Friction Labs Secret Stuff Review
When you need all the friction you can get, this chalk cream delivers
Photo: REI Co-op
Price: $19 List | $19.00 at Backcountry
Compare prices at 3 resellers Pros: Great Coverage, Excellent friction, almost no dust
Cons: Not a great value
Manufacturer: Friction Labs
Compare prices at 3 resellers Pros: Great Coverage, Excellent friction, almost no dust
Cons: Not a great value
Manufacturer: Friction Labs
By Matt Bento ⋅ Senior Review Editor ⋅ Mar 29, 2019
Our Editors independently research, test, and rate the best products. We only make money if you purchase a product through our links, and we never accept free products from manufacturers. Learn more
RELATED: Best Climbing Chalk
Our Verdict
For climbers looking for that little extra something to help them perform their best, there's Friction Labs Secret Stuff, a liquid chalk that finds its way into to every crevice and wrinkle in your hands, potentially making the difference between frustrating failure and glorious sending. For humid conditions, it's great to have a tube of Secret Stuff in your kit. It's also the most expensive chalk in our review, and if liquid chalk is your jam, the Mammut Liquid Chalk is a much better value.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Friction Labs Secret Stuff | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  |  |  | ||
| Price | $19.00 at Backcountry Compare at 3 sellers | $2.75 at Backcountry | $14.95 at Backcountry | $14 List | $5.00 at Backcountry Compare at 3 sellers |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Pros | Great Coverage, Excellent friction, almost no dust | Widely available, good texture and friction, nice price | Excellent value, good friction and coverage | Coats hands well, least expensive "climbing specific" chalk | Consistent texture bag after bag, great friction |
| Cons | Not a great value | Easy to spill, creates a lot of dust | Unusable if you have cuts and abrasions on your hands | Low friction, doesn't last as long as other chalks | Expensive |
| Bottom Line | This chalk cream isn't cheap, but it could be that little advantage that makes the difference between success and failure | Widely available and reasonably priced, this chalk takes the taco in our competition | Similar performance to Secret Stuff at a lower price | A good choice if you like to use loads of chalk | Consistently crunchy and provides great friction, for a high price |
| Rating Categories | Friction Labs Secret Stuff | Black Diamond White Gold | Mammut Liquid Chalk | Metolius Super Chalk | Friction Labs Gorilla Grip |
| Friction & Overall Feel (25%) | |||||
| Coverage (25%) | |||||
| Mess (25%) | |||||
| Value (25%) | |||||
| Specs | Friction Labs... | Black Diamond... | Mammut Liquid Chalk | Metolius Super Chalk | Friction Labs... |
| Resealable Packaging? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Price Per oz | $7.60/oz | $1.03/oz | $1.94/oz | $0.80/oz | $2.50/oz |
| Type | Liquid | Loose | Liquid | Loose | Loose |
| Drying Additive | No | No | No | Yes | No |
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Our Analysis and Test Results
While there are some subtle differences in texture between the liquid chalks we tested, we didn't experience a noticeable difference in performance. It's worth noting that liquid chalk creates the least amount of dust in the air, so if you are sensitive to particulates in the air and you train in a small home set up, liquid chalk may be your best option. It creates substantially less dust than loose chalk and chalk balls.
Performance Comparison
Mmmm Creme de Magnese. Friction Labs sells its chalk cream in 75ml tubes and in small single dose packages.
Photo: Matt Bento
Friction & Overall Feel
Straight out of the tube, Secret Stuff has a finer, creamier feel that Mammut liquid chalk. Think lotion, where Mammut feels like frosting. This is in part from whatever chalk-to-alcohol ratio Friction Labs uses in their mix, and also from the fact that they use a finer textured chalk than the Mammut. Does this make Secret Stuff a better performer? Well…The majority of our testers didn't notice one liquid chalk having any advantages over another until they looked at the price. In short, once the Secret Stuff dries, its texture is closer to powder, and the Mammut Liquid Chalk is more granular.
Once dry, this chalk has a finer texture than Mammut Liquid Chalk.
Photo: Matt Bento
Coverage
After rubbing your hands together and letting the Secret Stuff dry, you'll find yourself with a thin, even layer of chalk covering your palms and fingers. The alcohol mixture allows you to rub the chalk in deep, so it sticks to your hands better than when you dip into a bag of loose chalk. Most aficionados of liquid chalk aren't re-applying liquid chalk every time they need do chalk up since each time you have to wait for it to dry. More practical is to apply it as a base at the beginning of your session, and then maybe re-up again later in the day.
A thin layer of this stuff will help loose chalk stick to your hands better through your climbing session.
Photo: Matt Bento
Mess
Liquid chalk makes for a pretty tidy operation, as it creates very little dust. If it gets into your clothes or carpet, it's harder get out than loose chalk, but as long as you give it time to dry, it's overall the cleanest way to get chalk on your hands. Folks who can't be bothered to wait for the liquid chalk to dry (read: children) should not use this product.
Easy, mess free application is an attractive quality for this chalk cream. Make sure you always seel the container tightly, or it will clog with dry chalk.
Photo: Matt Bento
Value
A 75-ml bottle of Secret Stuff costs $19, where a 200-ml tube of Mammut Liquid Chalk is $12.95. No competition here in terms of value. The frugal climber should choose the Mammut variety, and honestly, we didn't experience much of a difference in performance between the two.
Conclusion
A tube of Friction Labs Secret Stuff is a handy tool to have around for humid conditions or if you have especially greasy mitts. Keep in mind that the combo of evaporating alcohol and fine chalk powder is an extremely effective drying agent, so folks with dry, cracked hands need not apply.
— Matt Bento