Metolius Hangboards: Complete Brand Guide and Reviews

Brand History

Metolius was founded in 1983 by Doug Phillips in his garage in Bend, Oregon. The company takes its name from the Metolius River, a spring-fed river that emerges from the ground near Phillips' home. What started as one climber making gear in a garage grew into one of the most recognized climbing equipment brands in the world, driven by the crew of committed climbers pushing limits at nearby Smith Rock.

Metolius was the first company in North America to manufacture training boards. In the mid-1980s, Smith Rock legends Chris Grover and Alan Watts traveled to Europe, where they encountered the first resin hangboard made by Entre Prises. They came back convinced that American climbers needed something similar. The result was the original Simulator, first mentioned in a Chris Grover product letter dated February 1987 and appearing on the Metolius price list by March 1988.

The Simulator was one of the first mass-produced resin hangboards in the United States. By its second generation, it was gaining popularity through word of mouth in a climbing community small enough that advertisements weren't necessary. In the early 1990s, Metolius became the first climbing company to use a CNC machine for creating molds, which meant perfectly replicated boards rolling off the production line. The Metolius 3D Simulator hangboard is now in its seventh generation and remains the top-selling training board globally.

When you buy a Metolius fingerboard, you're buying from a company that has been refining hangboard design longer than most brands have existed. For a deep dive on how resin compares to wood and other materials, check our hangboard types and materials guide.

The Simulator 3D

The Simulator 3D is the flagship Metolius hangboard and the board most people think of when they hear the name. It's the largest board in the lineup, and it packs a massive variety of holds into that footprint.

The "3D" in the name refers to the board's three-dimensional profile. It's thicker at the top than the bottom, creating a subtle taper that puts your hands and forearms in a more ergonomic position while hanging. The holds are arranged along a broad arc that follows the natural angle of your arms.

Hold selection includes: a top-mounted jug rail, multiple edge depths from generous rails down to small crimps, 2/3/4-finger pockets at various depths, rounded and flat slopers, and angled side pulls.

The sheer number of holds is what sets the Simulator apart. The Metolius 3D Simulator hangboard is designed for climbers who want one board that covers every grip type, from jugs to tiny crimps.

The Project Board

The Metolius Project hangboard is the compact option in the resin lineup. It's about 30% smaller than the Simulator 3D with a solid assortment of holds along the same arched profile.

Like the Simulator, the Project Board uses CAD/CAM design for perfect symmetry and features the same fine-grained resin texture. The holds taper outward and downward, maintaining the ergonomic positioning that Metolius has refined over seven generations of board design.

The Project Board trims down the hold count compared to the Simulator but keeps the essentials: jugs, edges at multiple depths, pockets for 2 through 4 fingers, and slopers. It's a focused selection that covers the core grip types you need for structured training.

Who it's for: The Metolius Project hangboard is a strong pick if you want Metolius quality in a smaller package. It works well for home gyms where wall space is limited, or for climbers who don't need the Simulator's full arsenal of holds.

Wood Grips II (Deluxe and Compact)

The Wood Grips II line is where Metolius steps into wooden hangboard territory. These boards swap the polyester resin for actual wood construction, and the difference in feel is immediately noticeable.

Wood is naturally more skin-friendly than resin. It absorbs chalk better, provides more consistent friction, and causes less skin wear during extended sessions. The Metolius wooden hangboard options look great on a wall too. Where resin boards have a utilitarian gym-equipment feel, the Wood Grips II boards bring warmth and character to a training space.

Hold selection includes: jugs, large slopers, edges at various depths, and 2 to 4 finger pockets.

The Metolius wood grips hangboard line fills an important gap. Not every climber wants a resin board, and before the Wood Grips II, your main wooden options were Beastmaker and Tension, both at higher price points. The Wood Grips II Compact at ~$100-110 is one of the more affordable wooden fingerboards on the market.

Who it's for: Climbers who prefer the feel of wood but want to stay within the Metolius ecosystem. The Deluxe is the better choice if you have wall space and want more hold variety. The Compact works for tighter spaces or if you want a wood training option alongside a resin board.

The Contact Training Board

The Metolius Contact training board is the most deluxe resin board in the collection. It's the largest and most feature-rich option, with an enormous hold selection that surpasses even the Simulator.

The Contact's hold selection includes 11 pockets (2, 3, and 4 fingers, ranging from fingertip depth to second-joint depth), 4 central edges, top-mounted jugs, and both rounded and flat slopers. Despite being the most feature-rich board, the Contact is designed to be welcoming. The holds skew toward larger, more generous sizes compared to the Simulator, giving you plenty of comfortable options for building base strength.

Who it's for: Climbers who want the absolute maximum hold variety from a single board. The Metolius Contact training board is the "leave nothing out" option. At ~$85-95, it's competitively priced and still less than most competing brands charge for their flagship boards.

The Foundry and Other Products

The Foundry sits between the Project and Contact boards in terms of size and features. It's a compact, fully featured training board with fine-grained resin texture, ergonomic tapered pinches, and an arched shape. Think of it as a more portable alternative to the larger boards that still offers serious training variety.

Beyond wall-mounted boards, Metolius makes Rock Rings (portable training holds that hang from a pull-up bar), Portable Power Grips for grip work on the go, Campus Rungs for campus board setups, and a Back Board ($29.95) for renters who can't drill into walls. The Metolius portable hangboard options, Rock Rings especially, have been a staple of traveling climbers for years.

