Outdoor climbing structures bear loads of climbing activities similar to any other climbing wall but on top of that they have to be able to resist weather impact. Building a structure exposed to the elements means that additional factors such as snow and wind loads, effects of rain and sun exposure, temperature changes and others have to be taken into consideration. In order to make an outdoor structure suitable for use and ensure appropriate longevity, the range of materials is different from the ones used for indoor climbing structures.

The standard procedure in regards to the metal construction of indoor climbing walls is for it to be primed and painted, with the most often used paint for this purpose being polyurethane or alkyd. However, if the climbing wall is installed outdoors and especially in a humid region, it takes around only a year for the painted construction to start rusting.

As a consequence, the operator needs to start repainting it regularly, this way spending a lot of money on yearly maintenance. This is why we hot-dip galvanize all elements of our outdoor metal constructions which prevents them from corroding. All fasteners used for assembling said elements are also stainless steel or hot-dip galvanized.

Walltopia recommends adding roofs for outdoor climbing walls and boulders. The roof provides protection and longer lifespan of the climbing wall panels and structure. It also offers better customer experience allowing visitors to climb even during bad weather conditions.

Introducing a new technology, not familiar to the climbing industry to date, the Walltopia Premium Outdoor Panels are highly durable and weatherproof, resistant to impact, infiltration, heat and fire. The material does not change its characteristics over time while offering the precision, automation and speed of plywood production. Walltopia premium panels are also very easy for maintainance compared to fiberglass* as they allow change of individual panels with precise dimension up to 1 mm.

*Fiberglass does not allow replicating a mould with such precision.

It’s not a common practice in the industry to impregnate the back of the plywood panels installed outdoors. This can be very damaging as the humidity can spread within the panel and dramatically shorten its lifespan. This is why we impregnate the back side of the panels for outdoor climbing walls just as well, giving them better protection from the contact with the elements.

However, plywood is not completely weatherproof and does have a shorter lifespan compared to fiberglass and Walltopia premium outdoor panels..

More durable material compared to plywood, fiberglass is 100% water resistant, it does not change its characteristics over time. Fiberglass also gives the freedom to design and produce any imaginary shape including rocklike structures and curves. It lacks the precision of the shape achieved witn a CnC machine and doesn’t allow painting automation which may lead to color imperfections. Fiberglass needs longer production time compared to plywood and Walltopia premium panels.

In order to ensure maximum water resistance and durability for the product, we equip our outdoor structures with stainless steel t-nuts and stainless fixing screws.