Portable and Packable: Essential Rock Climbing Training Tools for Vanlifers
For full time vanlifers and even long term climbing roadtrippers, maintaining a climbing training schedule can be tough. As much as we would like for climbing itself to act as sufficient training, it’s just not. If we want to progress, we need to put in the effort.
But how can we do that with small spaces and no rock gym to fall back on? While road dwellers can certainly use climbing gyms effectively from time to time, we usually don’t have the luxury of a consistent facility. That leaves you and your van.
Rigging up a complete climbing training system on a camper van is hard. Way harder than we expected. In fact, it was probably what we struggled with most, and it wasn’t until we had gone through several iterations of a training system that we gave in and paid someone to custom fabricate a pop-up pull-up bar on the rear doors.
We’ll be going into far greater detail about how to build various training options (including walking you through our failures and analysis of why they failed) in the near future. Keep an eye on our Van Build section for that.
For the moment, however, we’re talking portable climbing training tools, which (mostly) don’t require any special setup in your van. Here are some things we’ve found essential for training for climbing on the road.
*This post contains affiliate links.
NAVIGATION FOR VANLIFE CLIMBING TRAINING TOOLS
Portable Climbing Training Tools
Portable Climbing Therapy and Injury Prevention Tools
Portable Climbing Training Tools
Image credit Witchholds
Portable Hangboard
What good is climbing training without a hangboard (the answer is not much). You see, as we discuss more in this intro article to training for climbing on the road, even if you’re climbing outside day after day, your fingers will lose fitness unless you’re truly stressing them to the max. A hangboard is non-negotiable for the serious climbers living on the road for really any longer than a couple of weeks.
Unfortunately, the logistics of a camper van hangboard can be tricky at best, but the easiest and most versatile solution is to get yourself a portable hanging hangboard (hooray for redundancy) like the Tension Flash Board or Witchholds mWitch Light. Both these wooden ultra-portable boards can be essentially hung on anything and flipped around to feature different edges. You can even stash them in your pack or Boulder Caddy and bring them to the crag to warm up your fingers. Even if you don’t have anything to hang it from, loop the cordelette around your feet and pull!
While a non-static hangboard certainly adds a little difficulty to your hangboard routine, it’s otherwise the same thing in a moveable package.
Image credit Tension Climbing
Metolius Rock Rings
For even more portability swap (or better yet, supplement) your single-piece hangboard for a double single-hand hangboard. The Metolius Rock Rings have been around for ages for those who like hanging on classic gym-hold polyurethane.
More recently, Metolius has released Wood Rock Rings to follow the trend of the wooden holds and the wildly popular Tension Blocks.
In the vein of monoliths like Tension and Metolius, BG Climbing is a new startup that’s specializing in making portable, lightweight training tools perfect for vanlife. Like their BG Climbing Double Sided Wood Rock Climbing Rings.
These sorts of hangboard typically only have edges (and the top which can be used as a pull-up jug) but they gain a little versatility elsewhere. As opposed to just hanging, these allow you to actually tie them to weights and lift with your fingers, which is perfect for people who want to train their fingers but have no way to hang a hangboard in a camper van.
Find it here: Backcountry / REI / Amazon / Moosejaw
Image credit Metolius
Lightweight Mounted Hangboard
If you have space to actually mount a static hangboard in your van, something like the Metolius Wood Grips II Climbing Board is a nice lightweight option with plenty of edges as well as top jugs for pullups.
Or if you just want the smaller edges, the Metolius Prime Rib or the BG Climbing 3-piece rail hangboard might be more your speed.
Find it here: Backcountry / REI / Moosejaw
Resistance Bands
Resistance bands are a climbers best friend, particularly the vanlife climber who doesn’t have much space. They take up virtually no space and are so versatile, especially if you have a combination of lighter and heavier bands. Use light bands for shoulder warm ups, rehab, and pull-up assistance, and heavier ones for actual strength training.
If you get really heavy duty (100+lbs resistance) bands, you can actually use them to do things like some form of deadlifting and other things that normally require a rack of heavy weights to accomplish.
Image credit Manduka
Yoga Mat
While all your on-the-road hangboard training can be done over any surface, most other exercises are going to require some surface that isn’t the dirt or rocky ground. Yoga mats are a simple and easy way to turn your current #homeiswhereyouparkit situation into a cozy fitness studio. Even if you don’t do any actual yoga on, yoga mats are endlessly useful for everything from ab workouts to stretching.
For vanlife, we have generally found that heavier duty and thicker mats perform better since you’ll usually be using them outside. They may not be as portable, but when your whole home is, who needs the mat to be?
If you’re looking to be a little extra eco friendly about your yoga mat choice (you know, to match your sustainable climbing rope and vegan rock shoes), go for a PVC-free and non toxic choice like the Manduka eKO and prAna Eco yoga mats.
Find them here: Backcountry / REI / Moosejaw
Image credit Bowflex
Adjustable Kettlebells
Whether you’re a crusher who needs to add weight or a newbie that needs to take some off (or are just using heinously small edges), kettlebells are perfect for upping your hang board game. While any old weight place can technically work, kettlebells are nice because they have a single equalized attachment handle on top and thus hang off your eco friendly harness much nicer.
