Climbing is fun, but with YY Vertical’s latest training gear, training can be just as enjoyable!
Since we’ve been creating guides on training how-tos, skill improvement, and the cultural background of climbing, we thought it was time to introduce you to the perfect “weapons”.
Want to know how to get stronger at bouldering? Let’s dive into YY Vertical’s training equipment!
Who are YY Vertical?
YY Vertical are a French company (based in Grenoble) specialised in top-level quality climbing training equipment. They started their business in 2013 by manufacturing belaying glasses – cervical spine says thanks! 😂
Their main values are proximity, passion, and goodwill, and 10+ years later it looks like YY Vertical is definitely committed to taking care of climber’s comfort, prevention, and performance.
It’s enough to check out their products to understand they’ve been specially crafted for warm-up, training, climbing, and recovery.
What can you find in the YY Vertical shop?
Today we are going to focus on training gear. However, before we jump into that I want to give an quick overview of the YY products you can find in our Boulderflash shop here:
- Hangboards and fingerboards
- Gift or home accessories such as key holders or mugs
- Climbing accessories such as chalk bags, socks, brushes, or belaying glasses
- Strengthening and warming up stuff such as elastic resistance bands, or climbing rings
Why do you need a hangboard or a fingerboard?
You don’t. At least not if you want to keep it chill with bouldering. However, if your palms sweat when you’re watching Will Bosi, Natalia Grossman, or Adam Ondra sending, you might want to consider getting one.
I am not saying owning training gear such as a hangboard will make you climb like a pro but it will for sure help you level up by strengthening your back muscles, arms, finger tendons, and ligaments.
What is hangboarding/fingerboarding?
Hangboarding or fingerboarding is a great way to increase power and contact strength. Focusing on big muscles or isolating the finger muscle increases grip strength on bigger or smaller holds – so essential in climbing.
If you want to know more about it and whether you should do it or not please read our guide Hangboarding for Beginners: A Simple Guide on how to Hangboard.
What are my favourite hangboard options?
YY Vertical has quite many training options on the market. Between different shapes and sizes, portable or mountable, let’s find out how you can easily pick your training for climbing or warming up buddy!
The YY Vertical Board Light
If you are just starting out and you are not sure what to but but want to explore more climbing training options, the YY Vertical Board Light is your ideal choice! It doesn’t take too much space when hung, it has the great classics of climbing training and slightly more:
- 2 flats of 30°
- 2 x 45 mm jugs
- 2 x 25 mm
- 2 x 20 mm
- A central handle (40 mm middle jug) serves to train one-arm pull-ups and as an attachment point for an elastic band to lighten yourself on various exercises
One might say it is ideal for a beginner in hangbording – I say it’s ideal as well for climbers who like simple things. And I say this because when I was a beginner I had a Metolius Simulator thinking I would progress and get to use all of the options.
In reality, I did not even do that much hangboarding, and having that many options felt overwhelming to me.
Therefore I ended up selling it and, years later, I bought the YY Light version.
In my opinion, it is suitable for those who want to keep hangboarding as their training routine but are not looking for minimal edges and hardcore fingerboarding.
For more information, you can check the YY Vertical Board Light at our Boulderflash shop. Of course, my experience is personal and yours can be different.
The YY Vertical Board One
The next choice after the light version, the YY Vertical Board One is a more complete hangboard designed to support your long-term climbing projects. It combines 15 different holds among which are two finger pockets and inclined finger pockets.
The cherry on top is that it comes with 10mm magnetic inserts included which you can safely keep on the sides so you don’t lose them! Curious?
Go check it out in detail at Boulderflash.com!
- 4 fingers pockets: 45mm, 25mm, 20mm, 18mm
- Holds + inserts: 35mm, 15mm, 10mm, 8mm
- Inclined holds: 25mm / 30°
- Two fingers pockets: 50mm, 30mm
- Slopers: 35°, 20°
- 2 jugs with a central handle that serves to train one-arm pull-ups and as an attachment point for an elastic band to lighten yourself on various exercises
Do you want to keep it simple? There is a way you can simply throw a portable hangboard in your climbing bag and go climbing.
The YY Travel board
This portable board is my favorite because it’s small, it’s light, fits in a backpack, and is quite versatile. It’s ideal for traveling – when space is limited, you can use it at home but it’s also perfect for when you want to warm up at the crag, before trying your boulder problem.
- 2 monos ideal for the isolation of muscle development
- 1 x 10 mm edge
- 1 x 15 mm edge
- 1 x 25 mm edge
For more information, you can check it out in our shop here.
