Climbing Training Boards: Is MoonBoard Harder Than Kilter Board?

Is MoonBoard Harder Than Kilter Board?

While both the MoonBoard and Kilter Board are highly effective and challenging training tools for climbers, the MoonBoard is often perceived as inherently "harder" due to its specific design philosophy, hold ergonomics, and emphasis on raw finger strength and power.

Introduction to Training Boards

In the world of climbing, specialized training boards have revolutionized how athletes develop strength, power, and technique. Unlike traditional bouldering walls with constantly changing routes, these standardized boards utilize a fixed grid of holds, allowing climbers worldwide to share and attempt the same problems. Among the most popular and influential are the MoonBoard and the Kilter Board, each offering a distinct training experience. Understanding their unique characteristics is crucial for determining which might be more challenging for an individual climber and how they fit into a comprehensive training regimen.

Understanding the MoonBoard

The MoonBoard, conceptualized by legendary climber Ben Moon, is a classic in the climbing training community. It is characterized by its simplicity and demanding nature.

• Fixed Angles: MoonBoards are typically set at a steep 40-degree or 25-degree overhang. The fixed, consistent angle is a core part of its design, forcing climbers to adapt to a specific type of steep climbing.
• Standardized Holds: The MoonBoard uses a relatively small, standardized set of resin holds. These holds are specifically designed to be challenging, often featuring crimps, small pockets, and slopers that demand significant finger strength and precise body tension. There are various MoonBoard hold sets (e.g., Original School Holds, Masters Holds, Wooden Holds), but they adhere to the same grid system.
• Community-Driven App: The MoonBoard app allows users to create, share, and attempt problems. Its strength lies in its vast, community-generated database of problems, ranging from beginner to elite levels.
• Training Philosophy: The MoonBoard is renowned for developing raw power, finger strength, and core tension. Problems often require dynamic, powerful moves between small, unforgiving holds, emphasizing strength endurance and anaerobic capacity.

Understanding the Kilter Board

The Kilter Board represents a more modern evolution of the training board concept, developed by Kilter Grips. It offers a highly versatile and interactive training experience.

• Variable Angles: A key distinguishing feature of the Kilter Board is its adjustability. Boards can be set to various angles, typically ranging from vertical (0 degrees) up to a severe 70-degree overhang. This adaptability makes it suitable for a wider range of skill levels and training goals.
• Illuminated Holds: Kilter Boards feature custom-designed, translucent holds embedded with LEDs. When a problem is selected via the app, the specific holds required for that problem light up, providing an intuitive and engaging user experience.
• Ergonomic and Varied Holds: Kilter holds are generally larger, more ergonomic, and offer a wider variety of grip types (jugs, slopers, pinches, crimps) compared to traditional MoonBoard holds. They are designed to be skin-friendly while still providing significant challenge.
• App-Driven Experience: The Kilter Board app is highly sophisticated, allowing users to select problems, track progress, and create new routes. The illuminated holds significantly enhance the user experience by making problems easy to follow.
• Training Philosophy: The Kilter Board facilitates training for diverse climbing styles, emphasizing body tension, movement fluidity, and a broad range of grip strengths. Its variable angle makes it accessible for technique development at easier angles and extreme power training at steeper angles.

Comparative Analysis: Factors Influencing Perceived Difficulty

When assessing which board is "harder," several factors contribute to the overall perception and actual demand.

• Board Angle and Overhang:

  • MoonBoard: Its standard fixed angles (40° and 25°) are inherently steep, making even "easier" problems demand significant core strength and pulling power. There's no "easy" starting angle.
  • Kilter Board: The ability to adjust the angle from vertical to 70° means it can be less challenging at shallower angles, making it more accessible for beginners or for focused technique work. However, at comparable or steeper angles (e.g., 40° or 50°), the Kilter Board can be equally, if not more, physically demanding than the MoonBoard.

• Hold Types and Ergonomics:

  • MoonBoard: The holds are notoriously less ergonomic, often small, crimpy, and sharp, demanding high levels of specific finger strength and resilience. This can lead to faster skin wear and a higher risk of finger injuries if not managed carefully. This "punishing" nature significantly contributes to its perceived difficulty.
  • Kilter Board: Kilter holds are generally more varied, larger, and designed with ergonomics in mind, making them more skin-friendly and allowing for a wider range of grip positions. While still challenging, the more comfortable holds can make problems feel "easier" at the same grade compared to a MoonBoard problem, even if the underlying strength requirement is similar.

• Problem Setting and Grading:

  • MoonBoard: Problems are often set by a vast community, and there's a common perception that MoonBoard grades can feel "sandbagged" (undergraded), meaning a problem graded V6 might feel like a V7 or V8 on other walls. This contributes to its reputation for being brutally hard. The problems often emphasize powerful, linear pulling.
  • Kilter Board: With a larger hold library and more varied shapes, Kilter Board problems can explore a wider range of movement patterns, including dynamic moves, technical sequences, and body tension puzzles. While grades are generally more consistent, the sheer variety means you can find extremely difficult problems that challenge every aspect of climbing fitness.

• Community and Training Philosophy:

  • MoonBoard: The MoonBoard community often values raw strength, finger power, and a "no-excuses" approach to training. It's often used for targeted strength cycles.
  • Kilter Board: The Kilter Board appeals to a broader audience, from those focusing on technique and flow to those seeking extreme power. Its variable angle and diverse holds make it suitable for more comprehensive and varied training.

• App Functionality and User Experience:

  • MoonBoard: The app is functional but less visually interactive. Finding problems requires more mental effort to visualize the holds.
  • Kilter Board: The illuminated holds make it incredibly easy to identify problems and transition between them, enhancing the overall training flow and potentially allowing for more volume in a session.

Conclusion: Which is "Harder"?

Ultimately, the question of which board is "harder" is nuanced and depends on individual strengths, weaknesses, and training goals.

• The MoonBoard is generally perceived as harder due to:

  • Its fixed, steep angles that offer no "easy" starting point.
  • Its less ergonomic, often smaller and sharper holds that demand exceptional finger strength and resilience.
  • A community-driven grading system that can feel consistently stiff.

• The Kilter Board, while offering a wider range of difficulty and accessibility, can be equally challenging at steeper angles and higher grades due to:

  • The ability to adjust to extremely steep angles (e.g., 60-70 degrees).
  • Problems that can combine raw power with complex body tension and movement sequences.

For climbers seeking to specifically target raw finger strength, powerful pulling, and to test their limits on unforgiving holds, the MoonBoard often feels more consistently "hard." For those looking for a versatile training tool that can develop a broader range of climbing skills, improve movement fluidity, and still offer extreme challenges at the highest levels, the Kilter Board is an excellent choice.

Choosing the Right Board for Your Training Goals

• Choose the MoonBoard if:

  • You want to specifically build raw finger strength, pulling power, and core tension.
  • You are comfortable with steep climbing and less ergonomic holds.
  • You enjoy a minimalist approach to training and a strong, dedicated community.
  • You want to test yourself against notoriously stiff grades.

• Choose the Kilter Board if:

  • You desire a highly versatile training tool that can accommodate various angles and skill levels.
  • You want to train a broader range of climbing movements, body tension, and grip types.
  • You prefer a more interactive and user-friendly experience with illuminated holds.
  • You prioritize skin-friendly holds and a more diverse training stimulus.

Many advanced climbers utilize both boards, leveraging the MoonBoard for specific power and finger strength cycles and the Kilter Board for more well-rounded movement training and technique refinement. Both are invaluable tools for pushing your climbing limits.