Not all climbing moves are created equal. Some would be indispensable in your proverbial quiver, some are pretty meh, and some are hot trash. Obviously, it’s important to differentiate techniques that can help or hinder you if you want to step up your climbing. So, we’ve compiled a list of all of the climbing techniques here and ranked them based on effectiveness. We’ve also detailed what they are, how to do them, and linked to videos on the web we’ve found useful.
But of course, this is only what we think. Our opinion can be a little skewed or biased, so take it all with a grain of salt. Do you have a different take on what the best and worst climbing moves are? Let us know, we’re always open to debate.
Climbing Moves Tier List: Techniques Ranked
| Table of Contents |
S Tier Climbing Moves
Heel Hook
What Is It?:
Essentially using your heel as a third limb to help create tension and pull you closer into the wall.
When to Use It:
Anywhere where there is ample space on a hold to put your heel on. Also incredibly useful for mantling a topout on an outdoor boulder.
Effectiveness:
11/10, one of the best climbing moves to learn. Use it any chance you can.
How to Do it:
Wherever there is space on a hold or ledge, fit the ball of your heel on it and put pressure on the hold. You can leave the heel hook in a passive position if you want to rest or move your body weight around. OR, you can use an active heel hook to stabilize or help generate force (picture rocking over the heel for extra reach). The key to a good active heel hook is by angling your toes downward and outward, engaging your calves and more of your posterior chain. Make sure to keep your hamstrings and glutes strong and properly stretched when performing intensive heel hooks.
Heel Hook Video Tutorial:
Deadpoint
What Is It?:
A semi-dynamic move where you achieve full extension of the body to reach a hold.
When to Use It:
When there’s a handhold just out of reach (usually vertical but can also be horizontal). Can also be used on closer holds to save energy.
Effectiveness:
11/10, using momentum is an essential climbing technique to save energy and help achieve maximum reach.
How to Do it:
Picture a deadpoint as a controlled dynamic move. You’re going to generate force by swinging your hips to the hold first, making sure your feet are secure. Using that momentum, you are also going to push hard on your feet while pulling with your hands. With precision, you’ll latch onto the handhold right when your body is at full extension and your momentum is at its apex. A deadpoint isn’t a fully dynamic move as you’ll still be keeping your feet on while performing the move.
Deadpoint Video Tutorial:
Flagging
What Is It?:
While one foot is securely placed on a foothold, using the other free leg to help balance out the body.
When to Use It:
When you want to achieve a more stable body position, prevent swinging out, keep the hips close to the wall, or reach farther holds.
Effectiveness:
10/10, this is body positioning 101. Flagging is one of the most vital climbing moves you’ll need for climbing efficiently.
How to Do it:
While one foot is on a solid foothold, you can use your other foot to help balance out the body (like how a tripod is stabilized). This can be achieved with either an outside flag, a back flag, or an inside flag (which we’ve given its own spot and will explain in further detail below).
To use an outside flag, engage the foot that is in contact with the wall and bring your free foot out to the side to help create a balance point. This can only be done while an opposite hand and foot are in contact with the wall. For instance, a left hand on with a right foot on.
For a back flag, engage the foot that is in contact with the wall and bring your free foot behind that to create a stable balance point. This can only be done while the same side of your body is engaged. I.e. right hand on with a right foot on.
Finding the correct balance point is often a matter of trial and error and the more you practice the flag the easier it will be to find it quickly.
Flagging Video Tutorial:
Backstep
What Is It?:
Turning the knee inward with the outside edge of the shoe placed on a foothold.
When to Use It:
When you want the center of gravity closer to the wall, especially on steeper climbs. This helps to conserve energy in the hips and upper body by having your feet do more of the work for you.
Effectiveness:
10/10, high returns for minimal effort.
How to Do it:
When you’re reaching for the next handhold, for example coming for a left hand, you can turn the opposite weighted foot and knee (of the secure right hand) inward to help bring your hips closer to the wall. This will help take off pressure from the hands and hips and activate larger muscle groups like the lats and core. Use it in conjunction with an outside flag to help create an even more stable position.
