FrictionLabs Loose Gym Chalk | Unicorn Dust, Gorilla Grip, Bam Bam | The New Standard in Chalk

I needed chalk and thought to myself, "Self, what the hell, lets give it a shot". The coverage is great. Stick your sweaty, mashed up digits in the chalk bag and them come out more caked than Robert Downey Jr's nostrils in the 80's. I'm a fan.

Been climbing for about 5 months. I started off using some cheap chalk that came with one of my chalk bags, and it was ok. The cheap stuff certainly dries your hands, BUT I chalk up more frequently because either the chalk would just wipe off and/or my hands would sweat right through it. Add that to me being a beginner with bad grip strength, and I end up chalking up way too much. And I've found that when you're chalking up way too much, all you're really doing making everything slippery. Some of my buddies recommended Friction Labs Unicorn Dust and I picked some up from Amazon.Short and sweet: I love it! No chalk can make up for bad grip strength or lack of endurance, but I think it has improved my grip confidence significantly. This chalk is a very fine powder that seems to get into every crevice of your hands and even in between your fingerprints, whereas cheaper chalks seems to just sit on top of your skin. Additionally, the company claims that FL chalk is one of the most pure, which aids in its drying and grip characteristics; I have no reason not to believe that. On the wall, I find that I chalk up less frequently because I am confident that the thin layer of this chalk on my hands will stay there for more than just a couple holds.

I have naturally sweaty hands, especially when my adrenaline starts pumping. So chalking before a climb is a must for me. I climb about 95% indoors and the occasional outdoor limestone, all sport climbing. I am used to using cheap black diamond chalk and didn't know there were better alternatives until I tried unicorn dust. the difference between the two different brands is phenomenal. I don't have to rechalk as often with the unicorn dust and it gives my hands noticeably more friction on holds. I tend just to put a a couple of tablespoons worth of chalk in my bag at a time to cut down on making too big of a mess, and I've been on the same first batch in the bag going on 6-7 gym climbs. The only reason I didn't give this chalk 5 stars was because it was clumpier than I imagined. I expected purely chalk dust, but instead got a mixture of fine dust and clumps the size of raisons. I don't know if this is intentional or if I got a bad batch, but regardless I would buy again.

Everyone in the family loves Unicorn Dust from FrictionLabs. We're so happy with it that we already cancelled our next trip to the forbidden forest. Tracking a unicorn is never easy anyway. Surviving in the forest is hard enough. Trying to stay hidden long enough for a unicorn to appear requires patience and ridiculously quiet shoes. And one does not simply jump out after seeing a unicorn. It will run away and the dust will fly into the air rendering your venture a failure. No, collecting a bag full of dust means stealthily following the unicorn for hours and catching the dust as it falls. If you're lucky a small pile might be found on the ground, but a more steady process is typically the best option. Of course, escaping the forest with the tacky chalk intact is easier said than done! Animals can smell all that unicorny goodness and will do almost anything to get it. After one particularly violent encounter with a winged crag-ferret left me scraped and humbled, we make sure to always bring a crossbow, plenty of fire, and a large box of raisins. Nothing stops a crag-ferret faster than a flaming pile or raisins. Once you've made it out safely, genuine Unicorn Dust can be used sparingly and will last much longer than the alternatives.Thanks to fine folks at FrictionLabs, we'll leave the raisins in the car this weekend and get back to chasing the 'scent of a new Vermin.

I've been using this chalk for a couple years now. Seriously, a single 10oz bag has lasted me about 2.5 years. When bouldering, I chalk up a couple times during a 2.5 - 3 hour session. When roping, it's every climb but still this stuff has lasted. I do more bouldering than roping.My one tip: even though this has no drying agents use it only as you actually need it. I have naturally dry hands. If I use Friction labs as frequently as I use other chalk while bouldering my fingertip skin will begin to peel. If I use it only when it is gone from my hands, my hands stay dry, friction is good and I get the usage above... one bag lasting me forever.

I've used a lot of random gym chalk for lifting, and with decent results. When it came to holding barbells and dumbbells, chalk was chalk. However, when I started climbing I noticed that regular gym chalk didn't have great grip or drying properties. My fingers would begin to sweat, my grips would slip, my hands became raw and my grip tired from having to use so much force to stay on the problems. I figured maybe the chalk at the bouldering gym soaked up too much humidity from the air, so I picked up some Gorilla Grip (largely because of the name). On first use, my hands were dryer and I could stick some holds better. Not a massive leap in grip by any means, but I had to reapply less often to maintain a dry grip which meant more time solving problems and less time re-chalking.

After using the FrictionLabs Unicorn Dust chalk, I can't go back to the climbing chalk I was using before. My hands sweat a lot, definitely more than the average person. The FrictionLabs chalk doesn't gunk up on my hands like my old chalk did. I couldn't tell you if I chalked up less often because of using the unicorn dust (again lots of hand sweating) but I have noticed that overall my skin is less dry and has led to less peeling since switching over.This stuff is definitely expensive especially compared to the other stuff, but I won't go back.