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The Mini Moonboard
Eric Marxwrote: Nice, with angle brackets to attach the 2x10? I was thinking of stacking 2x6's flat on the top, but perhaps that would be overbuilding. |
F r i t zwrote: It aligned with the support studs so I screwed if right into there. A lot of hang boards are taller/or just about 6 inches, so it’s def worth going bigger. I also threw some 6 inch tension balls on mine. A bunch of stacked 2x6s would be way too bomb proof I think haha |
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Many thanks to all of you for the suggestions and motivation! This was the first time I had ever worked with wood and it was a very rewarding experience. Now I'm going to have to split my Christmas list between climbing gear and power tools... |
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Sick set-up! Check the youtube comment I left. What's your moonboard name so I can add you? |
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XfritzX , for all my fellow scene kids. Thanks for the catch on that incorrect hold placement, Eric; I fixed it. The kicker is hard to see in the video because that 6x6 post is sandwiched by a 2x6 above and below, and the top one blends in with the panels. Total kicker height is 8.5" which gives me 2.5 cheater inches above regulation (incorrectly stated as 3.5" in the video). The holes for the feet are three inches from the top of the kicker, per Moon. Wicked fun problems. Today was my fourth day on the board in the last six and I was falling off stuff that I had sent previously, so I'm due for a double rest day. On such a stout-for-me board, I've appreciated using the Tindeq and unlevel 20mm to assess how warmed up my fingers are. Based on prior data, I know what numerical range constitutes warm for me, and can shoot for getting there on the hangboards and spray jugs before I start trying hard on established problems. Just to be silly, I wore my cycling heart rate monitor today to see what 40 minutes of V3 and V4 look like. Some zone 2 with spikes into 3 and 4. Estimated calorie burn was 248.  |
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sick dude! I have a motherboard and use that for warming up for similar reasons. I find doing a core warm up(usually flutter kicks with arms extended over head) and some hip mobility/squatting/frogging in between warm up burns really helps on the mini. |
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Bryanwrote: Classic British UX! Reinstall the app and log back in -- you should be able to see the new layout and the growing library of problems. |
F r i t zwrote: Thanks! That worked. |
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Great thread. Your setup looks rad, Fritz. |
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Okay I flipped to the 2025 with Originals, Wood B, and Wood C. Set 3 boulders so far. 2 of which I think are good. Check them out if anybody has the set up yet. Horizon - I’m proud of this one, I think the movement is really good with no kicker. V4/5 maybe? I tried to mark I2, K4, and I7 as feet only but I can’t tell if that is working or not. I tried deleting it and resetting it under the name Transpersonal with a different foot to make sure those rules were clear (because it wouldn’t let me reset my same problem with different rules even after I deleted it). Can people confirm if those 3 holds are showing up as feet only or if the problem is even showing up in general?  Holotropic - I like setting with originals only, this one was fun. Once again J5 was supposed to be foot only but I don’t think I specified that before I published it (it’s pretty clear it’s a foot though).  Almost There - first thing I set, decent problem but nothing special. V3/4 maybe?  Let me know what you think and I would love to climb other people’s problems so post them here! |
R Walterswrote: Thanks! I just reset the header in a way that allows two people to warm up simultaneously. It's hard to get a good photo of the Crimp Crib in Chuck-E-Cheese Mode, but this shows the layout.
 Next step addition to the header will be a couple 2x6 crack hangblocks, one for orange Metolius and one for big #3's. Less for training -- I'm comfortable in those sizes -- and more for gradual ramping up the load before trips so it's not as much of a system shock, since I don't get much opportunity to climb splitters these days. Regarding the 2025 set ... since I don't own Wood A, my next upgrade will be to purchase Blue F and flip to 2025. I'm in no rush though, just waiting for the new holds to restock on Oli for cheaper. There are plenty of humbling learning opportunities yet to be had from my 2020 set. :-) Especially now that the finger is 95% recovered and I have much better awareness of how to stay tendon-healthy. |
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I love my mini. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone considering building a home wall. I think it is the cheapest and easiest board to build to spec. I originally would have preferred a full sized moonboard but the ceiling height you need for one of those is hard to come by. Now I’m glad I have the mini vs the full having climbed on it for the past 4 years. That being said it’s definitely not for everyone. It’s made for anyone who loves hard bouldering. You can for sure train power endurance on it, but if you hate bouldering and want to train more endurance than anything then a spray wall is probably a better use of your money. There’s just not enough good holds to stay on the wall for a long time with and doing circuits around the board would be boring and probably a bit awkward. Some folks I’ve heard spray holds between the standard moon holds to try to remedy this. I don’t think I’d like that. I think it would degrade the quality of the moonboard by making you foot dab and forearm/knee bash more when your trying to climb the standard problems.
I built my own frame and panels and just ordered holds, t nuts, and bolts from moon. I’ve rebuilt my frame 3 times when moving board locations. I’ve always built in a basement or garage with exposed joists so it was pretty easy just to build a frame from floor to ceiling and not need any supports. If you can avoid having to do a freestanding design with supports in your landing zone I would. You don’t want to be thinking falling and smacking a post when you’re trying to climb. Try to leave yourself at least 3 feet or more lateral space on each side of the wall. To utilize some of the holds on the edge it’s necessary to have your body position off the edge of the wall. Also many problems finished matched on the top corner holds which are never the best holds. It hurts to dry fire off of them then bash into a side wall.