Backstep Video Tutorial:
Knee Bar
What Is It?:
Wedging your knee and thigh between two surfaces while pressing down on your feet to create tension. This can either be a one-legged or two-legged knee bar.
When to Use It:
If an available feature allows you to fit your knee(s) into it while your feet are still on the wall. This allows you to rest, increase your reach, or to take weight off the upper body when reaching for a further hold.
Effectiveness:
9/10, 1 point deduction because of the pain. There’s subtle technique to pulling off a good knee bar as well.
How to Do it:
Find surfaces with ample space for your knee (use the fleshy part right above the kneecap and as much of the thigh area as you can) to fit while also being able to keep your toe(s) on the wall. By engaging and trusting your toes, this will in turn push your knee up into the opposing feature, creating a secure cam.
Like we’ve mentioned, this can either be a one or two-legged knee bar, with a two-legged knee bar allowing you to take significantly more weight off the rest of your body than a one-legged knee bar. However, sometimes you won’t be able to fit your entire knee into the feature but the knee can still make contact with the wall (such as on the side of the knee). Technically more of a “knee scum”, this can still take some weight off of the hands and can be the deciding factor in allowing you to make the next move.
However, knee bars can be quite painful, so wearing pants or even a kneepad can help make the maneuver much less of a sufferfest.
Knee Bar Video Tutorial:
French Blow
What Is It?:
Blowing off the excess chalk on your hand that’s reaching for the next hold.
When to Use It:
Any chance you can, it looks incredibly stylish and boosts your confidence by at least 300 percent. One of our favorite climbing moves.
Effectiveness:
13/10
How to Do it:
While mid-climb, blow off the excess chalk on your hand that’s reaching for the next hold.
A Tier Climbing Moves
Foot Swap
What Is It?:
Switching your feet on the same foothold from one that is in contact with the wall with your other foot.
When to Use It:
When you need to reposition your body for the next move and have limited foot options. OR, because the current foothold being used (if replaced by the other foot) would be the most efficient.
Effectiveness:
9.5/10, it’s absolutely crucial to get on the good foot.
How to Do it:
There are a few ways to switch feet, one that is semi-dynamic and one that is pretty static.
To do a semi-dynamic foot swap you should have both hands on solid handholds first of all. You will then pull with your hands slightly to take some weight off while you take off the current foot that’s on the foothold and swap it with the other foot in one smooth motion. It will feel almost as if you’re floating in the air for a second.
The other way, which is largely done statically, will also require you to be on good handholds. However, it’s not super necessary to weight the hands as much when you do a foot swap in this manner. That’s because you will be bringing your free foot directly over the foot that is in contact with the wall. You will then release the foot that is in contact and at the same time, step over with your free foot which will fall into place with the foothold. This way of swapping feet is more efficient but requires more finesse and precision.
Foot Swap Video Tutorial:
Bicycle
What Is It?:
Using both a toe hook while toeing down with both feet to create opposition and stabilize.
When to Use It:
Highly effective when climbing overhangs to take weight off the upper body and to keep tension on the wall.
Effectiveness:
9.5/10, these really make you feel like Spiderman. As one of my former headsetters wisely told me: A.B.B. ALWAYS. BE. BICYCLING.
How to Do it:
This requires both a good foothold as well as a good feature to toe hook on. You will essentially toe down hard while also engaging a toe hook (by pulling your toes in) to create a push-pull effect that brings your lower body closer into the wall. Don’t forget, this is very much an active technique vs a passive one! Activating your posterior chain (glutes, core, hamstrings, yada yada) is very crucial to maintaining stability for a bicycle.
Bicycle Video Tutorial:
Mantle
What Is It?:
Switching from pulling with your hands to pressing or pushing the surface of the rock to help move you up.
When to Use It:
When getting over the top of a boulder/climb or when you have big volumes or features and no nearby handholds.
Effectiveness:
9/10, one of the most necessary climbing moves when bouldering outdoors. But we’re gym rats so what the heck do we know?
