Something new is coming from Friction Labs.
We are proud to introduce DWoods Precision Grip™, Friction Labs’s first NEW chalk blend since the founding of the company, and the first athlete chalk collaboration in the history of the sport.
We built this one from scratch. Alongside one of the greatest climbers on the planet.
(Photo of Daniel Woods, Yannick Flohe, and Colin Duffy trying out different samples on No One Mourns The Wicked V17)
Where It Started
When we approached Daniel Woods about collaborating on a new chalk blend, we didn't hand him a finished product and ask for his name on it. We started from zero. Over the course of four months, Daniel tested more than a dozen different prototype mixtures, ranging from base magnesium carbonate formulas with various additives, all the way to incorporating the magnesium carbonate mixture we use in our Secret Stuff liquid chalk line. Every batch was different. Every batch had a purpose.
Our CEO provided Daniel with a detailed rubric to evaluate each prototype so his feedback could directly inform how the next iteration was developed. This wasn't a taste test. It was a rigorous, structured process, four months of real climbing on real rock with a new formula in his bag each time, designed to push every iteration toward something genuinely better.
(Daniel Woods Testing out Precision Grip on "No One Mourns The Wicked" V17)
Tested Everywhere
One of the most important parts of this process was that Daniel didn't test in one place or on one rock type. He took each prototype across some of the most varied and demanding climbing environments in the country, in different temperatures, different humidity levels, and different conditions, so that the chalk that eventually won out had to earn it across the board.
He climbed on Dakota Sandstone at Roy in New Mexico. Hard slick granite in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah. High alpine granite at Mt. Blue Sky in Colorado. Limestone in New Mexico. Plastic holds in the gym. Tension board sessions. Every surface, every condition, every context a serious climber would actually encounter. The formula that became DWoods Precision Grip had to perform across all of it.
(Photo of Daniel on Gateway V15)
Proof of Concept
The results speak for themselves. During the four months of prototype testing, Daniel was not just evaluating chalk. He was climbing at the highest level of the sport. At Roy, New Mexico he established the first ascent of Wavelength V15, Anxiety V14, Doggystyle V12, and Earn Your Stripes V11 Highball, and sent Mavericks V11. He took the prototypes to Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, where he put in serious attempts on Sosa V16, and up to the high alpine of Mt. Blue Sky in Colorado where he established Gateway V15 and the first ascent of Sword for Damocles V16.
First ascents ranging from V11 to V16. Across three states. On Dakota Sandstone, slick granite, and high alpine rock. Over four months. On a chalk that didn't have a name yet.
That is what DWoods Precision Grip was built on.
(Behind the scenes shooting of Precision Grip Promo video)
What We Built
DWoods Precision Grip is the result of four months of development, over a dozen prototypes, and real world testing at the absolute limit of human climbing performance across rock types, temperatures, and conditions that most climbers will never encounter. It is the first NEW chalk blend Friction Labs has introduced since the company was founded, and the first time any athlete has collaborated on a chalk formula from the ground up.
Daniel has since made it his chalk of choice. That says everything.
This is what it looks like when the best chalk manufacturer in the world works with the best climber in the world to build something genuinely new.
DWoods Precision Grip is being released August 26th, 2026.
Stay tuned, this one has been a long time in the making and we cannot wait to get it in your hands.
DWoods Precision Grip
