Keenan Takahashi - Tips For Your Tips

La Sportiva athlete Keenan Takahashi shares some tricks for keeping your fingertips in tip-top shape...

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If there’s one thing I’m extremely OCD about, it’s the skin on my fingers. It’s not uncommon for me to spend a full hour on rest days filing, cutting, and generally conditioning my skin so it’s as good as possible for the next day of climbing. This is probably overkill for most folks, but hopefully, there’s some new beta to help you climb your best!

• Nail Clippers - sharp and precise ones! Be careful not to cut too short.

• Sandpaper/File - multiple grits preferred - ideally one with a rounded edge (i.e. glued onto something round - I often just use the superglue tube). This lets you sand down the crease between the first & second digit without losing skin on the tip itself.

• Superglue - Krazyglue quick-drying 

• Tape & Pretape - Leukotape & Mueller Pretape - I was recently shown the Pretape beta by my friend Arjan and it is a game changer! I can now try 10 or more times before the tape slides. Before, I’d only get one or two tries. Also reduces your overall tape waste/mess.

• Razors - superfine razors for skin; can be found online. Helps cut off pieces you can’t with clippers and don’t want to over-file

• Salve - to put on splits overnight

• Portable hangboard - I use this to warm up so I don’t get injured - not exactly tip care but finger care - perhaps the most important! I’ve found the Tension board to be the best in terms of comfort/portability/hold options.

• Things to avoid? Be especially careful with the razors - I accidentally cut my tip open once and it took weeks to heal… don’t make the same mistake!

© Photos by Quinn Carrasco and Keenan Takahashi

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

KEENAN TAKAHASHI is a member of the La Sportiva Climbing Team.

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