How to Do it:
One of the most important ways to mantle is called a palm press. This is when you are at the top of the rock or ledge and switch your hand to a press. You can help aid switching to a press by bringing your toe or heel over the ledge to take weight off the hands if possible. If you have a high toe or heel hook, you can also use momentum to help transition yourself into a press in one fluid motion. Once you have a secure palm press, you can then bring your feet up to match and stand up.
Mantle Video Tutorial:
Step Through
What Is It?:
Crossing your free foot through to a nearby foothold while having your other foot in contact with the wall.
When to Use It:
Best when you have secure handholds and another optimal foothold near your foot in contact. Stepping through helps eliminate the need of a foot swap, allowing a smooth transition to the next foothold.
Effectiveness:
9/10, helps to expend less energy and eliminates an extra foot move. Also makes you feel like a swan.
How to Do it:
While one foot is in contact with the wall, identify a clear foothold designated for your free foot. The target foothold will likely be on the outside of the foot in contact. As you weight the foot in contact, pivot that foot as you bring your free foot to the target hold. Continue applying pressure until you are able to fully weight your foot that has just stepped through. Once you are able to fully weight the new foothold, you can then unwind your body and stabilize. This technique is very useful if you incorporate some flags into the movement as well.
Step Through Video Tutorial:
Cross Through
What Is It?:
While one hand is in contact with the wall, bringing your other hand across your body to reach another hold.
When to Use It:
When a further hold by your supporting hand’s side is in a preferable angle for your other hand. OR, when by crossing through it will set you up optimally for the next move.
Effectiveness:
9/10
How to Do it:
Ideally you will have 3 points of contact when you pull off this move. However, it can be done with one hand and one foot on (assistance with a flag can help you stabilize). While you have a balanced body position, engage all points of contact and lock off your support hand. Shift your weight under your supporting hand and reach for the further hold, crossing through your entire body. Stabilize and reach for the next move.
Cross Through Video Tutorial
Drop Knee
What Is It?:
With two feet planted, dropping a knee inward toward your body to get your hips closer into the wall. It is essentially a backstep on steroids.
When to Use It:
To get extra reach when on two opposing footholds. Also, performing a drop knee correctly can help make bad holds better by taking weight off the arms.
Effectiveness:
9/10, this should be S tier but it requires lots of hip flexibility and puts strain on knee ligaments, muscles, and tendons.
How to Do it:
You will need both feet on the wall with a wider stance in order to make room for the drop knee. Make sure you are also weighting the big toe on both feet. Once balanced, pivot your knee on the same side as the target handhold inward 90 degrees toward the wall. This will help elevate your hips closer to the wall while taking weight off your hands. By doing so, you will be able to reach further for the next hold and then you can unwind the drop knee.
When this technique is mastered, you can use a drop knee almost as an upward thrust to get you further up the wall.
Drop Knee Video Tutorial:
B Tier Climbing Moves
Perching
What Is It?:
Sitting over the foot or heel.
When to Use It:
To take weight off the arms or rest.
Effectiveness:
8/10, mostly done in rope climbing but can also be found on boulder problems.
How to Do it:
Mostly done when climbing faces, find a good foot that allows you to open up your hip. Now imagine your knee is bent in a pistol-squat position. This is essentially perching whereby you put more weight over the hip and foot. You can now take weight off the arms, rest, or read a book. This can be done with either a toe down or heel hook.
Rockover
What Is It?:
Rocking over a toe or heel hook to allow you to stand up.
When to Use It:
When you lack further handholds but have a high toe or heel hook.
Effectiveness:
8.5/10, practice your pistol squats! Good technique is needed to pull off a smooth rockover.
How to Do it:
Using momentum and pulling of the arms, this will happen in two stages. Firstly is the pivot. This is where you use initial momentum to bring your body over the high toe or heel hook. Commit to this stage until you are essentially in a perch or pistol-squat position. Next, you will weight the foot in order to stand up, granting you a higher position up the wall. They are also extremely helpful for mantles. Rockovers require a strong lower body, mainly in the glutes, hamstrings, calves, and quads.
