Veloce:
Climbing Gear Collection

Veloce Bouldering Gear Organization addresses common frustrations faced by climbers, providing innovative solutions to maintain cleanliness and organization.

Climbers face a lot of inconveniences during their climbing sessions at the climbing gym. Two of the main issues that they face are how to deal with loose chalk and efficient gear management. This collection is thoughtfully designed to solve the pervasive issue of loose chalk and disorganized climbing gear. Veloce ensures a cleaner and more organized climbing experience whether you are storing your climbing shoes, chalk bag, or chalk brushes.

Jan 2024 - May 2024

Bouldering is rock climbing with no ropes and harnesses and only uses climbing shoes and a bag of chalk over safety mats. The challenge is to climb short but tricky bouldering "problems" (a route, or sequence of moves) using balance, technique, strengths, and your brain.

Every climb, or "problem", has its own solution, and the climber needs to work out the best method for themselves to climb it. The solution may differ according to body shape and personal strengths.

Climbing chalk is essential for improving grip, but it often creates a mess that contaminates other gear. Climbers typically face three major issues:

1. Chalk Contamination: Chalk bags and climbing shoes frequently get coated in a thin layer of chalk. This chalk then transfers to the inside of climbers' backpacks and other equipment, creating a persistent and annoying mess that is difficult to clean.

2. Misplaced Loose Gear: In the dynamic environment of a climbing gym, loose items like water bottles, extra gear, and personal belongings can easily get misplaced. Without proper organization, climbers spend valuable time searching for their gear, disrupting their focus and flow.

3. Forgotten Chalk Brushes: Chalk brushes are essential for cleaning climbing holds, but they are often forgotten or misplaced due to ineffective storage solutions. Traditional gear loops can be too small, too loose, or simply cumbersome to use, leading to brushes being left behind or lost.

Climbing shoes are essential for climbers because they provide increased friction, precision, support, stability, and performance through specialized downturned designs.

Chalk is an irreplaceable tool that climbers utilize in their climbing sessions. It is used to increase friction by managing sweat and oil buildup.

Chalk brushes are a vital tool for climbers to maintain and enhance grip on holds, improve performance, ensure safety, and uphold climbing ethics. By keeping climbing surfaces clean and free of excess chalk, dirt, and grime, chalk brushes help climbers tackle routes with greater confidence and efficiency.

Climbing tape is another versatile tool that climbers always carry with them. They are used to support finger and wrist joints, reducing risk of strains or sprains during high intensity movements. They can be used for injury prevention or relief by providing stability and limiting the range of motion.

Climbers often bring their own water bottles filled with their preferred supplements or nutrients. Hydration is also crucial to maintain peak physical and mental performance.

Carrying all your gear around the climbing gym can be quite challenging due to the sheer volume of equipment, including spare climbing shoes, chalk bags, climbing tape, chalk brushes, and water bottles. The need to manage and transport the abundance of gear often lead to climbers forgetting and leaving items scattered around the mats, creating safety hazard as well as a disorganized environment. Loose gear left unattended can be come a hazard for other climbers, causing injury if fallen on or tripped over. Therefore, keeping gear organized is crucial for maintaining a safe climbing environment.

The chalk brush holders typically use elastic loops to secure the brushes. However, they are often designed for specific brushes, causing brushes with handles of other sizes to be too loose or too tightly secured. This leads to inconvenience when removing and attaching the brushes from the chalk bag, which is the primary reason climber leave their brushes lying unattended on the mats.

Different size chalk brushes are also used depending on the type of climbing hold that is brushed. Small brushes are better for brushing smaller holds and crevices while larger brushes are more efficient for brushing larger unblocked surfaces.

Effective gear organization is essential for climbers to ensure a safe, efficient, and enjoyable climbing experience. Carrying the necessary equipment, including climbing shoes, chalk bags, water bottles, brushes, and tape, can be cumbersome and challenging. Disorganized gear often leads to items being scattered around the gym, creating safety hazards and increasing the risk of tripping and injuries for both the climber and others. Additionally, misplaced or forgotten gear can disrupt climbing sessions and reduce overall efficiency. By maintaining a well-organized system for storing and transporting climbing gear, climbers can minimize these risks, keep their equipment in good condition, and focus more on their performance and enjoyment of the sport.

Chalk bags and climbing shoes frequently get coated in a thin layer of chalk. Without a proper cleaning or containment method, this chalk then transfers to the inside of climbers' backpacks and other equipment, creating a persistent and annoying mess that is difficult to clean.

