Finding "The Mark" by Boulder Based Designs

I've been looking for a good marking solution for my rack and I came across The Mark, which is exactly what I was looking for. The only problem is that I can't find it for sale. Casanova Adventure.com theoretically has it, but it's a weird, sketchy site and their checkout process isn't working for me. Does anyone know where I can purchase it from? Thanks in advance! 

I've been looking as well. It seems like the holy grail of gear-marking, so I spent some time searching for it. I actually did order it from Casanova, but then received an email stating that it's discontinued, and they cancelled the order. (They still haven't bothered removing it from their site, though...)

I considered purchasing "epoxy ink", which is what the military uses for stamping information on metal parts. It's insanely durable, but it's intended to be stamped. (i.e. roll it out on a sheet of glass, and use a rubber stamp to transfer it to the intended surface.) I wasn't sure how it would work just painting it on, and didn't want to go through the hassle of experimenting with it.

That's how I arrived at my intended solution... I haven't done it yet, but I'm planning to just use marine-grade 2-part epoxy from JB Weld or Loctite. Both of those dry white instead of clear, and should be much burlier than nail polish. (Rated for aluminum, 2-part epoxy with excellent adhesion.) I suppose you could mix in a bit of nail polish if you want a different color, but I'll probably just put multiple dots on each piece of gear, or something along those lines, to distinguish from anyone else using white.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/509548898/resin-pigments-resin-colorants-color?&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_d-craft_supplies_and_tools-paints_inks_and_dyes-dyes&utm_custom1=9f548015-2f20-4ca6-8acb-cf1c00feda24&gclid=CMPPiuyzr9MCFRCRaQodtFUFjg

I did a little research and found this. It's dye specifically meant to be added to epoxy, it looks like it's for jewelery or something. Im curious as to what kind of results you'd get from mixing this with some good two part epoxy.

Nice find, Jack! For 3 bucks, that would definitely be worth a look.

I finally got around to marking all my gear last night. I ordered a bottle of tenax epoxy pigment online, and mixed it with marine Loctite epoxy. All cams, biners, and belay devices now sport white and brown epoxy marks. The process was relatively painless, and the cost was low. Time will tell how durable it is, but I'm optimistic.

For those wondering, you can also use plain old acrylic paint as a pigment for epoxy. Mix in approximately 10% paint to the epoxy portion of the combo, then add hardener.

If you willing to splurge for 11 USD you can get pigments used to match colors for epoxy based fiberglass repairs. With 9 pigments possibilities are boundless. Get yours at West-Marine!

2 colors of nail polish for $1 have lasted 3 years so far. 

amarius wrote:

If you willing to splurge for 11 USD you can get pigments used to match colors for epoxy based fiberglass repairs. With 9 pigments possibilities are boundless. Get yours at West-Marine!

Damn good find. Rarely do you need the whole rainbow, but you could mix your own colors

I've been thinking about this. Things I have thought of:

1. Markal Pro-Line XT liquid paint marker. Very hard to come off without something mechanical like a grinder wheel (also 14 colors!): http://amzn.to/2qcwRnE
2. Printable heat shrink tubing, you'd also need the machine but it'd go along way and could be used on rope/slings: http://amzn.to/2qcA86e
3. Laser etching, it'd etch through the anodizing and it'd be super obvious. 99.99% sure it own't affect anything but that .01% spooks me.

Dim Bulb wrote:

I've been thinking about this. Things I have thought of:

1. Markal Pro-Line XT liquid paint marker. Very hard to come off without something mechanical like a grinder wheel (also 14 colors!): http://amzn.to/2qcwRnE
2. Printable heat shrink tubing, you'd also need the machine but it'd go along way and could be used on rope/slings: http://amzn.to/2qcA86e
3. Laser etching, it'd etch through the anodizing and it'd be super obvious. 99.99% sure it own't affect anything but that .01% spooks me.

I actually have that Dymo labelmaker... I never considered the printable heat-shrink, though. Intriguing. I didn't worry about marking the soft goods. I rack my slings as alpine draws, so they're always attached to something metal, which is already marked. (Heat-shrink tube wouldn't work on sewn slings anyway; it's in tube form, so no way to get it on the sling.)

Yeah, I also have that label maker as well from my "cable-dog" days. I believe you can also get a clear heat shrink cover to slide over and to make it more abrasion resistant. The advantage of the labels is that you can easily get your name and phone/email on it. Obviously, they can be cut off but for a day or a camping trip it'll avoid that initial confusion and deter the opportunists. Nothing can be done about "thieves".

http://www.bigrockoutfitters.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1347

Josh,

Can you confirm that this site actually it in stock? Boulder Based Designs (makers of "The Mark") doesn't appear to have a website any more, and when I tried to order from a different website, they told me it was discontinued.

Andrew Krajnik wrote:

Josh,

Can you confirm that this site actually it in stock? Boulder Based Designs (makers of "The Mark") doesn't appear to have a website any more, and when I tried to order from a different website, they told me it was discontinued.

I can not confirm. I didn't look very closely when I first saw the site, but they seem to be out of stock.

Lon Black, who owns BoulderBasedDesigns is an old friend of mine and used to post on this site several years ago.  It's been a long time since I talked or climbed with him, and it looks like he hasn't logged in since 2012, but you might try sending him an email through mountainproject.  As far as I know, he still lives in the front range.