Everyone wants to improve at his or her passion. Michael White, a Berkeley resident and Sydney Australia native, began his climbing career during Christmas of 2009. Though a new climber, White wanted to perform better at climbing. He wanted stronger fingers but worried that excessive hang board training would damage the tendons and pulleys in his fingers. The freelance web developer and consultant wanted to make a better training device. After playing with different devices attached to the cable pulley machines at his local gym, he invented the Gripster.
White’s work on the Gripster started on Thanksgiving of 2010. Since his early models, White has been the sole employee of Gripster, creating three different shapes, building an online store, designing t-shirts, and creating a significant amount of marketing work.
The initial prototypes utilized a wooden box with campus strips. While the box could be attached to a cable pulley and used on any amount of weight, the beginning molds lacked the shape that White wanted. White played with the polyurethane resin used to make climbing holds, shaping with foam and making molds. After a few attempts, White made a 3D scan of a mold and adjusted the shape.
“Eventually, I got to a point where I was happy with the shape,” said White. He created a final laser cut mold with a logo and URL embedded into them.
Unlike conventional hang boards, which utilize a single static position, the Gripster’s connection point allows for dynamic resistance as well as static positions. The three different molds can be attached to a cable pulley in the gym or hung from a pull up bar. This allows for different amounts of weight in a variety of positions to be used. Attaching the Gripster to a cable pulley allows for pulling on a vertical or horizontal axis. “Basically, your imagination is the only limitation,” said White.
Want to work on weak fingers by doing monos at a low weight or bulk up with additional weight on big holds? The Gripster provides a perfect solution to these climbing demands. Currently, the three different models are available for demos at Berkeley Ironworks, Diablo Rock Gym, and Great Western Power Co.
We’re so pleased to have seen this invention from conception to implementation! Good Luck!
