Poor Black Diamond customer service- Don't buy their heated chalk bag!

Charles Jonaswrote:

I just ran into this.  Was able to find a similar battery from another company.

https://fieldsheer.com/products/7-4v-glove-2in1-battery?variant=30238111826035

Kinda expensive but slightly bigger capacity and better than buying a whole new chalk bag when just the battery is bad.  Will post and update if it works out.

Charlie could you shoot me a DM is this works. I’d be very interested in having a backup set of batteries for my wife and me. 

chris bwrote: it's just a lithium polymer battery. everybody has them. just find one with the same chemistry, voltage, and amp hours and desolder the old one and put the new one in. they aren't magic. honestly, if you pull it out, it will probably have all the specs you need to replace it written on the plastic.

It looks like it's some fairly standard lipo cell in fact.  I bet it would be stupid easy to get replacement cells and rewire.

A heated chalk bag is actually a real thing??

If you manufacture things, people will buy them.  For years we just needed a rope, then gear started appearing.  Now we need all kinds of things.  In 20 years there will be essential gear that we don't even have now.

Spider Savagewrote:

If you manufacture things, people will buy them.  For years we just needed a rope, then gear started appearing.  Now we need all kinds of things.  In 20 years there will be essential gear that we don't even have now.

Yeah, check out the thread on zipper cases and the “Crag Essentials Kit” for a good laugh.  Pretty soon crag “essentials” will include loofah’s, exfoliators, lighted mirrors, etc so you can look your best and have that “hard send glow” in all your Instagram pics.  

Andrew Ricewrote:

Kevin, I sometimes put those chemical handwarmers in my chalk bag on cold winter days. Think of it like those muffs that a quarterback uses between plays. Nice to warm the fingers and get some blood flowing before a hard move. But, yeah, a battery powered chalk bag is just silly. 

Struggling see how a chalk bag connected to angry pixies is any different from one heated by an exothermic reaction. The electrical solution is capable of delivering instant power on demand and the product itself is insulated to retain heat. Weight difference is negligible.  

If you climb outside several times per week in freezing temps, investing 60$ in a purpose built solution doesn't seem that crazy...

Charles Jonaswrote:

Struggling see how a chalk bag connected to angry pixies is any different from one heated by an exothermic reaction. The electrical solution is capable of delivering instant power on demand and the product itself is insulated to retain heat. Weight difference is negligible.  

If you climb outside several times per week in freezing temps, investing 60$ in a purpose built solution doesn't seem that crazy...

Google "Reynaud's Syndrome". For my wife, having heat in the chalk bag is the difference between sending and staying home.

Charles Jonaswrote:

Struggling see how a chalk bag connected to angry pixies is any different from one heated by an exothermic reaction. The electrical solution is capable of delivering instant power on demand and the product itself is insulated to retain heat. Weight difference is negligible.  

If you climb outside several times per week in freezing temps, investing 60$ in a purpose built solution doesn't seem that crazy...

Simple: There are endless online complaint threads about this particular $60 device not being well built or reliable. For $25 I can buy a box of 40 chemical hand warmers. They don't require charging, they don't weigh a lot, literally all I have to do is open one and throw it in a chalk bag that I already have with me anyway. Plus they're lovely in a pair of gloves or the foot of a sleeping bag at night. Or I could crap myself with rage about my over designed electric chalk bag not working like I hope. The choice is easy for me. You do whatever is best for you. 

Just for a different perspective, I've used chemical warmer packets in my chalk bag for decades.  The heated chalk bag is warmer and better.  (But I haven't experienced any of the problems other folks refer to.)

As a superannuated climber, I've started saying that 50 is the new 40.  But I'm speaking of temperatures, not ages.  Fifty years ago I often climbed on sunny days in the 20's.  Now I find I can't manage well if the temps are under 40.  At some point soon I'll probably just give up on winter rock climbing, but until that moment arrives the heated chalk bag serves a purpose.

As do the chemical packets.  They go under wristlets.  The hope is to warm up arterial blood heading for the hands.  Seems to work, but who knows...

rgoldwrote:

As do the chemical packets.  They go under wristlets.  The hope is to warm up arterial blood heading for the hands.  Seems to work, but who knows...

Cross country skier and biathlete trick I picked up a few years back.  I duct tape chemical handwarmers over the insides of my wrists before a race on a cold day.  Pulling the duct tape off with a bunch of my hair sucks but better than numb fingers (hard to shoot a rifle with a finger you can't feel).  

I rub Icy Hot all over my groin.   It distracts me from thinking about my cold hands. 

rgoldwrote:

As do the chemical packets.  They go under wristlets.  The hope is to warm up arterial blood heading for the hands.  Seems to work, but who knows...

That is exactly what I use(d) for skiing....until I bought my heated gloves.

Put the hand warmers on the outside of a thin long sleeve base layer over the wrists with climbing tape.

Prevents any hair loss or bad reaction to heat packs directly against the skin.

Same with ankles when climbing in the cold. Wear a super thin pair of nylon socks, and tape the hand warmers around the ankles.

Women's calf length nylon stockings work well for men who don't care about being found out.

Eric Azevedowrote:

Charlie could you shoot me a DM is this works. I’d be very interested in having a backup set of batteries for my wife and me. 

Did you find out if it worked?

Sorry to resurrect such an old thread but it helped me so thought I'd share this here. I bought this battery from OR and it seems to match perfect and work fine with the charger that came with the chalk bag.

https://www.outdoorresearch.com/products/battery-pack-1-for-single-glove-243375