Rockover Video Tutorial:
Heel Toe Cam
What Is It?:
Jamming both your heel and toe into a feature to create opposition.
When to Use It:
When there is a crack or feature large enough to jam your foot in. The opposition created will take loads of weight off the hands.
Effectiveness:
8.5/10, should be higher but can be risky in certain positions.
How to Do it:
With a large enough crack or feature available, insert your foot into it. You will want the heel in a comfortable position but also to where you’ll be able to engage the toes. Picture it almost like a toe hook. As you’re pulling in and up with your toes, this in turn drives your heel down. This opposition with the heel-toe will lock your foot in place, allowing you to take weight of the arms. When you do this correctly, it will feel like a third limb. You will be able to pull up with the heel-toe by activating the calves, thighs, quads, and glutes. Just make sure not to get the heel-toe cam stuck when you’re falling. This can be very dangerous and you need the intuition to know when to disengage the heel-toe cam when necessary.
Heel Toe Cam Video Tutorial:
Rose Move
What Is It?:
With a weighted handhold, crossing through with your other hand to reach another further hold and then unwinding. The difference between a rose move and a cross through lies in the body positioning and also the unwinding.
When to Use It:
When you have a target hold further out from your anchor hand, but both feet either facing the same direction or with a drop knee employed. Your weight will be leaning away from the target handhold due to limited foot options.
Effectiveness:
8/10, feels great but pretty rare on a climb and requires specific body positioning.
How to Do it:
Locate the target handhold, it will be further out horizontally from the anchor handhold you are currently on. Lock off the anchor hand and tension the two points of contact below. You will then reach for the target handhold with your free hand. Once latched, swing your body over and pivot on your feet to unwind. You will then be free to grab another hold with your hand that was initially the anchor hand. Ideally, you will have a drop knee to take weight off the hands but this will not always be the case.
Rose Move Video Tutorial:
Jamming
What Is It?:
Jamming your fingers or hands into a crack to help keep you in place on the wall.
When to Use It:
Ascending cracks! However, it can be useful outside of crack climbing where you want to take weight off the hands and not have to pull down with your fingers. Obviously, this requires a crack in order to pull off.
Effectiveness:
8/10, essential in crack climbing but hurts like hell! Outside of crack climbing, you won’t see too much jamming. Unless someone brings a ukelele to the crag.
How to Do it:
Toe Hook
What Is It?:
Using the upper part of your shoe’s toe to hook around and pull onto a hold.
When to Use It:
Useful on overhang where you need to tension off, balance, climb feet first, or rest. Can also be used to gain more reach and essential in bicycles.
Effectiveness:
8.5/10, mainly useful for steep overhang although it can also be found on features such as aretes.
How to Do it:
Using the topside of your shoe, hook your toe around a surface or feature. Toe hooks work on a number of features such as underclings, aretes, sidepulls, ledges, and roofs. And just like with a good heel hook, you’ll want to think of a toe hook as an active climbing move. This means that you’ll have to actively keep your toe hook engaged in order to stay on the wall.
In order to do so, straighten out your leg and keep your foot at 90 degrees. Now picture your toes as a fish hook, you’ll want to turn them in and pull up toward your knee, activating the shin muscles. This pulling in with your toes will also help create tension in your calves, hamstrings, quads, and glutes. Maintain this tension to stay on the wall and slowly release it to disengage a toe hook. With enough practice you can even pull toward the hold with a toe hook by engaging your hip flexors and core as well.
Toe hooks are also somewhat dependent on your climbing shoes as well. A good toe hooking shoe will have a big patch of rubber covering the toe area. This provides a larger surface area that makes contact with the rock or feature. You’ll also want to avoid shoes with straps on the forefoot as they can be uncomfortable to toe hook with.
Toe Hook Video Tutorial:
Pogo (or Moon Kick)
What Is It?:
Jumping off a single foothold and kicking out with the other foot for upward momentum.
When to Use It:
A very specific scenario (detailed below). Pogos are also useful in preventing your body from rotating out too much.
Effectiveness:
8/10, rare to find a pogo that is forced. But feels absolutely badass (so more like 11/10).