2020 set: If I was getting a new mini I’d still probably start with this hold set. Having such a large bank of problems and benchmarks (Pretty much all of the benchmarks are blatantly sandbagged by 1-3 grades which is what you want. You don’t want your home wall to make you think you’re stronger than you are. This is for training, remember? Compared to the 2025 I would say this hold set is more finger intensive. You do have to be careful and listen to your fingers with this set. My fingers always ached the day after a hard session and I gave myself a good overuse finger injury at least once, but that just means you have to be smart about it. I wouldn’t call anything on the board tweaky, it’s just hard and finger intensive. 2025 set: I changed my holds over about 3 weeks ago now and I’m really enjoying the new set. For the most part the “wooden holds” that are no longer on the wall were some of the more difficult to use and therefore less used holds. The blue holds are well made and have some fun and interesting features. They are more textured (but not too textured) and larger, therefore easier to use. I have found that I climb a lot more problems during my sessions and don’t have to be as careful with my fingers. This set probably won’t be as sandbagged but I’d be surprised if it wasn’t sandbagged at all. There’s no benchmarks yet so I’m looking forward to the first round of those to drop. I still love the 2020 but I’d gotten to the point where I wasn’t as excited to climb on it anymore and was psyched to see something new drop. Sorry for the long rambling post, I just have a lot to say about the mini. I’m just a huge fan of this board and figured I’d share. |
Ethan Safferwrote: No need to apologize for such an informative post! Thanks especially for your review of the 2025 set. I've got product notifications turned on for Set F at Oliunid for when they restock ... figured that built-in delay would give me enough time to get through some of the 2020 classics. |
 I registered just to join in the general Mini lovefest. I built mine this summer - the pic is from halfway through putting the holds on - but I wish I'd known about it during the covid lockdowns! It's been said before but the style really is quite different from what you get on the full-sized Moon boards. Fewer dynos, less cutting loose, more body tension and moves where the feet have to stay on. That's not to say there are no dynos, there definitely are, but the emphasis is different. The best problems pack in 4-6 hard moves depite the relatively small sizeof the board, which is exactly what you want from a training board, imo. The finishes in particular feel like a unique feature of the Mini - on the full-size Moon setups, and even more so on the Kilter board, so many problems finish with a throwaway final move to a big top jug. On the Mini holding the finish is often the hardest bit. People say the 2020 set is the most sandbagged of all the Moon sets across any version of the board. I was worried when I bought mine that I'd just get shut down on even the mid-grade problems, especially after reading one review that said the Mini wasn't worth it for anyone not bouldering 7b or above. But now I think the sandbagginess is a bit overstated. It's definitely tougher than gym grading. And there are some benchmarks that feel ridiculously stiff (looking at you, Lightbulb Sun: there is no way that matching A12 is 6b in any sane universe). But I think if you can boulder 6c or so indoors you'll be fine. I do think the 2020 setup could do with maybe 2 more juggy holds somewhere in the middle of the board just to increase the variety a bit at the very lowest grades, but that's a small downside, and one you can easily fix with a couple of screw-ons. One interesting side-effect of the board being small is that there are often multiple ways to do a problem, some of which work better for tall climbers and others for shorter ones, as opposed to the bigger boards where having more space between holds means there are sometimes not that many beta variations possible. Construction stuff: my board is free-standing with legs and I can only think of a couple of problems where the legs have got in the way. I have an extra set of holds above the top row, which can make for some fun extensions to problems. Definitely agree with the advice about leaving room to the sides if you can. I didn't buy the LEDs - the board is small enough and the holds distinct enough that I don't really need them, and I think it'd be even easier with the extra colour on the 2025 set. I'm team Standard Kicker: it is kinda weird that there are benchies set by people with extra-tall kickboards (surely that defeats the point of having "benchmark" problems in the first place?) And yeah, tall climbers complain about scrunched starts, but then us shorties can't reach row 11 from the kicker - you win some, you lose some! I do one limit-bouldering session and one power-endurance session a week and that's got me noticeably stronger without so far feeling like I'm risking injuring myself. (I think the fact there are fewer dynos helps limit the injury risk). I agree that the board is too steep and the holds too bad for circuit training. But I've had good power-endurance results with 6-in-6 sessions, where you climb a problem six times on the minute. I also do one gym session a week where I focus on slab and vert problems, just so I don't get too tunnel visioned on crimping hard on steep overhangs. Anyway I love my Mini and I actively look forward to sessions on it. In the summer with the shed doors open and the sunlight streaming in and the birds singing it's glorious. In the winter with the doors closed and a little heater it's cosy. If anyone is thinking about getting one but still a bit unsure I'd say definitely go for it! |
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Haven‘t seen this posted anywhere else in the thread: there is this guy on github that uploaded a program that you supposedly can load onto an arduino to built you own led-system:
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Totally unrelated to the sweet DIY LED thing, but does anyone in reno have a mini they would be open to having a sesh with a stranger on? |
