Entralpi Force Plate vs Tindeq vs Climbro: How Each Tool Measures Finger Strength

There are now three common ways to put a number on your finger strength at home. You can hang a sensor between a grip and an anchor, like the Tindeq Progressor. You can pull on an edge that has the sensor built in, like the Climbro Mini. Or you can stand on a force plate under your hangboard and let it calculate how much of your body weight your fingers are holding, which is how the Entralpi Force Plate works.

All three give you a force reading. They do not measure it in the same place, so they suit different setups, different tests and different climbers. This article explains how a force plate works, what the research says about its accuracy, how the apps differ, and where each tool fits. For the direct Tindeq versus Climbro comparison, see Tindeq vs ClimBro Mini: Which Data Tool Do You Need?

1. Three places to measure force

Every finger strength test measures the force between your fingers and a hold. The difference between tools is where the sensor sits in that chain.

  • Inline sensor (Tindeq Progressor): the sensor sits in the line between a grip and a fixed anchor. You pull on the grip and the sensor measures the tension directly. Any grip you can attach works: edges, pinch blocks, handles, straps.
  • Integrated edge (Climbro Mini): the sensor is built into the hold itself. You train on its fixed edges, and the app guides the session.
  • Ground-based force plate (Entralpi): the sensor sits under your feet. The plate first weighs you, then measures how much weight disappears from the plate while you hang. That missing weight is the load going through your hands.

The force plate is the indirect option. It does not touch the hold at all. That sounds like a weakness, but it also means you can keep your existing hangboard exactly as it is mounted.

2. How a force plate calculates finger load

The principle is simple subtraction. If you weigh 70 kg and the plate reads 30 kg while you hang with your feet on it, your hands are holding 40 kg. If you lift your feet completely, the plate reads close to zero and your hands hold your full body weight.

The same works on one hand. Hang from one arm and support the rest with your feet, and the plate shows how much that one hand is holding. That makes one-arm training the natural way to add load before you reach for a weight belt: on one hand, your body weight is already a high load, and a climber who can hang a 15 mm edge on one hand is already strong. Build up the load on one hand gradually, using your feet to keep it controlled. Only once full body weight on one hand is no longer enough do you need a weight belt; the plate weighs you with the belt, so added weight is included too, up to the plate's maximum load.

Two more practical consequences:

  • You can train below body weight with a known load. Keep your feet on the plate and take off only as much weight as you want. This is useful for submaximal work, warm-ups and for climbers who cannot yet hang their full body weight on a small edge.
  • Movement adds noise. The calculation assumes you are still. If you bounce, swing or shift your weight between your feet and your hands quickly, the plate sees changes that are not finger force. A force plate is a tool for controlled, static hangs, not for dynamic moves.

The general rules for a clean test still apply: same edge, same grip, same warm-up and the same time of day. They are explained in Measuring Finger Strength Properly.

3. What the research says about accuracy

The Entralpi force plate

MacDougall and colleagues (2023) compared the Entralpi force plate with a laboratory force plate in 15 participants, men and women, using maximal one-arm half-crimp hangs on a 20 mm wooden edge as well as static loading. The Entralpi closely matched the reference plate for peak force and force-time measures. The manufacturer reports a mean relative error of 0.41% in the static tests, and a later systematic review lists the reliability (ICC) as 0.991 or higher.

Two limits matter. First, the sample was small and the climbing level of the participants was not reported. Second, the plate samples force at a lower and less regular rate than a laboratory device, which is why the authors suggest it is best suited to controlled hanging tasks rather than high-impact movements. That also means fast measures such as rate of force development should be interpreted with care.

The Tindeq Progressor

Labott and colleagues (2022) tested the Tindeq Progressor against a laboratory force plate in 25 experienced climbers (16 men, 9 women) during one-arm rung pulls and 90° lock-offs. Agreement with the force plate was very high (ICC 0.99), and its test-retest reliability within and between days was excellent (ICC 0.90 to 0.98). The authors note that only experienced climbers and only static positions were tested, and that the data smoothing used in the analysis may have improved agreement.

The Climbro Mini

At the time of writing we could not find a peer-reviewed validation study of the Climbro Mini. That does not mean it is inaccurate. It means there is no independent data to say how accurate it is, so treat its numbers as consistent within the device rather than directly comparable to research values.

What this means

For static finger strength testing, both the Entralpi and the Tindeq have independent evidence that they measure accurately. The bigger source of error is usually not the sensor but the test: a different edge, a different grip or a sloppy warm-up changes your result far more than a fraction of a percent of measurement error. A systematic review of finger strength testing in climbers (Pérez-Cordero et al., 2025) concluded that maximal finger strength tests on fixed edges of roughly 20–23 mm consistently show high reliability.

4. Where each tool fits

Choose a force plate (Entralpi) if:

  • you already train on a hangboard and want to keep using it as it is;
  • you want to see how hard each hang is, including hangs below body weight with your feet on the plate;
  • you want to train one hand at a time with a known load, using your feet for assistance, without rigging an anchor;
  • you share a setup with training partners, since one plate covers everyone on the same board;
  • you need to keep load low and known during a return from a finger injury, with guidance from a physio.

Choose an inline sensor (Tindeq) if:

  • you want to test more than edges: pinch, sloper handles, pulling and lock-offs;
  • you use a fixed-anchor setup with a portable edge and pull against the anchor rather than hanging;
  • you want to compare left and right on many different grips;
  • you want fast force measures such as rate of force development as part of your testing.