Material: Polyester Resin vs. Wood

Most Metolius hangboards are made from polyester resin, the same material used in climbing gym holds. This gives them a texture that feels familiar to indoor climbers. The resin is fine-grained and described by Metolius as "skin friendly," and it is noticeably smoother than the coarse texture of older-generation resin boards.

That said, resin is resin. It's harder and less porous than wood. During longer training sessions, resin boards wear on your skin faster than wooden alternatives. Chalk helps, but wood naturally manages moisture and friction in a way that resin can't match. The Wood Grips II line addresses this directly. If skin health matters to you, the wooden options are worth the slight price premium.

Neither material is objectively better. Resin is tougher and cheaper. Wood is kinder to your skin and looks better on a wall. Your choice depends on your priorities.

Strengths of the Metolius Lineup

Price Accessibility

Metolius hangboard prices start at ~$70 for the Simulator 3D. Even the most feature-rich option stays around ~$100-115. For comparison, a Tension Grindstone runs $170.90 and a Beastmaker 2000 costs around $138. Metolius makes it possible to start training without a major investment.

Unmatched Variety

No other brand gives you six distinct boards to choose from, plus portable training tools. Whether you want a full-size resin board, a compact wood board, or something you can throw in a travel bag, Metolius has an option. The Metolius hang board lineup covers more use cases than any competitor.

Availability

You can find Metolius boards at REI, Amazon, local climbing shops, and metoliusclimbing.com. They're in stock almost everywhere, all the time. When you decide you want a hangboard, waiting weeks for a boutique brand to ship from overseas isn't ideal. Metolius boards are on shelves now.

Proven Design

Seven generations of the Simulator. Decades of iteration. Metolius training boards have been tested by millions of climbers worldwide. The ergonomic arc, the hold layout, the texture refinement. These boards are refined through actual use over actual decades.

Limitations Worth Knowing

Resin Texture

Even with Metolius's refined, fine-grained texture, polyester resin is harder on skin than wood. High-volume training sessions will chew through your skin faster on resin. Some climbers find it uncomfortable after extended use, particularly on edges and shallow pockets.

No Labeled Edge Depths

None of the Metolius hangboard models label their holds with millimeter measurements. If you're following a protocol that calls for specific edge sizes, you'll need to measure them yourself. Boards like The Hangboard and some Tension models include labeled depths as a standard feature.

Less Refined Hold Shaping

Metolius holds are functional and well-designed, but they don't have the hand-tuned, radiused feel of premium wooden boards from Beastmaker or Tension. The edges and pockets can feel sharper and less ergonomic under heavy load.

Aesthetics

The swirled resin look has a gym-equipment aesthetic that some people love and others don't. If you care about how your training setup looks at home, the Wood Grips II line or a dedicated wooden board from another brand is the better call.

How Metolius Compares to Other Brands

Metolius vs. The Hangboard ($89.99)

The Hangboard is a beech wood fingerboard with 6 labeled edge depths from 40mm down to 10mm, plus jugs and 40-degree slopers, at $89.99. It sits right alongside the Metolius Simulator 3D (~$70-80 resin) and below the Wood Grips Compact (~$100-110 wood) in price, but delivers a wood construction with labeled progression that neither Metolius board offers.

If you prefer the feel of wood and want to track your training through specific edge depths, The Hangboard gives you that at a price point comparable to Metolius's resin boards. If you want maximum hold variety and don't mind resin, the Simulator 3D still wins on sheer number of grip options.

Metolius vs. Beastmaker

Beastmaker builds premium wooden fingerboards in tulipwood and beech. The Beastmaker 1000 (~$138) and 2000 (~$138) are iconic boards with beautiful ergonomic holds. The key trade-off: Beastmaker boards feel better on your skin and have more refined hold shapes, but they cost significantly more than comparable Metolius options and offer fewer models to choose from.

The Metolius Wood Grips II Deluxe (~$120-130) competes most directly with the Beastmaker 1000 as a wooden all-around board at a similar price point.

Metolius vs. Tension Climbing

Tension makes arguably the most training-focused boards on the market. The Grindstone Mk2 (~$171) is a precision instrument with labeled edges and exceptional comfort. It's also nearly twice the price of the Metolius Project Board. Tension wins on refinement and structured training support. Metolius wins on variety, availability, and price.

Verdict

Metolius is the most accessible hangboard brand in climbing. No other company offers this many options at these price points with this kind of availability. The Simulator 3D remains a legitimate flagship product that has earned its position through decades of refinement. The Project Board and Foundry offer focused training at lower prices. And the Wood Grips II line proves that Metolius can build quality wooden boards too.

If you're looking for maximum hold variety at a reasonable price and you don't mind the resin texture, the Metolius Simulator 3D is hard to beat. It's the best-selling training board in the world for a reason, and it gives you more grip options in a single board than almost anything else on the market.

If skin health and training precision matter more to you, the Metolius wood hangboard options (Wood Grips II) are solid, or you might look at a dedicated wooden board like The Hangboard ($89.99), which offers labeled edge progression in beech wood at a very competitive price.

Metolius built the hangboard category. They've been at it since the late 1980s, longer than most competitors have been in business. That experience shows in every board they make. Whether you're picking up your first Metolius fingerboard or adding one to a collection, you're buying from a company that understands finger training as well as anyone in the industry.

For more brand comparisons and buying guides, check out the Hangboard Brand Guide and our Best Hangboards 2026 roundup.

Frequently Asked Questions