March 12, 2025 2 min to read

Believe Edge

#Hangboard #3D Print #CNC

About

The Believe Edge is a modular, no-hang hangboard built for focused, maximal finger training. It is designed for climbers who want a compact, portable tool that prioritizes specificity and intent.

The body machined from a solid aluminum and sandblasted to a matte finish. Not because it needs to be, but because it looks good and feels good. It is a deliberate choice: a tool that is as considered in form as it is in function.

Unlike a traditional wall-mounted hangboard, Believe is a lifting-block style tool. It can be loaded with weight or used in isometric setups to isolate finger force without the rest of the body setting the terms.

The goal is not to mimic climbing movement exactly. The goal is to train a specific quality directly, load it precisely, and progress it over time. That approach is already well established in hangboard training, and Dr. Tyler Nelson’s work at Camp4 Human Performance.

Shown with a 20 mm flat edge benchmark edge.

Believe is minimal on purpose. There are no extra holds and no filler features. One holder supports multiple edge profiles, and swapping between them is quick.

The primary insert is a stepped edge. Instead of placing every finger on the same plane, the stepped geometry changes joint position across the hand to encourage more even recruitment. That reduces the tendency to default to the strongest fingers and makes it easier to load the flexor system more uniformly. In practice, it is a better position for applying high force to the fingers, thereby exposing the fingers to higher forces. Similar ideas show up in designs like the Unlevel Edge, MetacarpEdge and Lattice MXEdge.

Appendix

The goal, relatively speaking. Well rounded.

Most of the training ideas for this project come from the work of Dr. Tyler Nelson. I briefly summarize here.

The goal here is to stop finger strength from being the bottleneck. Physical adaptations are controllable, whereas movement economy, decision making, and instinct are not. My target benchmark is a combined left and right strength-to-weight ratio of at least 2.5x body weight, or \(\frac{Left+Right}{BW}\geq 2.5\).