Choose an integrated edge (Climbro Mini) if:

  • you mainly want crimp and edge strength;
  • you prefer a guided app that builds the sessions for you;
  • you do not have a hangboard yet and want one compact system.

5. The apps: how much guidance do you want?

For many climbers the app matters more than the sensor. All three tools measure force well enough for training; what differs is how much the app tells you what to do. The descriptions below are based on what each manufacturer publishes. Apps are updated often, so check the current version before you buy.

Tindeq Progressor: a flexible toolbox with programs you build

The free Tindeq app started as a measuring tool and still is one at heart. It covers peak force, endurance, repeaters with custom work and rest times and a target load line, and rate of force development with automatic onset detection: the measurement starts once your pull is stable, with a live stability meter and pretension guidance. Recent versions add training programs and routines. You can build structured sessions, run them in the app and share them with others through a QR code or share code. Sessions are logged so you can follow your progress over time, and test results can be exported. What it does not do is decide for you: you, your coach or a program someone shares with you sets the intensity and progression. That suits coaches, physios and climbers who know how they want to train.

Climbro: the most coaching

The Climbro app starts with a test battery (maximal strength, rate of force development, continuous and intermittent endurance) and then generates a personalised plan aimed at your weakest qualities, adjusted to the days you train and climb. During a workout it guides force, duration, repetitions and rest in real time. The app is free to download with a paid Premium subscription, and it only works with Climbro hardware.

Entralpi: guided sessions on your own board

The Entralpi app is free with no paid tier. It measures peak force, endurance and power, includes tests and guided training plans with real-time audio cues, and lets you build your own workouts. It supports unlimited user profiles, so a household or training group can share one plate. It sits between the other two: more ready-made guidance out of the box than Tindeq, but we found no description of plans that adapt automatically to your test results in the way Climbro describes.

What this means

If you want the app to act as a coach, Climbro goes furthest. If you want guided sessions on the hangboard you already own, without a subscription, Entralpi fits. If you want to build or share your own programs and control every parameter, Tindeq fits. No app can guarantee that its plan is right for you, so retest every few weeks and check that the numbers actually move.

6. Practical limits of a force plate

  • It needs a hard, flat floor. Carpet or a crash pad makes the reading unreliable.
  • It is not built for dynamic training. Campus moves, pull-ups and jumps create load spikes the plate is not designed to capture accurately.
  • It only measures what goes through your body. Tests where you pull a grip against a fixed anchor without loading the floor, such as most pinch block and pulling tests, are easier with an inline sensor.
  • It has a load limit. The plate handles up to 150 kg in total, including your body weight and any weight you wear.

7. Using a force plate in rehab

Return-to-load after a finger injury often starts at a low, controlled percentage of normal strength. By feel, it is hard to know whether you are holding 20% or 40%. A force plate shows the number while you hang, which makes those early steps easier to follow. It does not tell you which load is right for your injury. That decision belongs with a physio or hand specialist, especially after a pop, swelling or pain that does not settle. Background on the most common finger injury is in Finger Pulley Injuries (A2/A3/A4).

8. Getting a first measurement

Whatever tool you use, start with one simple, repeatable test before you change your training:

  • warm up the same way every time, finishing with a few progressively harder hangs;
  • use one edge size, for example 20 mm, in a half crimp;
  • do 2–3 maximal efforts of a few seconds with full rest between them, and keep the best;
  • express the result as a percentage of body weight so you can compare it over time.

A complete step-by-step version is in the Finger Testing Protocol. To see how your number compares with research values at different grades, read Finger Strength Benchmarks: What's Normal at Each Grade? If you do not want to buy a tool yet, the Max Climbing testing stations in climbing gyms measure maximal lifts on a fixed setup, so you can get a baseline first and decide later.

Putting it all together

  • A force plate measures finger load indirectly: your body weight minus what stays on the plate.
  • Independent research shows that both the Entralpi force plate and the Tindeq Progressor measure static finger force accurately. We found no published validation for the Climbro Mini.
  • The Entralpi suits climbers who want to make their existing hangboard measurable, including one-arm hangs and hangs below body weight.
  • The Tindeq suits climbers who test many grips and pulling setups. The Climbro suits climbers who want a guided, edge-only system.
  • If guidance matters most: Climbro's app goes furthest as a coach, Entralpi offers free guided sessions, and Tindeq lets you build and share your own programs.
  • A standardised test matters more than the choice of sensor.

Next step

Decide first what you want to measure. If it is finger strength on the hangboard you already have, the Entralpi Force Plate is the simplest way to make it measurable. If you are not sure that fingers are what is holding you back, run the Find Your Limiter check before you choose a tool.

References

  • Labott BK, Held S, Wiedenmann T, Rappelt L, Wicker P, Donath L. (2022). Validity and reliability of a commercial force sensor for the measurement of upper body strength in sport climbing. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 4, 838358.
  • MacDougall KB, McClean ZJ, MacIntosh BR, Fletcher JR, Aboodarda SJ. (2023). Validity of the Entralpi force plate in the assessment of finger flexor performance metrics in rock climbers. Sports Biomechanics. doi:10.1080/14763141.2023.2259356
  • Pérez-Cordero J, Jerez-Mayorga D, Rodríguez-Perea Á, Soto García D. (2025). Reliability of finger strength assessment methods in climbing: a systematic review. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 7, 1650198.
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