Outdoors & Fitness · Head-to-head
Friction Labs Secret Stuff Liquid Chalk vs Metolius Super Chalk
Which should you buy? Our verdict on both, pulled from our full The Best Climbing Chalk: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) comparison.
Secret Stuff wins because it is usable under every gym chalk policy we found and it is unusually specific about what is in the tube. Super Chalk is the runner-up and the smarter buy if your gym still allows loose powder, since it is the same mineral in a much bigger bag.
Friction Labs Secret Stuff Liquid Chalk
Buy itThe chalk that works under every gym policy we checked, and one of the few liquids that tells you exactly how much alcohol is in the tube.
- Sold in three formulas the listing names by alcohol content: 45 percent isopropyl, 80 percent ethyl, and a 0 percent alcohol gel.
- Liquid chalk is the form with the strongest published evidence for cutting airborne dust in a climbing gym.
- The alcohol-free gel gives dry-skinned climbers a way to comply with a liquid-only policy without stripping their hands.
- Friction Labs does not publish the tube volume or a full ingredient list on the product page.
- The alcohol formulas pull moisture out of skin, so most climbers use them as a base layer rather than for a whole session.
- Costs noticeably more per application than loose magnesium carbonate from a bag.
Metolius Super Chalk
Buy itThe plain, well-documented magnesium carbonate that makes it hard to justify paying several times more for the same mineral.
- Spec panel lists it as 100 percent magnesium carbonate with no additives named.
- Bags in 2.5 oz (70 g), 4.5 oz (127 g), 9 oz (255 g) and 15 oz (425 g), plus 3 lb and 6 lb buckets and a 12 lb box.
- The bulk sizes make it cheap to keep a chalk bag, a home board and a crag bucket all topped up.
- Loose powder, so it is the first form a gym restricts when it tightens its chalk policy.
- Metolius calls it the number one selling climbing chalk in America without publishing data behind that.
- One medium grind only, with no chunky or ultra-fine option.
Side by side
| Friction Labs Secret Stuff Liquid Chalk | Metolius Super Chalk | |
|---|---|---|
| Our verdict | Buy | Buy |
| Best for | Anyone whose gym restricts loose chalk, or who wants one product that is accepted everywhere they climb. | Climbers whose gym still allows loose chalk and who would rather buy in bulk than pay for a brand story. |
| Price tier | $$ · mid-range | $ · budget |
The bottom line
Our overall pick is the Friction Labs Secret Stuff Liquid Chalk - The chalk that works under every gym policy we checked, and one of the few liquids that tells you exactly how much alcohol is in the tube. Choose the Metolius Super Chalk instead if climbers whose gym still allows loose chalk and who would rather buy in bulk than pay for a brand story.
Want the full picture, including the other options we compared and the popular one we'd skip? Read the complete The Best Climbing Chalk: 4 Compared (and One to Skip).