Anti-hydral and Other Handy Things, Part 1

I thought I was going to be diving deep into all the arguments about whether Antihydral works. I'll save some time by saying it does. Plain and simple. I found myself instead wondering more how to use it, and what that involved. I recently prepped for a Bishop trip by applying small coatings to my tips 3 times, each at night, over the course of 2 weeks. Then used it 3 times, every other day or so, while on my trip. The results surprised me.

(Disclaimer: I have been a window cleaner for several years now and work with my hands on side projects, car repair, and home hobbies, on top of climbing. I also sand them down several times a week, so I might not be the best test subject since my skin is already pretty damn tough).

I had heard of antihydral for years, but had never committed to giving it a shot, mostly because I do not suffer from overly sweaty hands (and $30 is hefty for something you're not sure works). Yet I came across some anecdotal accounts that claimed it also hardened tips.  I didn't want to risk shredding my fingers to the bone, which Bishop is notorious for, and antihydral seemed like the knowledge for this trip.

Josh Mueller's nice flapper from Evilution, ~2010

Instructions for applying anti-hydral:

1. Wait till bedtime.
2. Clean and dry tips.
3. Either a. Put a small dollop on one finger and use it to apply to all the other tips/desired areas or b. apply about 5 pinhead drops to each tip/desired area
4. Rub around desired area; just covering the surface is enough without needing to use a lot. 
5. Let air dry for several minutes. 
6. Wipe off any excess with paper towel. Do not wash your hands!
7. Go to sleep. (As long as excess is wiped off, there will be no staining in bed; do NOT touch your junk, guys or girls!)
8. Carry on living. 
9. Repeat as needed, though this may take some time to figure out. Prepare well ahead of a trip.

I had planned on taking a rest day after the first 2 or 3 into the trip. I ended up taking 0 and climbing for 8 days straight! Every morning I would wake up and realize I had plenty of skin, and never really felt too sore to climb, nor more sore than I had been the previous day. This could have been due to the antihydral prep, or just me having bullet-proof skin, so take that for what it's worth.

Everyone else in my group had shredded tips by the third day, but none of them prepped with antihydral, though some of them used it while there. I was the only one who climbed all 8 days.