If you've been climbing for a little while, you've probably heard someone mention crimping or even been told to stop doing it so much. And if you're newer, you might not have thought much about your grip at all. You're just holding on however you can.
That's completely normal. But understanding the difference between hand positions when grabbing small edges is a fantastic skill to learn early, mostly because it directly impacts keeping your finger tendons healthy long-term.
This is the grip most new climbers default to without realizing it. The fingers are bent at a sharp angle, with the thumb wrapped over the index finger for extra support. It feels powerful because it is. Full crimp lets you hold onto smaller holds with a lot of force.
The tradeoff is that it puts significant strain on the tendons and pulleys in your fingers. It's the grip most associated with finger injuries, particularly the A2 pulley strain that sidelined just about every climber you know at some point.
An open hand crimp is the opposite end of the spectrum. The fingers are straighter, with a more relaxed bend at the second knuckle. It feels weaker at first, especially on small holds, but it distributes load more evenly across the tendons and doesn’t put as much strain on the A2 pulley tendon.
Most experienced climbers and coaches will tell you to train open hand as much as possible. Not necessarily because full crimping is always wrong, but because developing open hand strength gives your fingers a much more resilient base.
Somewhere between the two is the three-finger drag, where the index, middle, and ring fingers rest on the hold with minimal bend, almost flat. Often, when climbers aim for an open-hand grip, they end up in a three-finger drag because reducing finger bend causes the pinky to slide off the hold. The pinky stays off. It's a relaxed, low-effort grip that works well on positive, sloping holds and is easy on the tendons. The downside is you are adding more load to the 3 fingers that are left on the hold and missing out on the secret strength that comes from having your pinky finger on the hold.
Finger injuries are the most common climbing injury, and a big reason is that climbers over-rely on full crimping because it feels more secure. The problem is that tendons and pulleys adapt more slowly than muscles. You can get strong enough to pull hard on crimps before your fingers are actually ready for that load. Check out our blog on hangboarding for some great tips to get you started on the path of training your tendons.
Crimp isn't the enemy — it's a tool, and there are holds where it's the right one. But if you're only crimping, you're leaving strength on the table and loading your fingers unevenly. Learning to climb with an open hand and training it intentionally is one of the quieter investments that pays off for years.