Designing solutions for climbing gear organization presents numerous opportunities to enhance the climbing experience by addressing common issues faced by climbers. Innovative design can lead to the development of integrated storage systems that consolidate essential gear into compact, easy-to-carry formats. For example, designing multi-functional bags that incorporate compartments for climbing shoes, chalk bags, water bottles, and brushes can streamline the transportation and accessibility of gear. Additionally, using durable, lightweight materials can make these solutions more practical for everyday use. Incorporating features like modular attachments, magnetic closures, and quick-access pockets can further improve organization and convenience.

Moreover, other opportunities lie in enhancing overall climbing experience through management of chalk and preventing contamination of other gear. A multitude of approaches can be taken, such as airtight closures that prevent leaks and using materials that repel chalk dust. Furthermore, designing systems that separate the working and storage layers to prevent cross contamination is also explored.

Such design innovations not only reduce clutter and safety hazards in climbing gyms but also enhance the efficiency and satisfaction of climbers, allowing them to focus more on their performance and less on managing their equipment. This intersection of functionality, safety, and user experience offers a rich field for creative and impactful design solutions in the climbing industry.

Upon testing, most of the brushes on the market suffer the same issues where the user's knuckles grind against the climbing hold or wall during use. A combination of a 7 degree angled brush head and offset handle solved this issue through various prototypes.

To reduce the number of brushes that needs to be carried by the climber, the chalk brush is redesigned so that the small brush fits inside and functions as a part of the large brush. The small brush is able to detach from the large brush when the climber needs to brush smaller holds or tighter angles.

To prevent chalk from contaminating the clean outside layer, an extra foldaway layer that acts as a "working" layer while the chalk bag is in use is sewn in. The chalk bag can be unzipped and folded around itself to reveal a "working" layer and folded back into itself to contain all the loose chalk.

The redesigned shoe bag also features a clean outside layer that folds into a pocket to keep it separated from the "working" layer. A drawstring bag is used to contain the climbing shoes when they aren't in use.

The shoebag has a "clean" outer layer that is made from a 20 denier ripstock nylon material that keeps odors and loose chalk from escaping the shoebag and contaminating other gear when stored or transported. The "clean" outer layer can be stored inside of a zippered pocket also made from the same material to keep it clean when the shoes are being carried around the gym. This reveals a "working" layer made from a mesh material to prevent chalk buildup in the working layer. A nylon carrying loop also also makes the shoes easier to carry, requiring the climber only one finger instead of two to carry the shoes. The drawstring design allows climbers to easily access their shoes during their sessions without having to deal with zippers that may get stuck if chalk collects in the zipper teeth.

The nylon carrying loop makes the shoebag easy to hang up for storage while the mesh layer prevents the shoes from falling out when the bag is unzipped to prevent odors.

To eliminate the need to carry two brushes around in the climbing gym, the small brush is imbedded inside of the large brush. Magnetic Fidlock hardware is also incorporated into the design to replace the brush holder of traditional chalk bags to make attaching and removing the chalk brush an easier experience.

The Veloce Chalk Brush has five unique features that improves the climbing hold cleaning experience:

1. Small brush integration into the large brush.

2. Angled brush head and tapered and offset handles keep the climber's fingers away from the wall.

3. Unique handle allows for multiple grip types to maneuver around climbing holds.

4. Longer bristles at the tip of the brush to account for uneven wearing to elongate brush lifespan.

5. Magnetic Fidlock hardware to make attaching and removing the chalk brush easier.

Similar to the Veloce Shoe Bag, the Veloce Chalk Bag features a "clean" layer that prevents chalk from contaminating other gear when stored. The chalk bag unzips and folds its outer layer away to reveal a "working" layer that is also made from 20 denier ripstock nylon for ease of cleaning. Attached to the "working" layer are multiple gear organization methods, including a large folded zipper pocket, a water bottle holder, a gear loop, and a Fidlock female component to attach the chalk brush.

The Veloce Chalk Bag is capable of storing all the gear necessary during a climbing session. The diagram below shows it housing the Veloce Chalk Brush, a water bottle, a phone, two rolls of climbing tape, lip balm, and a laser pointer on its gear loop.

The Veloce Chalk Bag is made of 20 denier ripstock nylon, making it easy to clean while being able to contain chalk and prevent other gear from getting chalky. Its multiple gear storage methods keeps all the gear organized and accessible during a climbing session. The felt lining even distributes chalk while chalking up, preventing excessive chalk usage and spillage.