How to Do it:
Let’s envision a scenario. You are on a right-hand sidepull by your waist and a left-hand incut up high. You’re also on only one good low left foot at your 8 o’ clock position and essentially spanned vertically. Your next hold is a high right-hand jug and the only feet available are further right of said jug. What do you do? You won’t be able to reach the next hold statically as there are no footholds nearby. To dyno would also be difficult as you don’t have a right foot on the wall, making you off-balance. Let’s instead use the pogo…
What you’ll want to do is shift your center of gravity over your left foot before you make the jump. So, the pogo can be pictured in two stages:
First is the windup. Rotate the hips out and swing your free right foot behind and to the left of your anchored foot. This will set you up to create momentum. Relax and drop your arms low, almost like a dyno. Second stage: the arc. When you’re ready, rotate the hips back in and kick your free foot up and toward the direction of the hold while pulling with your arms. Once your center of gravity is under your foot, push off with the left foot to produce explosive power. This should send you in an upward arc, allowing you to latch onto the right hand jug. Sinker!
Pogo Video Tutorial:
C Tier Climbing Moves
Frogging
What Is It?:
Almost like perching with both feet with hips open.
When to Use It:
When you need to rest and have two good footholds available.
Effectiveness:
7/10, useful for very long routes on face but not much else. Also looks a bit silly.
How to Do it:
You will want to be on two good footholds that are close to each other or on a ledge. Relax your arms and sink down, opening your hips out and having your legs parallel to the wall. The more you’re able to open your hips, the more weight you’ll be able to take off the arms. Frogging requires a good amount of inner thigh and hip flexibility in order to pull off well.
Frogging Video Tutorial:
Matching
What Is It?:
Bringing both hands together on the same hold.
When to Use It:
When it’s more ideal to have a certain hand on a hold, OR, you need extra reach for the next move.
Effectiveness:
7.5/10, pretty common to see but lacks that pizzazz of other sexy climbing moves, y’know?
How to Do it:
On a large enough hold, make space to fit both hands on comfortably. Sometimes, you’ll only be able to fit a few digits of each hand on the same hold. Either way, matching is essential when handholds are limited and you need to free up an arm for the next move.
Matching Video Tutorial:
Dyno
What Is It?:
Jumping to a next hold with all four points of contact off. As far as climbing moves go, dynos are the wildest and least controlled.
When to Use It:
When the next hold is very far away. Like, very far away.
Effectiveness:
7/10, this is essentially parkour. Super cool for those getting into climbing and the youth, kind of distasteful for older folks and static-only spiders.
How to Do it:
A dyno can be summarized in stages.
First you have the windup. This is where you want to be on the best possible parts of the handholds and footholds. Now, sink down into a crouch allowing your arms to relax and straighten out. You want to crouch down as low as you can, focusing weight on the tips of your toes. You can also “pump” your body a few times for momentum. Secondly you have the pull-through and explosive jump. Pull with your arms as fast as you can toward the direction of the target hold. Once your arms are around chest height you will now push with your feet with all your might. Right when your legs are about to fully extend, push and explosively jump off the footholds. Grab the hold with either one or two hands and tension off your core to reduce the swing.
If everything went accordingly, you should still be alive.
PS. If you want an even bigger dyno, place your leading foot you’ll be jumping off of on a higher foothold. This will allow you to jump off that foot even more explosively, sending you farther and higher.
Dyno Video Tutorial:
Campus
What Is It?:
Pulling to the next hold with no feet on.
When to Use It:
When there are absolutely no footholds available. OR, you want to embrace the primate in you.
Effectiveness:
7/10, not usually necessary on climbs but damn do you feel BUFF campusing. Good for training explosive power, accuracy, and contact strength though.
How to Do it:
Campusing is essentially an upper body exercise and it can be done either statically or dynamically. We’ll talk a little about both.
To campus statically, you’ll be relying on your reach and lockoff strength. Pull up as high as you can on your handholds and lockoff your anchor hand. Now reach to the next handhold with your free hand. Boom, static campus complete.
