Rosin damages indoor & outdoor boulders

We all love bouldering, whether we are expert climbers or just enthusiasts. But, before we go outside and start throwing ourselves on the rocks, it is important to learn whether Rosin is harming the boulders we love. In this blog, we delve into the subject of Rosin: we take a look at its history, why it is used, why it is harmful and the solution to this.

Om deze blog in het Nederlands te lezen, klik hier. 

What is Rosin?

Rosin, also known as pof, colophonium or resin, is a resin derived from coniferous (pine) trees. Its main component is abietic acid. Abietic acid is a weak contact allergen, which can give rise to contact eczema. 

Brief background of the names:

• Pof – Most climbers have heard the word pof at one time or another. Pof is a resin that was traditionally wrapped in a cloth and slapped against the boulders. This way you could stick the resin on the holds and footholds so you had better grip. The word pof is therefore an “onomatopoeia” or sound imitation. The sound comes from hitting a boulder with that cloth. Namely, it makes the sound: “pof pof pof…”. Since then, Rosin is also called Pof. 
• Colophon or Colophia – The name of a Greek city where traditionally this resin was collected.
• Resin – A substance of synthetic or natural origin. It is usually a mixture of organic constituents. Plants secrete resin for its restorative properties when damaged, resin also protects the plant from insects and pathogens.

Why use Rosin?

In the 1930s, pof was mainly used by climbers to provide more grip during their climbing sessions. At that time, magnesium was not used for that purpose in Europe. Only around the 1950s did the use of magnesium come over from the United States.

Rosin is often put in Liquid Chalk (liquid magnesium) and sometimes even in magnesium blocks. The reason is that it gives a feeling of stickiness and makes making Liquid Chalk cheaper and easier because the magnesium dissolves better. Ideal you might say…

The disadvantages of Rosin

However, adding Rosin actually backfires. In practice, it forms a kind of (resin) layer that prevents the chalk from doing its job properly in drying your hands. In addition, it is very harmful to the (natural) boulders. 

Why using Rosin is not a great idea

As soon as you put Rosin on your hands, the resin warms up (due to the heat of your hands). If you then grab onto a hold, some of this resin will stay behind. The Rosin then cools down and slowly fills the pores and micro-forms of the holds. If this happens more often, little by little the texture and thus the natural friction of the holds disappears. In this way Rosin is harmful to indoor and outdoor boulders. If you care about the preservation of natural boulders, make sure your Liquid Chalk does not contain Rosin. Unfortunately, manufacturers do not always clearly indicated this. 

Rosin in bouldering gyms

It’s good to know that the same thing happens with synthetic holds in bouldering halls. As a bouldering hall and route-setter, you want the best experience for your customers where slippery holds with no grip can hamper the climbing experience. Whereas magnesium is fairly easy to wash off your hands and holds, grips coated with Rosin are almost impossible to get properly cleaned. This makes cleaning holds – which is already not a fun job – even more difficult and expensive. 

Mark English, owner of Rockcity, a climbing gym and grip distributor in Northern England was one of the first gyms to remove rosin-containing Liquid Chalk from their offerings. Because of Corona, the use of Liquid Chalk in the U.K. (due to its disinfecting properties) increased dramatically. As COVID-19 restrictions and lockdown were slowly lifted in the U.K. in 2020, it quickly became apparent that Rosin use was having very detrimental effects. Gym owners and route-setters did not understand why the grips suddenly became slippery so quickly. The reason quickly followed, a layer of Rosin was rapidly forming on the holds due to the increased use of Rosin-containing Liquid Chalks.

Many top brands use “white labelled” pre-made liquid magnesium that often contains Rosin. Not every brand proclaims it or mentions it on their labels. We do not want to name and shame, but you can always listen to this podcast on the subject. It goes into a little more detail on that as well. 

The effect of Rosin on oustide boulders

Fontainebleau, France’s bouldering paradise known for its sandstone boulders and also the birthplace of Rosin, is also affected by the use of Rosin. The phenomenon seen in the English bouldering gym Rockcity tells us that the same thing happens in Fontainebleau and other outdoor bouldering locations. The natural boulders are being damaged, most likely by the use of Rosin. The annoying thing is that you can’t just brush away a Rosin layer either, which further contributes to the problem. It’s a vicious cycle where more use of Rosin leads to more use of Rosin as the holds get smoother and smoother.

So in conclusion, when bouldering it is better to avoid any products with Rosin – for both indoor and outdoor. Fortunately, more and more products are becoming Rosin-free, but unfortunately this is not yet the case for all products. Always, check the product description or ingredient list to make sure it does not contain Rosin, Resin or Colophon. Sometimes it is (almost) impossible to find out whether it is in there or not, which is something we find very troublesome.

Allez! Liquid Chalk does not contain Rosin

We at Allez! love bouldering, support climbers and are committed to sustainability. Therefore, we make our Liquid Chalk ourselves and do not add Rosin or any other additives. In addition, our magnesium is extracted from seawater and not mined under harmfull conditions. By using our Liquid Chalk you can be 100% sure you are not damaging the indoor & outdoor boulders and our planet! We are the safe choice!

In addition, we also consider outdoor boulder preservation in our brushes. By using wild boar bristles, brushing does not damage the sandstone (as in Fontainebleau). The wild boar bristles are hunted in a controlled (governmental) manner to balance the natural wild boar population. Furthermore, the brushes are produced locally under fair-working conditions.