BURSTImagine a Treadwall, but with a mind of its own.
That’s what you get when you try sending a problem on The Rolling Pin.
Yes, that’s the official name of the device that has captured the imaginations of, well, just about everyone.
The pin is an elongated free-spinning hexagon, almost cylinder-like, resting on supports that allow it to rotate on ball bearings every time a climber tries pulling a move.
It’s a punishing trainer that bucks people off its holds. And people seem to be relishing the chance to try it.
This device gained fame after Seattle’s Castle Climbing Club opened its doors earlier this month.
“The Rolling Pin is free-spinning. The more you move, the more it moves,” Zagy Goldman-Yassen, head setter at the gym, told Gripped.
“The goal is to stay balanced on the bottom of The Rolling Pin and move as controlled as you can. Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.”
While many have balked at the idea that this device would have any real-life applications, he described it as an effective static trainer.
“It looks like a fun ride, but it really is the best strength trainer,” said Goldman-Yassen. “Normally when climbing on a roof, you want to move quickly through it to save energy. However, if you do that on The Rolling Pin, it will spit you off. It requires full body tension and control to keep the pin from going wild.”
Perhaps the very beginnings of this idea began when he first started training on a Treadwall back when he started climbing. He enjoyed it. But something was missing.
“I thought it was interesting but lacked the horizontal movement I love,” Goldman-Yassen said.
Later, he said, he saw a smaller version of The Rolling Pin on YouTube about a decade ago.
“It was 6’ wide and was free rotating,” he said. “I thought 6’ is a good start, but it is still less than my wingspan. Eight years ago, I came up with the idea to have one that you could set full routes on. Now that dream has come true.”
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