Climbing is perhaps one of the best recreational activities that you can do for leisure and at the same time have the thrill that you always longed for. Therefore, it should not come as a surprise, when someone says that wall climbing has been recognized as an international and extreme sport. Climbing is an activity in which the climber makes use of his hands and feet, in order to climb a man-made or a natural formation. In case of climbing, it is not always possible to climb the natural rocky structures. Hence, to solve this problem, experts have come up with the concept of climbing walls.



A climbing wall is nothing but a man-made simulated wall along with clenches or grips that help the climber to scale the structure. These grips can make the climb either difficult or relatively simple according to the climber's choice. These walls can either be made of solid blocks or it just may be a wooden creation. However, most of the structures today are solid, thick layers of board with either grips or holes drilled in it for support. Climbing walls are gaining so much popularity that many of those walls are constructed using metals such as aluminum, steel, etc.

Types of climbing walls: The most common climbing wall that you are bound to come across will be the one that is made of plywood. Given below are some of the climbing wall systems that you might come across:

Stone coated panels: Climbing walls are usually referred to as wall surfaces. In case of the stone coated ones, it would be the perfect choice for the budget conscious. That's simply because, this wall surface probably is least expensive one out there. This wall is a mixture of slight resin and sand, which comes a long way to give some friction during climbing. This wall is perfect for the climber, if he wants to cover a large area, especially in case of preparing for a competition.

Stone coated Freeform: This wall type is slightly expensive than the stone coated panels. This wall surface has comparatively more friction than the stone coated one. This wall surface too, though a bit costlier than the earlier one is affordable considering the aspect that it is very similar to the Digital Freeform wall surface, which is considered to be the best wall surfaces out there.

Featured panels: This type of wall climbing surface is no different from the natural rock formation. They have been accurately designed with cracks, pockets for acting as supports, etc. This wall has been made keeping the space constraint in mind. Therefore, these wall-climbing surfaces are perfect for gyms and other indoor sports centers. One of the best things about this wall type is that it gives the climber different routes from which to choose and can make his climbing experience seem a lot of fun.

Digital Freeform Climbing walls: This wall type is perhaps the state of the art, since they have been hand crafted to give the climber the real feel of scaling a natural rock formation. This wall type, unlike the featured panels, that offers a two dimensional curve, offers a three-dimensional curve system. One of the best things about this wall type is that it is up to the climber, what shape he wants. All he has to do is use his imagination. Natural rock formation traits like crack lines, bulging laps, etc. can be created without any hassles.

There is a wide variety of wall systems that you can choose from, depending upon your need and of course your budget. However, wall climbing is not just something that only adults can indulge in, because there are many climbing walls available for children too. They can indulge themselves in the traversing walls, under some adult supervision of course. Therefore, wall climbing can be fun, but at the same time proper precautions should be taken, such as safety harnesses and other equipments.