The downside to kettlebells is that a full set of them takes up a huge amount of space. Enter: the adjustable kettlebell, so can have all the benefits of a low to moderate weight set in one small package.
Find them here: Amazon
Image credit Bowflex
Adjustable Dumbbells
While the kettlebell has better applications to a lot of climber specific exercises, some people may like their traditional dumbbell exercises. We’re some of those people, and happen to think there are few better exercises to strengthen the shoulder than a single-arm overhead press with a dumbbell.
For folks like us, you can also get adjustable dumbbells, generally available from 25 to 75 pounds max weights. Ours go up to 50lbs and store away neatly in an included 10”x14” briefcase.
Find them here: Amazon
Gymnastic Rings
If you don’t have the space or money to buy some weights (especially COVID has caused the price of weights to skyrocket), the single best portable training tool you can buy on a budget is a set of gymnastic rings.
Available as low as $25, rings open up a whole new world of body weight exercises, many of which are perfect for climbers (since they nearly all demand shoulder stability and core tension!).
They’re also super easy to rig, either off sturdy trees, the roof rack or ladder of your van, or a pop-up pull-up bar as we have.
Find them here: Amazon
Image credit Pure Body Logix
Gyroscopic Resistance Forearm Trainer
Get those forearm tendons in shape without having to hang all the time. This nifty little tool uses gyroscopic motion via an inner ball to generate force. Simply get it started and try to hold on as long as you can while fighting off the pump.
Portable Climbing Therapy and Injury Prevention Tools
If you’re training hard and climbing hard, your body is going to need some good ol’ R&R as well. In the climber’s case, that means less “rest and relaxation” and more “rest and rehabilitation”. Taking care of your body is just as important as making it strong. These are some small and portable rehab tools:
Image credit Trigger Point
Trigger Point Foam Roller
Probably the single biggest item on this list, foam rollers aren’t the most compact tool, but boy are they a nice one. With so many uses (from stretching the shoulders to giving a self-massage to virtually any area of the body) they’re well worth the space they take up. Trigger Point’s foam rollers are especially luxurious with their various sizes and ribbed body for a little extra pressure point massaging power.
Find it here: Backcountry / REI
Image credit Trigger Point
Massage Balls
For those deep tissue knots and hard-to-reach spots that the foam roller just can’t reach, a massage ball will do the trick. Use them against a wall or lie on them on the floor for a deep tissue (sometimes tear-inducing- but in the best kind of way) self-massage. Alternatively, have a friend or partner roll them across your back for a nice, low-pressure tension release.
If you’re especially tight on space and can’t get every massage tool on this list, make these a priority. Use them against a wall or the floor for a self-massage or have a friend or partner roll them across your back for a nice, low-pressure tension release.
Find them here: Backcountry / REI
Image credit Trigger Point
Trigger Point AccuCurve Cane Massage Stick
Another option for deep tissue and pressure point massage is a massage stick, like this one by Trigger Point. These are especially great for digging into muscles if you don’t have a partner. Best of all, you can do it sitting in bed rather than laying on the floor.
Find it here: Backcountry / REI
Image credit Ekrin Athletics
Deep Tissue Massage Gun
Then we have the Holy Grail of self-massager: the massage gun. A somewhat new invention, lots of pro climbers now swear by this tool for fast muscle recovery and pump alleviation in between climbers.
In terms of forearm and elbow tendon massage, there is no better tool than this (so all you suffering with climber’s elbow tendonitis, take note!). They’re definitely more expensive than other manual massagers listed here, but they are worth it if you’re looking for a full-scale self or partner massage tool for any and all purposes.
Find Hyperice Massage Gun here: REI
Find Ekrin Athletics Massage Gun here: Ekrin Athletics
Gripmaster Pro Hand Strengthener
For climbers, the Gripmaster Pro isn’t going to strengthen the hand; our hands are already far stronger than the device. What it will do, however, is provide a bit of healthy active recovery movement for rest days when you need to get blood flowing in your fingers without straining them too hard.
Moreover, it’s also great to use as a pocket-sized warm-up tool before crimping hard.
Find it here: : REI
Image credit Metolius
Metolius Grip Saver Plus Hand Exercisers
Whereas the gripmaster works the hand’s pull, or flexion (as does literally every other climbing motion), the Metolius Grip Saver works the push of the fingers, or the extension. While the extensor act isn’t terribly useful to improving grip stretch, it’s so good for your overall tendon health. Think about it: we climbers spend a LOT of time pulling in with your fingers, and our fingers need balance.
If you’re dealing with pulley strain or joint capsule displacement, these hand exercises speed up recovery.
Find it here: : Backcountry / REI / Moosejaw
Before you Drive Away…
We hope this list has helped all you vanlifers and vanlife dreamers struggling with the notion of staying fit for climbing on the road. Sure, it’s not as easy as topping by the gym after work to get in a quick hangboard sesh, but seriously training for climbing on the road is fully possible.
Live to climb, train to climb harder: that’s the dirtbag way.
**This post contains affiliate links to support the continued creation of these van life guides. This just means that if you purchase one of these eco rock climbing ropes from one of the links above, I get a small commission from the sale at no cost to you. Read more here or reach out with more questions.