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I think there’s a dude over there named Dax Veloria who has one. |
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I’ll jump in on the Mini Hype! I can add some perspective from a climber at the lower end of Mini Ability.. I finished building my Mini 6 months ago. I injured my elbow on my first session and didn’t climb it again for 2 months.. I’ve really only been back and super focused on it for the past 2 months.. for some data on me. I’ve been climbing over 30 years. In my 20’s I climbd 12d and V7… fast forward past a decade “off” family, kids, other sports and just getting older and I’d say im around 5.12a and V4-5 outside.. I’m pretty inconsistent, but train pretty well when I train.. I do Big Walls every spring+fall and those inevitably knock out a month or more each season.. I’m constantly on a “Break” or a “comeback”… in case you’re having trouble with the math, im in my early fifties.. As a climber I’m good on short and steep, im heavy and powerful, but lack crimp ability and can get shut down disproportionately when little crimps appear. I am strongest on 3 finger drag, slopers and 2 finger pockets.. I have huge sausage fingers! a climbing partner said “you built a wall that’s entirely your anti-style” After 15 sessions over a few months on a 2019 MoonBoard, I had only completed 18 V3 Benchmarks.. I fully expected to not be able to do a single V3 BM on the mini.. I was shocked to do a dozen BM’s on my first session (and hurt myself) Post injury I got through 30 out of 40 V3 BM’s and once frustrated I realized there are 1600 V3s on the app, and I had only been trying BMs.. the low amount of holds, and even lower amount of big holds means many of those 1600 are repeats or partial repeats of other problems.. you get motivation from a single different hold or foot on a problem you might have fairly wired otherwise.. this gradually exposes you to other (worse) holds and awkward movements and lets you get volume and tick off new sends.. I’ve completed over 200 problems, including a handful of V4 BMs the gradual exposure to small(tiny) holds, forcing me to Chisel and Crimp, has quickly started to pay off and im developing a new skill set that I’ve never been even remotely good at.. the few days I’ve done gym routes im doing crimp sequences that would of shut me down… I also sent last years sport climb project easily.. it was somewhat surreal.. A few thoughts: Go with a stock 6” Kicker! A bigger kicker would totally change the character! I built mine 12” to allow for 6” of pads. When branching out in to non BM climbs, use all the holds and attempt to do the sequence as intended.. some of these sequences are totally contrived, but force you to do interesting moves often on bad holds. It makes no sense to me to tick off an obscure non-BM and comment that you skipped 2 or 3 holds.. often that will make the problem easier and likely leaves you effectively repeating a different problem.. If you can afford it get the lights.. I went back and forth, there are more of them out there without lights than with. There are tons of arguments against them (builds skills) and even some hard line “anti light” people out there. That’s all cool, and if you don’t have them, don’t need them or don’t want them it’s all good… but.. lights are fucking awesome!, I have zero regrets! |
 Also on board with the mini. I built mine this August with a 9" kicker to make room for my 3" half-pads and it has about an extra foot around the top and sides. I was fortunate enough to scavenge almost all the wood on Marketplace from someone who was moving and had three small boards in their garage. Using those materials, I was able to frame it out with 2x4's (aside from the legs) and everything stiffened up fantastically when the ply went on. I used some cutouts from extra ply to add stiffness to the transition from the kicker to the face, to the top corners, and to the "feet" of the legs. No lights and I haven't felt the need. All the photos and discussion on this thread were a huge help in having confidence in the design and in making the decision to go with a mini. It was also surprisingly cost-effective to get the moon hold sets compared to trying to buy that many commercial holds elsewhere, although still very much a luxury expense. I'm hoping to pick up the F holds (ideally before any new tarrifs kick in...) and spray them around the outside until I eventually reset. I'm also planning to fill out the edges a bit more with some different styles of holds as the opportunity arises... which is to say, as Escape has sales. I sort of snapped after getting rained out a lot of the days I was free to climb last winter, and then getting hit with a summer of oppressive heat and just went for it. I have a lot of options for climbing outdoors nearby, but there isn't a gym within about two hours, and the inability to climb when the weather turns has caused a lot of wheel spinning over the last two seasons. Although I've only had a couple months on it (broken up by travel for work, weeks prioritizing outdoor climbing, etc), it has already paid dividends. After climbing almost exclusively outdoors over the last three years I came into the mini pretty weak, and it took a couple weeks of slowly building up to get comfortable on the holds, get used to the angle, and snag a few benchmarks. As soon as the weather cooled enough to get outside I found that I was able to confidently punch through the bulgy cruxes of a few routes that had felt marginal last spring. I also feel like just being able to really weight my fingers regularly on a variety of holds for a few weeks was awesome for feeling less tweaky as I transitioned back to rock. I consider board climbing to basically be my anti-style, but being patient and treating the mini as training has been a lot of fun. Doing non-benchmarks along the way has been a great way to ease in and build volume. For the next couple months it's probably going to be more of a work day/rainy day supplement, but I can't wait to really delve into it more seriously soon. |
