THE BRUSH BLOG
Stories, gear & friction.
Field notes, build logs, and everything we learn making climbing tools.
How the first ChalkBlaster went from a pile of parts to climbers' hands
The first ChalkBlaster wasn't designed in CAD for months. It was cheap parts arranged by hand, photographed, 3D printed, and put in ten climbers' hands for h...
How the first ChalkBlaster went from a pile of parts to climbers' hands
The first ChalkBlaster wasn't designed in CAD for months. It was cheap parts arranged by hand, photographed...
We could have outsourced assembly. Building the first batches by hand taught us why we didn't.
We could have shipped the ChalkBlaster design to a factory on day one. Instead we assembled the first two b...
One month of testing beats six months of CAD. Here's how we build.
We don't perfect ChalkBlaster parts on a screen. We buy up to 15 versions of each one, break them on the be...
"The button gets less responsive over a few months." So we changed it.
A climber told us the ChalkBlaster's button went mushy after a few months. You can't patch hardware over th...
What a 150,000 RPM motor failure taught us about your ChalkBlaster
A stock motor spinning at 150,000 RPM lost three blades on our bench and destroyed the unit around it. Here...
Fans, leaf blowers, and where a jet fan fits in bouldering
Climbers haul box fans and leaf blowers to the boulders for a reason. Here's what a fan does well, and why ...
What our first production batch taught us that CAD couldn't
Building the first ChalkBlaster batch by hand was chaos. It also taught us things six months of CAD never c...
Climbing Brushes: The Complete Guide to Choosing and Using One (2026)
The complete climbing brush guide: how bristles, size, and technique decide your friction, how the climbing...
We Built It Wrong the First Time. Here's What Changed.
The first ChalkBlaster production run was slow and chaotic — on purpose. It exposed what CAD never could. B...
The Part That Took 15 Tries
The angle-adjustment system on the ChalkBlaster brush looks simple. It took 15 versions to get there. Here’...
How We Make the ChalkBlaster 20% Stronger — For Almost Nothing
The ChalkBlaster is built to be abused — thrown, stepped on, and pushed through sessions that would break l...
2026 Best Gifts for Climbers: 10 Things They'll Actually Use!
Buying for a climber is either easy or completely baffling. This list cuts through it — 10 gifts that actua...
Have Portable Fans for Bouldering Become Mainstream?
Adam Ondra just completed the most dominant bouldering run in recorded history — V17 and four 8C flashes in...
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