REASONS TO BUY
Coats hands well
Least expensive "climbing specific" chalk
REASONS TO AVOID
Low friction
Doesn't last as long as other chalks
Metolius Super Chalk Review
This chalk is the most cost effective way to keep your hands dry
Credit: REI Co-op
RELATED: Best Climbing Chalk of 2023
Our Verdict
Metolius Super Chalk may be the best deal on the chalk market. It's 20 cents cheaper per ounce than then Black Diamond's loose chalk, plus it has a "safe drying agent" to make your hands extra dry. Our testers came to this chalk with a lot of bias, claiming that from previous experience, it was the slipperiest feeling chalk. However, in our blind testing on the hangboard, not a single tester could correctly pick Super Chalk out of the lineup. What's a discerning climber to do? Super Chalk is the most chalk for your dollar, and if you don't believe the hype (we remain skeptical), it's a great choice. Metolius says straight up on their website that climbing harder because of expensive chalk is merely the placebo effect. Just putting that out there… Super Chalk is cheap, it works, and it takes home our Best Buy Award.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Metolius Super Chalk | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  |  |  | | |
| Price | $14.00 List $13.95 at REI | $15.00 List Check Price at REI | $15.00 List $5.25 at Amazon | $10.00 List | $7.00 List |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Pros | Coats hands well, least expensive "climbing specific" chalk | Widely available, good texture and friction, nice price | Awesome resealable packaging, easy to dump in the chalk bag, good value, consistent texture | Nice sized container, easy to load without spilling | Very porous cloth, decent coverage for a chalk ball |
| Cons | Low friction, doesn't last as long as other chalks | Easy to spill, creates a lot of dust | No hard chunks for making tick marks | Pricey | Still allows a lot of chalk dust into the air |
| Bottom Line | This chalk is the most cost effective way to keep your hands dry | This magnesium carbonite keeps your hands dry without costing an arm and a leg | We love the solid reusable container and the solid value of this chalk | A resealable container keeps chalk from spilling all over your pack, and the chalk is quality | This is the chalk ball for people who don't like using chalk balls, but have to because their gym makes them |
| Rating Categories | Metolius Super Chalk | Black Diamond White... | Trango Gunpowder | Petzl Power Crunch Box | Black Diamond Refil... |
| Friction & Overall Feel (25%) | |||||
| Coverage (25%) | |||||
| Mess (25%) | |||||
| Value (25%) | |||||
| Specs | Metolius Super Chalk | Black Diamond White... | Trango Gunpowder | Petzl Power Crunch Box | Black Diamond Refil... |
| Resealable Packaging? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Price Per oz | $0.80/oz | $1.84/oz | $1.13/oz | $2.13/oz | $4.95 per ball |
| Type | Loose | Loose | Loose | Loose | Refillable Ball |
| Drying Additive | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Texture | Fine | Chunky to fine | Fine | Chunky | Fine |
Show full specification detailsHide full specification details
Our Analysis and Test Results
Super Chalk and Black Diamond White Gold appear very similar. Both are loose chalks that come in a hodgepodge of chunk sizes with plenty of fine dust in the bottom of the bag. Our testers describe Super Chalk as being finer and dustier than White Gold, but again, they couldn't identify it in a blind test. Pair Super Chalk with a Metolius Refillable Chalk Sock and you've got a good system for reducing mess and spillage, making Super Chalk an even better bargain.
Performance Comparison
Our testers swear that this chalk has the silkiest feel of all the loose chalks, but none of them could identify which chalk was Super Chalk in our blind comparison.
Credit: Matt Bento
Friction & Overall Feel
We don't think the added drying agent makes a big difference in terms of feel or performance, nor did we experience any extra discomfort from it. Liquid chalks were the only chalk products that made us think that our hands may be getting too dry.
Our testers agreed that this chalk felt the finest and tend to cake up on our hands the most. For a consistently chunky texture than feels noticeably harder and crunchier than Super Chalk, you can check out Friction Labs Gorilla Grip, but it'll cost you about three times as much.
As long as we gave these sloper holds a generous brushing between sets, the chalk performed well, keeping our hands dry and perspiration free.
Credit: Matt Bento
Coverage
Super Chalk provides coverage (how much chalk sticks to your hands after chalking up) comparable to BD White Gold or a finely crushed block of Frank Endo. Gorilla Grip seems to leave less chalk stuck on your hands, but it doesn't cake up as much. Some of our testers preferred the thinner layer left by the Gorilla Grip.
How does this affect your overall performance at the crag? More chalk stuck on your sweaty palms can add the necessary confidence to try as hard as possible. Conversely, too much chalk caked on the holds can make them feel slippery. Set yourself up for success and brush those holds. Below, check out the coverage before and after our sloper test.
Mess
Loose chalk is notoriously messy, falling out of chalk bags and onto gym floors across the nation, aerosolizing and floating into our sensitive respiratory systems, especially when people blow excess chalk off their hands (it's a thing). Like the BD White Gold, Super Chalk comes in a big resealable bag, and you should use a scooper of some sort when loading up your chalk bag, or you'll end up with chalk all over yourself.
A bag of this chalk includes everything from hefty chunks to a fine powder.
Credit: Matt Bento
Value
Eighty cents an ounce is a screaming deal, especially compared to the boutique chalks from Friction Labs that go for $2.50/oz. In terms of bang for your buck, this chalk is by far the winner.
The large resealable bag is more convenient for storage than the paper wrapping of block chalks.
Credit: Matt Bento
Conclusion
We had a few testers that said Metolius Super Chalk is the only chalk they don't like because it feels silkier and more slippery than other chalks. Again, none of them could successfully confirm which chalk they were using in our blind testing, which would support Metolius's claim about the Placebo Affect. This chalk is cheap and works.
The Placebo Effect in action, perhaps. Well chalked hands equal confidence high off the deck.
Credit: Matt Bento
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Matt Bento
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