The Hard Truth: Simple Ways to Become a Better Climber

by Kris Hampton, Brendan Leonard (Illustrator)

A no nonsense examination of what it takes to not only climb stronger, but to be a better climber.

Genres: Climbing, Nonfiction

113 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 24, 2020

Reviews

[Анна Шляхова · Rating 2 out of 5]

It has a couple of interesting thoughts, but an article would be enough. The Author repeats himself too much.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoy Kris' approach to training & climbing, you will enjoy this book. If you don't like it, chances are he probably covers something in the book you need to hear.

I thought it was an easy read with a lot of impact. Even as an avid user of all things Power Company - training programs, podcast, blog, social media - I still found a lot of purpose in this book. Some points are the same ones Kris has been making for years, but accompany different or new anecdotes that helped me hear it a different way.

Will there be some new, Earth shattering concept that makes you a better climber? Probably not, especially if you like and listen to Power Company already. But I think that's the whole point - training for climbing isn't rocket science; it's hard work, no b.s. and a lot of self reflection to move forward. The Hard Truth helps put a lot of the tools and motivation a reader might need - now or in the future - to keep moving forward.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personally, I was already familiar with all the concepts in this book and already agreed with and implemented them in my climbing. I found it enjoyable but didn't learn anything.

However, it was an excellent opportunity for self-reflection, and it will be a useful reference for coworkers, climbing friends, or people I coach. I think this book would be super useful for a newer or less driven climber looking to ramp up their focus. The illustrations by Brendan Leonard (Semi-Rad) are lovely and a succinct way to explain these concepts. I imagine I'll use photos of those as a way to wrap up coaching conversations.

I really appreciate and love Kris’ tone and no-nonsense approach to climbing and training for climbing. If you aren’t climbing as hard as you’d like, you are the only reason for that. Take a hard look at yourself and realize why and what you can change. (If you truly want to climb harder. It needs to be internal motivation.)

[Jake McCrary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book full of short articles that don't pull punches when it comes towards shifting your mentality around becoming a better climber.

If you've followed Power Company Climbing for a while, you've heard much of this before but this is a nice form factor to contain that knowledge.

Not every book needs to bop you over the head with something novel and new. As an avid follower of the Power Company (the podcast, youtube channel, and a completed training program), I really enjoyed this no nonsense text.

You've got to work hard to get better. Then you've got to work a little harder. You need to commit. You've got to put your ego aside.

[Adam Brawner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd give this book a solid 4.5 stars. If it was maybe tripled in length, perhaps a bit more, it would earn perfect marks.

This book isn't full of groundbreaking information or anything like that. As a matter of fact, I don't think it has anything in it at all that I didn't already know. What this book DOES have, is the perfect verbage to stop whatever excuses you have right in your tracks, and give you the little nudge required for you to put in the effort to perform at your best.

I'll probably re-read this book fifty more times, and I can almost guarantee you that something new will stick with me and help me improve every single time.

[Denis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard (to get) truths.

Mixed feelings about this. It's good advice most of the time, yes. It's bluntly written and tries to push you out of your comfort zone into new training directions, or at least thoughts about which directions this could be.
But that's also the crux here. It's hard to get anything precise out of it. It says "don't climb hard stuff" here and "climb hard stuff" there, "don't count your pitches" here and "get milage" there. The details are often hard to spot.

It's a nice reading, though, but don't expect a hell of new ideas.

[Joseph Wirthlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am definitely more motivated to actually train for climbing after reading this book. While it did not give any revolutionary training tips, the book is motivating and clearly expresses that the biggest thing holding any climber back is really just a lack of real commitment and self-reflection. Everything about this book was just as the title suggested: simple. Perhaps climbers may have benefitted from some of the harder learned lessons and experiences from an experienced climber.

[James Vogl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice short and simple book full of hacks and advice to make you into a better climber. I’m fairly new to climbing so didn’t understand all of the technical lingo but still got a lot out of it and will revisit in the future as I hopefully advance. The basic measure is master easy climbs over and over whilst also keep pushing yourself to send harder challenges.

[Marc Geraldez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very easy and fun read

[Rilee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Would be a better fit as an article. I expected it to be a great concise guide since it’s a shorter book, but instead it was just repetitive, basic information; nothing ground-breaking.

[Anna Sinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful punch of a book. I wish it was longer. A valuable, inspiring insight into the climbing mindset that forces difficult, revealing self-reflection. So many nuggets of wisdom. Loved it!

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some bits of useful wisdom. A lot of grade spraying.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gave it one more star. It’s a fast read and it is packed with a lot of good quips that sometimes land and sometimes don’t. I’ll probably reread again because it’s easy and I’m sure I’ll gain more just by spending time in it.

[Anh Pham · Rating 3 out of 5]

crotchety old men in every arena. surprising since kris hampton never seems to hit harlan ellison levels in podcasts and videos. might be good in small doses when feeling weak.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A blog collection book. I like this kind of book, they are so easy to read.

[Nick Slighting · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good, simple, one day read. The summary of this book is do not give into your excuses! You have to commit and believe in yourself. Parts of the book was semi-redundant, but was overall good.