Buying guide
Finger training tools for climbers, compared
The short answer
For dedicated finger-strength training a hangboard is the standard home tool, and Lattice, Tension and Beastmaker all make well-regarded boards. Portable lift blocks such as the Tension Block train the same grips with a weight and no mounting. Spring grippers are cheap but train crush grip, which climbing rarely uses. Boulder Block™ ($69.99) does a different job: a handheld block with twelve resin holds and 32 routes, built to be picked up for a few minutes on the days you cannot get to the wall.
Four tools, by what you need them for
A hangboard Strongest
For dedicated finger-strength training this is the standard, and most climbers who train seriously should own one. Lattice, Tension and Beastmaker all make well-regarded boards. It needs a doorframe or a wall, a structured program, and rest days — which is exactly why so many end up unused.
A portable lift block
A wooden block with edges you pinch or crimp while lifting a weight from the floor, such as the Tension Block. It trains the same grips as a hangboard with no mounting, so it travels. You still need something to lift and a session to run.
Boulder Block™Ours
A handheld wooden block with twelve screw-on resin holds and a deck of 32 routes across four levels. It is not a hangboard replacement and we would not claim it is. It exists for the days you are away from the wall — it sits on a desk and gets picked up for a few minutes, which is the thing a hangboard rarely manages.
Spring grippers
Cheap and easy to keep in a drawer, but they train crush grip — closing the whole hand — which climbing rarely asks for. Useful for general forearm work, a poor match for crimps and pockets.
Side by side
| Hangboard | Lift block | Boulder Block™ | Spring gripper | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Dedicated max-strength sessions | The same grips, portable | Daily practice away from the wall | General forearm work |
| Needs mounting | Yes — doorframe or wall | No, but needs a weight | No | No |
| Climbing grips (crimp, pocket, pinch) | Yes | Yes | Yes — 12 holds, rebuildable | No |
| Structure | A training program | A training program | 32 routes, 4 levels | Reps |
| How you use it | Scheduled sessions, rest days between | Scheduled sessions | A few minutes, whenever it is in reach | Reps while seated |
| Typical cost | Moderate | Moderate | $69.99 | Low |
Costs are indicative and vary by brand and model. The Boulder Block figure is its US list price in September 2026.
How to choose
-
Be honest about which problem you have
If you will genuinely follow a program, buy a hangboard — nothing here beats it for strength. If you already own one and it lives behind a door, the problem was never the equipment, and another strength tool will not fix it.
-
Match the tool to the grips you actually climb
Climbing loads the fingers through crimps, pockets and pinches, not through a closed fist. A tool that only trains crush grip is training something your routes rarely use.
-
Think about where it will be on a Wednesday
A tool you have to set up competes with every other thing in your evening. A tool already sitting on the desk does not have to win that argument. For most people that difference decides whether it gets used at all.
-
If you are injured, ask first
Finger injuries in climbing are common and easy to aggravate. If you are recovering from one, get advice from a physiotherapist before loading your fingers with any of these, and follow what they tell you rather than what a product page says.
Questions climbers ask
Can you train finger strength at home without a hangboard?
Yes. A portable lift block trains the same grips with a weight and no mounting, and handheld blocks let you practice climbing grips in short sessions. For maximum strength a hangboard is still the most effective home tool; the alternatives are about fitting the practice into days when a hangboard session is not going to happen.
Hangboard or portable finger block — which is better for a beginner?
Beginners are commonly advised to build up climbing volume before adding structured finger training, and to progress slowly when they do. A lift block or a handheld block is a gentler introduction to specific grips than hanging your full bodyweight. When you are ready for real strength work, a hangboard is the tool to graduate to.
How can I stay in touch with climbing while I am injured?
Start with a physiotherapist, ideally one who works with climbers, and follow their plan. Beyond that, many buyers tell us they bought a Boulder Block™ to keep climbing in their hands while they were benched. One wrote that they were "Wanting somthing to hold me over until I get back to the wall." That is their reason; we make no claim that it treats or speeds up recovery from any injury.
Will a Boulder Block make me a stronger climber?
If strength is the goal, a hangboard will do more, and we would rather say so. What the block is good at is being used — it has routes and levels, so there is always a next problem, and it is small enough to be within reach. A tool you pick up most days can matter more than a better one you do not.
Is it just a fidget toy?
You can use it like one, and plenty of people do. The difference is that it has twelve real resin holds, 32 routes and four levels, so it keeps asking something of your fingers instead of just giving them something to do.
What do climbers actually use to train grip at home?
Mostly hangboards, followed by portable lift blocks and a mix of grippers and bands for general forearm work. The recurring story in climbing communities is not which tool is best, but how many of them end up unused.
Sources
- 1. Hooper's Beta — physiotherapy and injury guidance for climbers — Hooper's Beta
- 2. Training for Climbing — Eric Hörst
- 3. Lattice Training — articles on finger strength — Lattice Training
- 4. Climbing skills and training — Climbing Magazine
- 5. Tension Climbing — hangboards and the Tension Block — Tension Climbing
- 6. Boulder Block Honest Review — an orthopedic occupational therapist's independent assessment — ChadGOrthoOT (YouTube)
Written from our own post-purchase survey — including every buyer who described themselves as a climber, or as injured — and checked against the training and physiotherapy sources listed above. We make one of the four tools on this page and have deliberately not ranked it first: for strength, a hangboard is better, and saying so is the only reason the rest of this page is worth reading. Nothing here is medical advice.
Twelve real resin holds, 32 routes, four levels. Sixty days to change your mind.
See the Boulder Block