Brand Summary: Developed from years of shaping and routesetting experience, the Sugar catalog reflects a focus on subtle geometry, balanced ergonomics, and the ability to create expressive movement across modern commercial climbing walls.

The foundation of Sugar comes from an extensive library of foam created over years by Brad Weaver, exploring how small variations in curvature, depth, and edge geometry influence the way climbers interact with a hold. Over time those experiments evolved into a cohesive catalog as Brad worked with Chris Danielson to refine the designs, develop the ranges, and bring the shapes to life.

Sugar holds are known for their perfectly imperfect profiles, clean surface, and carefully tuned grip nuance that we love as setters and climbers. Each range is built around thoughtfully curated packs of holds rather than small individual sets. Instead of selecting a handful of shapes at a time, the ranges are designed as larger pack collections that work together across angles, hold sizes, and styles of setting, making it easier for gyms and setters to build cohesive walls.

Sugar continues to expand the catalog with a focus on thoughtful design, consistent production quality, and engaging textures.

Our Thoughts: We’ve spent a lot of time around the development of Sugar, and one of the things that stood out early was how much attention went into the shapes themselves. Brad had already built a deep library of foam prototypes before the brand ever existed. The goal was never to create another hold brand — it was simply to play, experiment, and put energy into creating something new without a specific end goal in mind. The focus was always on the small details: subtle changes in a grab, how texture helps to shape a hold, and how setters and climbers interact with a shape.

As the catalog came together, Brad and Chris worked closely to refine those ideas into complete ranges that would function well in real setting environments. The result is a collection of holds that feels very intentional — shapes that look clean and simple at first glance but offer a lot of nuance once you start setting with them.

From our perspective as routesetters, Sugar strikes a really nice balance between design and usability. The holds have a refined feel, but they’re still incredibly practical on the wall. They give setters a lot of freedom to build movement without forcing a specific style.

It’s a brand we’re excited about because it adds another layer of thoughtful design to the Thread lineup.