(Mitsuo)
If BLACK were all we needed, there would have been no reason to make V3.
And if V3 worked on every rock, we wouldn't need BLACK either.
But that's not how climbing works. The rock changes. The humidity changes. The season changes. And more than anything, people are different—their hands are different, and the way they climb is different.
TOKYO POWDER started with mixing several different types of magnesium carbonate.
Mixing is where we started. It is still the foundation of what we do.
If you have two types of chalk that play different roles, mixing them can significantly improve their performance.
But getting the mix right isn't so easy.
Our chalk lineup has a more or less defined role for each product, and we think it's relatively easy to understand when to use each one. Still, we now have eight powder chalks and three base layers. If you can use all of them properly, you're already a serious chalk nerd.
Gym, rock, or competition. Indoors or outdoors. Temperature, humidity, wind. How much skin do you have left on your fingertips?
With all those variables, sometimes the best answer is to start blending chalk.
And somehow, we ended up with a magical little app that does exactly that.
And now, the story of Flo.
The person who developed the Mixer App is TOKYO POWDER Ambassador Florian Murnig. Flo is an international route setter with all kinds of experience—and more than a few legendary stories—as well as a top-level rock climber who climbs seriously hard routes and boulders.
Poster from the launch of RX
I first met him when he came to visit my climbing gym. There was a poster on the wall of a guy snorting chalk through his nose. Flo thought it was hilarious. I also remember him asking me all kinds of questions about chalk, even though we'd only just met.
He was incredibly curious about chalk. He tested a lot of our products and prototypes and gave us plenty of feedback.
At some point, TOKYO POWDER started sponsoring him. I don't really remember exactly how it happened. It was probably just part of some conversation. It felt very natural.
Flo first brought up the idea of making an app maybe six or seven years ago.
He's a strong climber, a nice guy, handsome, an engineer, and a programmer. Annoyingly talented, basically. I think it was around the time we released RX and V3.
Then we both got very busy. COVID happened. A lot changed in our personal lives. And before we knew it, quite a few years had passed. Eventually, Flo told me that the first working version of the app was ready.
From there, we brought in Kyosuke Wakamiya—our number-one test subject, and probably the climber who has mixed TOKYO POWDER chalk for more people than anyone else. Together, we fine-tuned the blending parameters. After plenty of trial and error, the app was finally finished and released.
TOKYO POWDER MIXER APP
https://tokyopowder.dynamo.at/
Developed by Florian Murnig
In collaboration with TOKYO POWDER and climber testers.
HOW TO USE IT
Here are a few ways we recommend using the app.
First, open the settings and make sure all TOKYO POWDER products are enabled.
Then open the Mixer and enter the conditions at the crag or gym where you usually climb.
The blend you see on the screen is our recommendation for those conditions.
You can try exactly what the app suggests, or use it as a starting point and make your own mix. If you don't have all the products on hand, just go to Settings and select only the products you own. The app will find the best blend using those.
Try a few different mixes, and you'll gradually start to see what each product is doing—and how friction itself works.
Welcome to the world of chalk.
The app also has a Lab mode, separate from the Mixer.
In the Lab, you can combine any products you like in any ratio and save your recipes as presets with notes. You can take a blend suggested by the Mixer and evolve it into something of your own, or share your creations with other people on social media.
I'm looking forward to seeing the crazy mixes you come up with—and trying some of them myself. Maybe I'll discover something new too.
LET'S MIX!!