HOLTEX is a handheld power tool created specifically for indoor climbing route setters.

Indoor climbing is a rapidly growing industry. Officially classified as a sport in 2016, climbing athletes will compete in the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics for the first time.
Route setters have a responsibility of creating climbing routes by putting different resin holds and features on the walls. The industry lacks specific tooling addressing the route setters’ needs. The inclusive design is inspired by photographs of Gordoms, the famous climbing spot in the Peak District National Park, with the colour palette representing the patterns which form within rocky environments. The product features an ergonomic handle, an innovative holding system, the fluorescent chuck ring, the magnetic bit storage system, high-quality components manufactured to last, 6 led lights and a battery which guarantees to last the whole day. The move away from the aggressive design of power tools is deliberate nod to the family-friendly atmosphere of many indoor climbing centres.

For Kairyte, product design draws on deep connections between people and their environment and her work questions preconceived ideas of how certain products ‘should look’. She says, “I love questioning why and creating scenarios, so in my design practice nothing is taken for granted”.