RSTTR offering first fossil-free climbing grip sets
Flawil/St.Gallen/Friedrichshafen - Resetter Climbing (RSTTR) has celebrated a premiere at the Vertical Pro trade fair in Friedrichshafen: For the first time, the start-up established by Auftriib founder Andreas Trunz offered its fossil-free grip sets for climbing walls on a commercial basis. Trunz describes his proprietary development as castable sandstone.
(CONNECT) Climbing and bouldering gyms can now offer fossil-free grips for their indoor sport: RSTTR, based in Flawil in the canton of St.Gallen, has presented complete sets of its 100 percent natural grips and footholds for climbing walls for the first time at the Vertical Pro trade fair in Friedrichshafen, which took place November 21-22, 2025.
“Before now, the industry has conveniently managed to ignore the significant environmental costs of its business”, comments Andreas Trunz in a statement. “Up to this point, issues such as carbon footprint, recyclability and toxicity have carried no weight, neither in day-to-day industry operations nor at trade fairs”. Alongside like-minded partners from the Chemnitz-based company Blocz and Greenholds in the Netherlands, Trunz set about changing this situation last year: At the international trade fair for all applications at height, they launched the Future Wall. This platform shines a light on sustainability – and proved to be so successful that it was resurrected for this year too.
In total, 7.7 million fossil fuel-based climbing elements are produced worldwide each year, according to a market study cited by “Climbing”, the leading climbing magazine from the USA. The accompanying article discusses in detail the innovative and sustainable alternative proposed by Andreas Trunz, who describes his entirely new material as “castable sandstone”.
“Our holds based on our bio-resin formula are a 100 percent natural and fossil-free alternative to polyurethane and polyester resins for the manufacture of circular climbing holds”, explains Trunz, who also founded the St.Gallen-based freeride skiing firm Auftriib GmbH, in a press release issued by Friedrichshafen-based trade fair. The performance is also said to be improved: “Our holds are more rock-like, they have a cooler feel, the texture is gentler on the skin and the hold does not end up with a polished surface. So you have a lasting grip”, Trunz states.
To begin with, the development was supported by the composite plastics expert Cem Koeylueer, who meanwhile has co-founded DynaComp from Spreitenbach in the Swiss canton of Aargau. Claude Rieser, CEO of the Flawil-based cleantech company Step Zero, contributed his expertise on the development’s go-to-market journey. The scientific and engineering partners of RSTTR include the OST - Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences in Buchs and Rapperswil, as well as the Circular Economy Lab of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences. ce/mm