When we heard a rage room opened up in Tucson, we knew we had to try it out.
It's such a fun concept. You pay to go into a plywood-lined room designed for destruction. It's full of old appliances, glass bottles, tires and other things to throw, hit, kick and break until all of your pent up rage turns into unicorns and glitter.
And the fury doesn't stop there. At The Breaking Point in midtown you can pay extra to bust up things like video cameras, televisions and computers. Pro-tip: If you go on Wednesday, you get 20 extra glass bottles to break.
Angela Pittenger and Johanna Willett attempting to look angry and serious.
The business is basically saving stuff from going to the landfill. People donate old electronics and appliances for use in the rage rooms, and then whatever is left is recycled. Release some rage. Save the planet. It's a win-win.
The owners have big plans and are currently working on adding an escape room concept, which they say is different than anything in Tucson. They're also working on a black light rage room.
So, we (Johanna and Angela) drove to The Breaking Point to get out some rage. Or in our case, break bottles and hit stuff with bats.
Some background
Angela is a mom in her early 40's with a son about to start middle school. While she does have the mom glare down pretty good, she doesn't lose her 'ish. She's known for being pretty chill even in the worst of situations. So, going crazy with a bat on some tires, appliances and glass seemed like a great idea.
Johanna is not a rager. The rest of This Is Tucson's staff wanted her to go on this field trip just to see what she would do. Although she's a worrier who loses her cool every now and then (hangry is a real feeling!), she couldn't even muster up an adequate glare for the pre-rage selfie. See the weird face in the photo above. 🤷
On the location
The exterior of The Breaking Point looks exactly as a rage room should.
Angela: It's in a brick building kinda behind the "sexy" Safeway on Broadway and Campbell, which is an industrial-type area. To me, it is EXACTLY what a rage room should look like.
Inside the small lobby there's a giant list of all of your options. Plus, you're surrounded by signatures on chalkboard walls where people have signed after raging. There are doors leading to two rage rooms that are FILLED with stuff to break and hit.
The Breaking Point is owned by two brothers who were both super friendly. I thought it would feel intimidating, but it didn't at all.
The lobby of The Breaking Point features chalk walls to leave your mark on after your experience.
Johanna: Angela's right. When you show up outside the Breaking Point, you get a deeper understanding for what's about to happen just based on how it looks. When we parked in the dirt outside the business, I noticed discarded TVs and empty alcohol bottles propped against the building. It looks like trash, but it now has a new future! Remember, the junk you see was saved from the dump.
If you've ever been to an escape room, the lobby has that vibe — nervous anticipation.
Inside the room, husks of old appliances and stacks of scrap metal line walls graffiti-ed with comic book exclamations: Boom! Pow! Bang! It's like you're living a superhero movie.
On the experience
Angela: It was so fun. I was in such a relaxed, non-angry mood, so I was surprised at how giddy I felt afterward. Like, I just needed to break stuff or something. It was almost exhilarating.
We chose the Fast and Furious package, which came with 15 minutes in the room and three breakables each. Plus, it was Wednesday so we got an extra 20 bottles to smash for free. Fifteen minutes was plenty for me, but there are lots of other options, even a date night.
After we got suited up in masks, to protect the face, and jumpsuits, it was time to decide on a playlist.
You could pick between gas masks and paint ball masks to protect your face from flying glass. We chose gas masks, of course.
You should know that while we are similar in ways and get along amazingly, Johanna and I are also very different. I don't necessarily make a habit of raging, but I do have more of a feisty, darker side than she does. This was never more apparent than when we were picking a playlist. I was like "Oh, let's play KMFDM." And she was like "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." What?
We settled on "Eye of the Tiger," although I kept using the phone to take pictures, so our soundtrack really consisted of us laughing and breaking glass.
You can watch people rage while you wait on this tv screen in the lobby.
We banged on metal appliances, beat the heck out of some tires and broke lots of glass.
My favorite thing was when we teed the beer bottles off of a tire. It also made us thankful for the gas masks on our faces. Glass was flying everywhere. At one point, when I threw an empty gin bottle against the wall, it bounced back at us. It was hilarious.
Johanna: First, I have to address that my "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" suggestion was for the irony. Obviously.
We didn't book our experience online, but we also went in the middle of the week. If you plan on going during the weekend or during a busier time, definitely make your reservation online in advance.
Before you can rage, you sign a liability release form, don a jumpsuit, gloves and mask — gas or paintball, rager's choice. Side note: You MUST wear closed-toe shoes. Sandals are not even an option.
Putting on the enormous black jumpsuit put me in a silly mood. The mask did not help that. It was a bit toasty once we started whacking stuff, but the rooms are heavily air-conditioned, so I never felt like I was going to overheat. Plus, that jumpsuit is the only thing standing between you and a million shards of glass. So you are forever grateful to it.
Most of the room is fair game — just don't hit each other, the walls, the camera or the blue tooth speaker.
Angela teased me about tapping everything with my metal baseball bat instead of smacking it full force, and I will admit that I enjoyed playing tee-ball with those glass bottles, but mostly this just wasn't for me.
Even though we were covered head-to-toe, I found myself flinching away from the flying glass and the loud sounds of metal banging on metal. Pro tip: Don't do this if you have even the slightest headache. There were just two of us in there, but you can have as many as four people in a room at a time. I can only imagine the KA-BOOMs.
I definitely felt like our 15 minutes was more than enough time, even with our Wednesday bonus of 20 extra bottles. After we had smashed everything, we looked at each other, pulled off our masks and decided to call it quits even before our official "time's up." Rage complete.
This is the room we used. There's also a blue tooth speaker on the wall so you can play your music from your phone.
Would you go again?
Angela: Yes! In fact, I plan to take my son. He's about to start middle school so I have a feeling this might be beneficial at some point during the school year. Also, it was super fun and I really enjoyed the experience. I think it's good to get out a little pent up frustration in a healthy way. (Anyone under 18 needs to have a form signed by a parent or guardian).
Johanna: Probably not. I just don't like breaking stuff. For me, it was roughly 30 percent fun and 70 percent stressful. My coworkers pegged me right.
Details
What: The Breaking Point
Where: 2006 E. 14th Street
Hours: Noon to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday
Cost: Prices start at $10 per person
Info: Click here
