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Counterfeit Petzl Products

Khoi · · Vancouver, BC · Joined Oct 2009 · Points: 45
JLP wrote:As for these knock off products, it's nothing new. It just means Petzl, like many, use China for some of their manufacturing. A tooling die gets duplicated or replaced, a production manager leaves and finds a new job across the street - or better, maybe Petzl pulls the rug out from under one company in favor of another underbidder, leaving behind a lot of IP. It's been happening for a long time. Go shopping in Bangkok sometime. IMO, stay in the dealer networks and off ebay for new equipment and you'll be fine.
But has Petzl ever had any of their products actually made in China? So far, every Petzl item I've looked at was made in either France or the USA.
Kurt Ross · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2009 · Points: 280
Bob Dergay wrote:I don't know... In the petzl notice it shows that while the counterfeits weren't as strong as the originals- they're still pretty strong. Anybody know how much less the knock-offs cost?
Hahahaha!!
Steve Thomas · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2010 · Points: 30
Dustin B wrote: Time to start buying DMM cams...
errrr..... maybe not
Steve0 · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2010 · Points: 5
sthomas wrote: errrr..... maybe not
No reason not to buy them, at least they're being honest and pre-cautious, if you got a bad one, send it in! Aliens and the OP link cams have also had recalls.
Ty Harlacker · · Albuquerque, NM · Joined Mar 2008 · Points: 231

Fuckers!, Well let's hope they don't start counterfeiting ropes and GriGri's.

Marathon · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2010 · Points: 275
TDog wrote: You don't read so well. At the top is says "Attention: Petzl warns for fake Chinese reproductions " You were the one to start the thread. Are you calling yourself out for "The ski is falling", "Crying wolf", "Fire (in the theater)". Yes, china is destroying the world.
They took urr jerbs!!
Nate Manson · · San Diego, CA · Joined Jun 2010 · Points: 135

"Made in France" was worse enough!

Rob WardenSpaceLizard · · las Vegans, the cosmic void · Joined Dec 2011 · Points: 130

the only Petzl product i have ever gotten that was made in china was a Nylon sling. all of the nylon slings are made there. As far as the rest of it, every other sling, biner, even the rubber string for quick draws, made in france or USA.

Locker · · Yucca Valley, CA · Joined Oct 2002 · Points: 2,349

"As far as the rest of it, every other sling, biner, even the rubber string for quick draws, made in france or USA."

Not saying that it is the case here, but don't "Knockoffs" that are replicating/counterfeiting a product have the SAME shit written on it?

Such as "Made in the USA"?

Peter Stokes · · Them Thar Hills · Joined Apr 2009 · Points: 150

The way we're headed, one of these days you'll be able to spot a fake by the "Made in USA" tag

JesseT · · Portland, OR · Joined May 2011 · Points: 100
Peter Stokes wrote:The way we're headed, one of these days you'll be able to spot a fake by the "Made in USA" tag
Zing!
jim whitney · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2012 · Points: 35

I told myself 16 years ago that if climbing products were ever to be sold at Walmart I would leave climbing never to return! Are we getting close to this scenario?

Nicholas Oxentenko · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Sep 2009 · Points: 10

right on Dustin those DMM Dragons are bad ass and have been working great for me for last 2 years, I am all for gear not made in China!

Ryder Stroud · · Seattle, WA · Joined Sep 2011 · Points: 1,465

An overseas perspective:

I live and climb in China, and this has popped up sporadically in the climbing community out here. Not sure if folks have found this, but there is a Chinese climbing website that details how to spot Petzl fakes:

http://bbs.rockbeer.org/viewthread.php?tid=1241669704

It is in Chinese, but a little Google Translate magic will help you get the general idea of what's going on. For quick reference, the blue text(真的) in the pictures translates as "real" and the red as "fake" or "counterfeit" (假的). If you're interested in investigating a bit more, check out the link above.

As for counterfeits in China, this is pervasive, as I'm sure y'all have heard in lots of other industries. It may seem counterintuitive to manufacture such specialized equipment (i.e. ascenders, crolls, etc.) but the outdoor industry is actually pretty lucrative out here right now. Gear, both for weekend warrior and the career climber, is stupidly expensive in the Mainland; most expat climbers I know turn to Taobao (Chinese Amazon, but also notorious for counterfeits) for soft goods only. Hong Kong is usually the only reliable non-electronic nearby source.

A various number of importer middlemen companies, with their associated markups and fees, (got this info from a Chinese climber who knows the gear import industry) conspires to make climbing and outdoor sports an even more expensive hobby than it already is in the US. I wouldn't be surprised if there is an additional markup due to their being imported products, which face high tariffs in China (e.g. foreign cars, luxury brands, etc.).

The number of people in China who can afford this gear is still a fairly small percentage of the Chinese population, but when you consider that China is 1.3 billion people, a small portion of that can add up to a big raw number. If you can make some knockoffs at a low manufacturing cost but sell it at the ridiculously overinflated prices you find at Chinese outdoor retailers like Sanfo (三夫), you could make a lot of money. From visiting a few Sanfo stores, I noticed that the markup is anywhere from 150% to 200% the American retail price...

Ironically, another situation here is kind of institutionalized counterfeit-in-reverse, if that makes any sense. The "home-grown" Chinese outdoor brand, Kailas, is trying to break into the hardware market, but it seems like they are not producing their own gear, opting instead to turn to, ironically, western expertise for manufacturing important stuff like ropes and (I was surprised when I heard about this) cams; they are the Spanish-made Totem cams with the Kailas logo emblazoned on them instead.

See them here: kailasgears.com/product/det…

I could rant about the nature of copying things in China, but that story is for another time.

But to stay with the original point: everything definitely gets muddled with all of the manufacturing that happens here in China. The best way to protect yourself is sticking with your trusted big US gear retailers and, of course, check out the info that Petzl has posted. If a piece of their gear is so affordable that it is too good to be true, that's probably the case. China is a mad house of people and companies trying to make a buck. Copying things is a quick way to do that out here.

Final (speculative) note: If I were to venture a guess, it would make more sense for gear counterfeiters to sell their wares in China because of the low manufacturing costs, especially if a dude surreptitiously runs off with gear designs to a 3rd party and used their facilities, and the high/over-inflated price the gear commands when bought off-the-shelf in China.

End rant. Thanks for listening.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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