Review > Project Holds > Drop

UPDATE: The problems we talk about below have been fixed, by this we mean the set screw placement, texture being uneven and the bolt column should be coming sooner rather than later. Good work Charles, thanks for listening!

If you think of drops as being on the small size, like a drop of water, then you're wrong, this hold is huge, gigantic even;

The Drop shape is a nice big slope, well it's a big big shape and therefore a huge slope :) The point of the drop is to be used as an open hand slope the narrow part of the hold can be used as a pinch. The other side (the top) has a small ridge on the back of the slope that allows you to grab it and stick... the rest of the hold? Oooof good luck!All said hold is huge, and has a lot to offer, so we set it up on the 30 degree wall, the hold has a lot of friction, maybe too much, yup we said it... Project have chucked out a hold that we can actually complain about. Compared to Projects normal texture, which is something you can hang on all day, there are some bobbles on this hold that are just plain sharp! It's like the mold is wrong, the texture on 90% of the hold is the same as you'd expect from their normal line and then the one place you're hitting is sharp and a skin ripper; and it's right where you want to be hitting the hold as well. Sure more friction is always good, but in this case it's something that you hit, hold, and then when you leave the hold wonder where all your skins gone to.

At one point we had our forearms on the hold and we didn't want to slip up on that move (Chris: the couple of time that I did, I lost so much skin that I bled. Not cool). The texture is uneven, there are high points in the texture similar to rough and digs into your skin. Otherwise this hold is like nothing else on the market. You can think of this hold as the Boss from Revolution with out the dimples, but with a rougher texture :(

We've had it for a while and have rotated it all around, keeping the same sequence each time and despite the roughness we've managed to work the routes to completion. There are times where people have come over have seen the holds and it's orientation and have said that the move wasn't ever going to be done, we've proved them wrong on most counts and some of the neigh sayers have finished the same route, the look on their faces was one that should be remembered, they enjoyed the moves... but did complain about (guess what) the texture, and that is the one thing that lets this hold down (for now) of being a must have for a gym.

You'd think that a sloper like this would not find itself on steep terrain but there are certain ways to place the Drop so that it manageable on the 45. Its nice that a big shapes like this can be put pretty much anywhere on our wall. You can easily get two hands on the hold with plenty of room to spare and it give you the option of being able to change the difficulty by rotating the hold a few degrees. On our wall the holds been used as an large tow handed undercut on the box, a slope and pinch (and every other rotation of the hold) on the 30 and on the 45 we were just happy to hit and hold onto it.


Versatility: A slope on the 45? Enough said.
Screw Holes: No

We've always liked Project holds. We've worked closely with Charles, even helping out getting the word out in Canada, and they have some of the coolest looking shapes out there. The Drop is no different. A big bright hold is always welcome on the CHR wall, the hold is fun to climb on and it will spark creativity with any setter.

Our praise stops here. Right away we noticed that the texture of the Drop was much coarser. Its uneven and there are high points, kinda like the pebbles that stick out of sandstone. Being a big slope, the friction is comforting when you're on the hold but if you rip off, you're skin will be in for a ripping as well. Another point: no center column. The bolt hole is subjected to a lot of force and it needs to have support. It may or may not brake over time, we need to test that out, but the bolt hole and the area around it will weaken, the column would help relieve any t nut problems you might have from the hold dropping when a lot of weight is put onto it, mind you, placing a set screw into the hold would also do the same thing.

• No centre column on the bolts, for big shapes this helps
• No pre drilled screw hole.
• Put this hold sideways, grab the tail and watch the spin, a screw would stop this
  
• Texture on the Drop is not symmetrical

Now I love Project Holds, hell I stuffed envelopes for a mail out to Canadian gyms, but I still keep my perspective with what we do over here, and Charles respects that, this hold is sub-par to what I expect (and I mean I), I except the texture to be even on a hold, this not with what we got.

Shape wise the hold is amazing, I love what Jim has shaped, and I like that Friksn clothes have sponsored it (hell they replaced a shirt for me when I destroyed it), more company's should do this! By that I mean sponsor a hold and have great customer service.

Jim is one of the unsung heroes of shaping, he's good and there should be more of his stuff on the market look at the Ghouls, Hurricane, Mutations, and Nixons that are on the Project site, the man deserves some higher praise for making the indoor wall scene more bearable. Whether it's his shaping or the molding... I'd expect the Drop be a shit (yes I said shit) site better than it is. I hope it's remolded to iron out the rough spots because it has the makings to be like the Revolution (P)usher Boss) right now it's close for me, real close but so rosette. That's a hard thing to say, considering I'm such a supporter of one man on his own molding and pouring.... seriously. I love the under dog, but can still stay in perspective (See DPM if you think I'm talking crap).

I want more from Project, the Drop is a wonderful shape, but the intermittent texture, no screw hole and no centre bolt shaft makes it sup par in my book. Sorry!

On a separate note, Jim... hey Jim we've not spoken before. Please make smaller versions of these for home walls, medium and large would be kick ass. Thanks in advance :)
Personally, I've never been 100% satisfied with the texture of Project holds (its been said in past reviews), and this hold put me on the unsatisfied side of that debate. In the past, the Project holds always felt rough, but at the end of the session my fingers didn't burn and minus some callous growth, my skin was OK.