone means that no matter what edge size you train, your arms will allows be the same distance apart.
The bilateral symmetry of the Training Center versus the repeated symmetry of the Grindstone.
Versatility
Something we consider when choosing a hangboard is the simple fact that most of us don't solely train at home. With climbing gyms popping up around the country, the chances that many of us will split our time between the home and the gym are real. We also consider that many folks may travel for work and train at whatever gyms may be nearby. With this in mind, we want a hangboard that has the versatility to be able to transfer our workouts from board to board.
In this context, we use versatility as a means of describing how well we can perform the same workouts on different boards or, even more simply, take our board with us where we go. Boards that have a high level of versatility will have standard, easy-to-find edge depths. Many gyms will have boards with labeled edge depths on them. This makes it easier to transfer your workouts from place to place.
In climbing gyms across the front range, Tension is one of the most popular brands of hangboards. Here Rob Scrivner, DPT cleans his Flash Board in his clinic.
Credit: Dom Rickicki
In order to gauge popularity, we reached out to climbing gyms across the Front Range of Colorado to ask what boards they have hanging in their gym. Overwhelmingly the most popular board in this area was the Tension Grindstone. Almost all of the gyms we contacted had this board, or something else from Tension Climbing. Other popular options were the Transgression Board, Trango Rock Prodigy Training Center, and the Beastmaker 1000. If you want to be able to transition seamlessly from your home to the gym, we suggest also calling your local spots to see what they have before making a final decision.
The bottom line is, if travel or splitting time between home and the gym are parts of your training, then consider choosing popular boards with common edge depths. Additionally, choosing something compact can allow you to travel with your board of choice. Some creative new options are cropping up, such as the Trango Rock Prodigy Pivot — this board features almost the same hold set as the Rock Prodigy Training Center but in a smaller package.
Creative designs like the Rock Prodigy Pivot allow for more hold variety in a small space.
Credit: Dom Rickicki
Ease of Mounting
Ideally, you only need to mount your hangboard once. That said, if getting it mounted that one time is so grueling that you never hang the board, it isn't doing you much good. We value boards that have a minimal number of screws, only one piece to mount, and that are light.
Two-piece hangboards offer a lot of customization for width (great for accommodating different shoulders), but they are much trickier to mount. With two pieces, you have twice the leveling to do, and the two sides need to be lined up. With a one-piece board, you can level it, screw it in, and forget about it.
The full length jug on the one-piece Grindstone is easy to mount and great for one arm training.
Credit: Dom Rickicki
For installing any hangboard, you'll likely want to consider mounting it to a backer board. A backer board will be what attaches to the studs in your wall, allowing freedom to screw the hangboard itself into a place you want it without ripping out your drywall.
A backer board for hangboard mounting.
A creative way to mount a board on a squat rack.
Once you have your board on a backer, your options for where and how to mount it increase.
If screwing holes into your walls isn't something you have the option to do, you may consider a doorway hangboard mount. These mounts act like doorway pull-up bars to allow you to hang a board without putting holes in the wall. Our current favorite for this is the mount by Frictitious Climbing.
Keep your office space hole free with a doorway mount system.
Choosing the correct hangboard to keep you consistently training can be challenging. Our testers shredded their fingertips and prepped for the coming season on some of the best offerings in the market to help you figure out what might work for you. If you're still struggling to decide, consider checking out some boards at your local gym and see what feels best under your fingers. For all the other questions you may have had about hangboards, we hope we've been able to help get you started on your journey to crimping nirvana.
The Metolius Wood Grips Compact II sports one pair of jugs and two slopers that are great for warming up and building whole hand strength. We also like them for longer sessions where we transition to more of an endurance workout rather than a power workout.
