MetoliusSimulator 3D Training Board

My 5’11 155lb. son is into rock climbing and wanted a hanging wall. Having no idea what it was, I ordered this Metolius Simulator 3D unit seeing that it had great reviews. It arrived within 2 days through Amazon. I inspected it before I put it up on our wall. It was very heavy, like cement, and had no cracks. The marbled white, gray and black design was a hit with my son. We picked out a perfect spot for his hanging unit in our basement that had studs in the wall to secure it to. Used a stud finder to mark the studs.I wanted to make the wood board backing so I went to Home Depot and had them cut a pine board: 9”X”48”, 3/4” thickness. I then sanded all the sides and corners, stained it and sealed the board. I also bought 4 #12 - 3 inch screws to screw this board into the studs in our wall. I marked the board’s center spot so I could match it up with the center of the hanging board. Using a bubble level tool, drill, measuring tape and ladder, I hung the backing board securely to the wall in the studs.Next was hanging the hanging unit to the backing board. This was the hardest part since I was doing this by myself standing on a ladder. I had to hold the heavy hanging board up to the place where it was going to be screwed to the backing board while trying to drill. Lined up the center of the board to the center of the hanging unit. Screwed in the top, middle hole first and then screwed in the other screws using the bubble level tool to make sure it’s balanced. Bam!!! Done!!! Best thing is, you get to hear, “Wow, thanks Mom!”Tips:•Find out where your studs are in the wall, that will determine exactly how long your backing board needs to be.•Try to put your hanging board in a place where you have enough room on both sides of the hanging board, not too close to a wall. You may require a little elbow room•Put your hanging board where you have enough head room for those pull ups. Also, too close to the ceiling will limit your finger room to grip the top.•I wish I made the backing board a little bit taller than 9” (just for the esthetics). So make sure you measure the height too, specially if you need the height to drill into a stud.Tools used:LadderBubble level toolDrillPhillips screw driverMeasuring tapePencil

Very good product, useful for climbers for increasing finger and grip strength. This product definitely outclasses other training boards in terms of variety of holds. This training board also has a great grip and really feels like a hold you would have in a climbing gym.

Be aware that if you're going to mount this to a regular wall, this needs to be mounted to a backing board (e.g. a 3/4-in thick piece of plywood), and this backer board screwed into wall studs. For anyone who hasn't done something like this before, you can just go to a Homedepot/Lowes/etc. and buy a quarter sheet of plywood (sometimes called a "project panel") and some wood screws about 2.5-in long. You can have them cut the plywood to size (for free) if you don't have the tools to do it yourself.You'll need to then find the studs (this: https://amzn.com/B000IKK0OI works well), and screw the plywood into the wall, putting three screws (evenly spaced; top, middle, bottom) into each stud behind the board. Then just screw this training board into the plywood using the included screws. I'd recommend pre-drilling the holes to reduce the chance of splitting.As a purely cosmetic thing, you can paint the plywood to match the color of your walls, and if you want to get fancy, route a profile onto the edge of the plywood (if you have/know someone with a router). If you're particularly anal, you can fill any gaps in the plywood edge with drywall compound before painting.TL;DR: It's critically important that this be securely attached to studs behind the wall, otherwise there is a high probability this will be ripped out of the drywall.-----The actual product-----Well made. Heavier than I expected (a good thing). Came in well-designed packaging to survive the hazards of shipping.

I tested a bunch of these out @ my local rock gym (Peak Experiences - RVA) and settled on the Simulator 3D as it mosre closely mimics textures that I'll be dealing with and I'm a fan of the arch and ton of hold positions. That being said, my "green" board is really "green/white swirl" which would've been my last choice, had I known it.Does it affect my ability to use it or its function? I *really* doubt it. Would I rather be staring at a cool green board hanging over a door rather than the "meh" color combo I got? Definitely. Please update picture (or go to Metolius website for accurate images).ALSO -- if you're planning on using this over a door and that door is butt-up against a wall (or close to it); this will not work. I'm about 40" elbow-to-elbow when in a pulled-up position on this board and all of the doors in my house are close enough to a wall where I smack an elbow (no stars off for this, just an FYI) during use. Time to MacGyver a solution...-- UPDATE: 5 stars --This board is awesome; use the training guide provided from the Metolius website and work your way through the progressions.

Arrived cracked in half. So I wouldn't say this thing is very durable, however how often will you be banging this thing about like shipping does? The texture feels great. Rougher than wood but not so rough you wont need some chalk from time to time. Groove depth is fairly nice, with some good variety. Color is VERY white with hardly any blue, VERY different than advertised photo. I don't mind much though. I tried screwing it to my wall to try it out and it works because it has a lot of screw holes, but I dare not hold the middle until this thing is replaced, because there are chips missing that will cut me. Its quite heavy. I'd still recommend it. Hope you have better luck with transport than I did.