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From the Kanga Climbing website:
A Climbing Brush That Also Tightens Bolts.
It's okay. You didn't know. Finger tightening a bolt only tightens it to .182ft/lbs. Which means the bolt is loose again before you're even lowered to the ground, passing the problem on to the next climber. Next time, take the Crank Brush on your chalk bag. You'll be prepared for everything the crag throws your way: greasy footholds, slippery slopers, chalk-caked crimps, and of course, loose bolts. The Crank Brush can tighten bolts to 20ft/lbs, securing it properly for many falls to come. The Crank Brush is made of glass-filled nylon so it's strong enough to crank on a bolt. It's narrow enough to fit into the holster of most chalk bags. And it features premium boar's hair bristles to renew friction to even the nastiest holds outside and at the gym. Back in 2019, I was climbing in Clear Creek Canyon in Colorado with a couple of friends. I was working the crux move on a 12c when I got high above the bolt, fell, and took an unexpectedly massive whipper. My knee hit a ledge in the fall and was bruised so badly I thought I had busted my knee cap. After the initial shock, I looked down to see my quickdraw still attached to the rope with the bolt hanger attached to the quickdraw. The bolt hanger had come off the wall. When I got home, I read on the Mountain Project page for the route a comment that said, "The crux bolt is loose. I tightened it with my fingers but someone needs to come back with a wrench." This was a problem I had never really considered before and it inspired me to carry a wrench every time I went climbing. This turned out to be a great idea because I found myself using my wrench roughly half the time I went out climbing in Colorado. Climbing's boom in popularity is hitting the crags in the Front Range hard. The increase in climbers, plus our freeze-thaw cycle makes loose bolts all too common. However, I found the process of tightening bolts pretty annoying. I'd have to get lowered when I came across a loose bolt, go down to my pack, grab my wrench and then have to climb back up to tighten it. It became a chore to keep the crag safe and I didn't like the idea of climbing with a large piece of metal dangling from my harness either. Dropping a wrench on your belayer would be bad. So, I came up with the idea of turning the tool climbers already have on their harnesses, the brush, into a bolt tightener. I taught myself enough CAD to create a design. I researched materials thoroughly, with bicycle tire levers in mind to see what would be durable enough to tighten loose bolts. And then I worked with engineers and a manufacturer to develop a brush that's strong enough to tighten loose bolts, but is also a great brush that you can use bouldering or in the gym. Kickstarter project., brush became available in 2021 |
Ricky Lambert
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Crank Climbing Brush donated by: Nicholas "NEO" Oxentenko
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Crank Climbing Brush sticker
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