The YY Baguette Board
Similar to the Travelling board and slightly longer, this version offers great versatility as well. Suitable for travelers, those who are limited in space, and those who want to keep warm between tries.
It is quite resourceful in edges therefore it is more approachable by all sorts of climbers, of all levels.
Two inclination modes + one tray
- 2 x 10 mm edge
- 2 x 15 mm edge
- 2 x 20 mm edge
- 2 x 25 mm edge
- 2 x 30 mm edge
Both the traveling board and baguette are made from recycled wood and are very soft to the touch.
Go ahead and check it out in our shop here.
The YY Penta Board
The YY Penta has a pretty interesting and unique shape for a hangboard. Very light, it includes 7 different holds from 10 mm edges up to 30 mm, a mono, and a two-finger pocket.
You can do pull-ups, finger strengthening, and ring workouts – although if you are into that YY Vertical offers the gym rings option, specially made for strengthening the upper body.
Do you want it? Go find it in our shop!
In this price and utilisation range, with similar features but slightly different you can find the Metolius Light Rail which can actually be mounted with 4 screws (if needed), or the Lattice Mega Bar.
YY Mono, YY Duo and YY Triangle
Is your project more finger-strength dependent? We got you! YY Vertical offers you 3 minimalist choices built for muscle isolation and tendon development of one, two fingers, or all of them: the YY Duo, the YY Mono, or the YY Triangle.
Do you want to work on your mono strength and get one of your fingers ready for pockets?
Get the YY Mono.
Do you want to work on two fingers’ strength and make them stronger for your double-pocket climbing project?
Get the YY Duo.
Are you interested in alternating and increasing your finger grip but also working individually on one-finger strength?
Get the YY Triangle.
It comes with a unique design that includes 4 different types of grip and one mono. Genius, right?!
All three of them take up almost no space in your backpack and can also be carried outside the climbing backpack.
Thoughts on portable vs fixed training boards
I find portable climbing boards very versatile because they can easily be carried around at the crag or climbing. They are usually built to include the basics of what a climber needs to warm up before trying a boulder problem or train finger and arm strength.
Not to mention a portable board can also be used as a home training hangbboard, and the advantage is it doesn’t require installation.
However, if you are a beginner and you are looking for a training board, I recommend choosing a classic fixed hangboard because it’s more stable and allows you to focus on the movement.
Therefore you’ll be able to train safely on it without struggling to keep it still with all the core you have. 😂
What makes YY Vertical special?
- All YY vertical boards come with installation screws and some models include magnetic inserts so you can adjust your edges according to your progression
- They are made of light durable wood which is grippy but also soft to the touch
- They have a cool design based on observation and pro advice, therefore they are adapted to every climber
Are there other training gear options besides hangboarding?
Other efficient options for training are the YY elastic resistance bands. They are particularly useful for muscle isolation workouts, warming up, strengthening your shoulders and core, and stretching after climbing. They have different levels of rigidity/elasticity and can be used in various ways, even when hangboarding!
Here’s an example of how you can warm up by using elastic resistance bands.
If you are more of a sophisticated climber and you have slightly more space for a training temple have a look at other training magic tools such as:
- The Lattice Micros: 2 x 8/14mm, 2 x 6/12mm, 2 x 4/10mm
- The Lattice Campus Rungs: 15 mm and 25 mm
And a good option for whoever prefers a more specialised type of training, Metolius offers the Campus Blocks, available in sizes from Small (19mm) to 3XL (47.6 mm).
Summary of YY Vertical training collections
- A portable training collection: the Penta, Triangle, Rocky, Climbing balls, Twin cylinders, Cube, Duo, Gym Rings, Mono, La Baguette, and Travelboard.
- A fixed climbing beams collection: the VerticalBoard Evo, VerticalBoard One, VerticalBoard First, and VerticalBoard Light. The hangboards in this one are more complex, offer many features and training options, and require installation.
- An elastic and hanging strap collection: is useful for both at the climbing gym as well as for bouldering outdoors.
Bonus: I am a firm believer that recovery is part of good training. Therefore I highly recommend the YY massage gun. Both Shock One and Shock Mini come with 5 different massage heads and 4 massage speeds.
The five benefits of massage for climbers
- Better blood circulation
- Better flexibility
- Overall your body feels better
- Decreasing tension in your muscles decreases the risk of injury in the long term
- It’s cheaper than paying for a massage after every climbing session
What’s your excuse for not trying the YY Vertical hangboards? If you did, which one is your favorite?
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