Scouting the Route: Early Prototypes

Scouting the Route: Early Prototypes

As I dove deeper into creating Porta-Hang, I discovered something fascinating: climbing holds are made with a two-part polyurethane resin. It’s a simple yet clever system—combine Part A and Part B, and within minutes, the mixture hardens into durable plastic. To shape them, you pour the resin into silicone molds, which are themselves made by pouring silicone around a handmade master. I even found an old video of us making holds in the garage—a reminder of just how grassroots this project was.

The garage became my sanctuary for this work. After long days at my job, I’d retreat there to tinker—building things from wood, fixing family items, or crafting Porta-Hang prototypes. Before this, it was the birthplace of a different kind of creation: fighting robots I built with my kids. Those moments of creativity and connection laid the groundwork for what came next.

 

From Wood to Resin

As I moved forward, I found a company called Alumilite that specialized in mold-making materials. Initially, I used their products just for prototyping, but the process was so effective that it quickly became part of production. Transitioning from wood to two-part polyurethane was a game-changer.

The learning curve was steep at first—creating the molds and pouring the resin required precision. But with persistence (and a few late-night calls to Alumilite), I mastered the technique. Eventually, I was ordering gallons of material at a time, scaling up in ways I hadn’t imagined at the start.

 

Rapid Prototyping

One of the breakthroughs in this phase was integrating 3D printing into the process. I could design a model, 3D print it, create a mold around it, cast the resin, and then test the result—all within days. This rapid prototyping allowed me to iterate quickly and refine the designs. The resulting models were not only functional but strong enough to stand up to rigorous testing.

 

This phase of the journey taught me an important lesson: innovation isn’t about getting it right the first time—it’s about learning, adapting, and pushing forward. The early prototypes weren’t perfect, but they were the stepping stones to something greater.