The dynamic campus, however, is probably what most climbers think of when they think of campusing. It’s when you use momentum as well as upper body strength to pull through to the next hold. It can be done with the upward thrust of the lower body or swinging toward the target hold. Picture pulling up on the hold at the same time you generate momentum with your lower body to propel you further. Your campusing prowess will largely depend on how explosively you can pull with your arms and how well you utilize momentum.
Either way, always keep your eye on the prize. This helps with precision and visualization.
Stemming (or Bridging)
What Is It?:
Pushing against two opposing surfaces.
When to Use It:
When you are in-between two flat surfaces (a chimney), a corner, or two good opposing features.
Effectiveness:
7/10, only useful in certain situations but can save a lot of energy or help you get past blank sections of rock.
How to Do it:
Bring your palms out when you’re in-between two flat surfaces, a corner, or two good opposing handholds. Create oppositional force by pressing with both palms, which will help keep you into the wall. At this point, you’ll be able to bring your feet up the corner, chimney, or handholds you are palming. With higher, better feet, you’ll be able to stand up to a higher position. Rinse and repeat if necessary.
Stemming Video Tutorial:
D Tier Climbing Moves
Inside Flag
What Is It?:
Flagging your foot on the inside of your body for balance.
When to Use It:
Your body is outstretched and you are on a very low foothold on the same side as your anchor hand.
Effectiveness:
6/10, not really worth the effort as it takes a lot to unwind making it slightly inefficient. You will rarely find an inside flag absolutely necessary. Most times, you can just do a foot swap and an outside flag afterward instead.
How to Do it:
While in a spanned position with only one low foothold, an inside flag is an option you can use. While your anchor hand and anchor foot are on the same side, cross your free foot to the other side. However, that free foot will be crossing through the front of your body to find the balance point. Once you’ve found the balance point, reach for the next hold while locking off the anchor hand. With the next handhold secured, you can then unwind out of your inside flag.
Inside Flag Video Tutorial:
Bat Hang
What Is It?:
Using both toe hooks on a hold to hang upside down and free up the arms.
When to Use It:
When you’re feeling tired and want to rest or sleep. There are extremely few cases where a bat hang will be forced or necessary. But they’re fun to do I’ll give you that.
Effectiveness:
6/10, should be lower on the list but is one of climbing’s outlier moves. Kind of too cool to be in F tier.
How to Do it:
Bring both toes over a ledge or hold and actively engage them. Pull your toes up toward your knees while tensioning off your calves, glutes, hamstrings, and quads. Bring your center of gravity right below your feet and once stable, you can let go of your arms. Take a moment to draw in a deep breath and ask yourself what the f*ck you are doing with your life. Once you’re feeling resolved, pull back in toward the hold to get out of the bat hang safely. You’ll need some strong hip flexors for this.
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F Tier Climbing Moves
Figure 4
What Is It?:
Wrapping one of your legs over your anchor arm while hanging.
When to Use It:
When you want to play Twister with yourself, while hanging upside down off a wall.
Effectiveness:
4.5/10, only effective in ice climbing but we are primitives that don’t have access to modern ice picks. Primitive world problems, amirite? For all other types of climbing a figure 4 is never necessary.
How to Do it:
When climbing overhang, you will need to be on good handholds to pull off a figure 4. Lockoff your anchor hand (let’s say in this case your right) and bring your feet to your chest. Tuck your knees toward your chest and twist your body sideways. Now, wrap your opposite leg (left leg) over your anchor hand’s elbow. You’ll want the point where your knee bends to be at your elbow. Now, you’ll want to reach for the next handhold and grab it. If you are successful in doing that, you can then uncoil out of the figure 4.
Beta Spraying
What Is It?:
Giving unsolicited climbing advice to others.
When to Use It:
Ideally, when you’re climbing alone. In an empty gym.
Effectiveness:
3/10, while some like to argue that beta spraying is a form of self-talk therapy, it’s often a really quick way to make yourself unlikable. You should only give others beta if they willingly ask for it.
How to Do it:
Don’t.