Another BD recall: Index Ascenders, Camalot C4's, Camalot Ultralights

blackdiamondequipment.com/e…

Via Ferrata sets too.

More unfinished rivets. Disappointing.. especially the Ultralights, which have barely hit the market.

Camalot Ultralight recall defect

Index Ascender recall defect

you seriously cant make this shiet up ...

cant blame china folks ... seems they have better QC back there, there were no recalls i remember of on the old chinese made camalots

ALL the recalled products in this and the last batch are made in salt lake

thats QC issues across multiple hard and soft good product lines ... i count 9 distinct QC issues in this and the last recall, many of whom have no interrelation beyond a comprehensive QC inspection failure

the via ferratta issue is exceptionally serious ... how can one NOT have stiching???

;)

thanks for posting

Yikes! Good thing I just finished my rack with old Camalots during the inventory clearing sales...

Go home, Black Diamond. You're drunk.

Thomas H wrote:Wonder how all of these recalls are affecting their finances.

They are a publicly traded company so this information is available.

Thomas H wrote:Wonder how all of these recalls are affecting their finances.

Well here's their 5 yr stock chart... Hasn't been pretty for them recently.

BDE Stock

From what I understand, the returns weren't there for new mgmt, then they decided to see if they could sell the firm, failed to close a deal (ie get a good bid) and stock price collapsed.

Ted Pinson wrote: Go home, Black Diamond. You're drunk.

Or their factory workers are spending too many weekends in Colorado.

Gunkiemike wrote: Or their factory workers are spending too many weekends in Colorado.

Years ago I met a guy who claimed to have worked graveyard shifts manufacturing carabiners for BD. He said he'd regularly drop acid and then just bust out hundreds of carabiners.

A few years ago I had a BD harness and the waist buckles completely corroded (started turning to dust in my fingers) after approx. one year in a humid environment. I thought, "Heck, cheap metal corrodes in the jungle. Duh. Time to get a different brand harness." I got a Petzl harness and used it in the same environment for another two years. Threes year later I still have the harness and it is still in good shape.
Now with all the BD recall issues I'm not sure that it was simply a matter of not using corrosive resistant metals on their buckles but a general lack of integrity and diligence when it comes to materials sourcing and QC.
I think BD has finally lost my business...

Sitting at work, anxious to get home and examine my precious cams :/

Wow! BD is really shitting the bed on quality control lately!

Michael.P wrote:This recall concerns all sizes of Camalots™ (.3 to 6) produced between May 18, 2015 and March 9, 2016 What changed in May and March that they can be sure the affected hardware is all within this range?

they brought back production to salt lake, USA

;)

I have zero sympathy for BD's financial situation.... DMM and Metolius have won my cam loyalty completely, the pricing of the Ultralight C4 is just absurd to the extent that I'm taking my business elsewhere.

To put your mind at ease a little bit:

I met someone who works at BD. Regarding the recall about the carabiner gates, this person told me that they found ONE carabiner that didn't meet specs, and because their policy is "one is too many" they issued that recall. And over a month after the recall, they had not found a single other carabiner with the same problem. At least that's what I was told

Michael.P wrote:This recall concerns all sizes of Camalots™ (.3 to 6) produced between May 18, 2015 and March 9, 2016 What changed in May and March that they can be sure the affected hardware is all within this range?

Not sure how the quality control works but it sounds like they have only discovered 1 cam during that entire period that was not riveted properly so I guess they are assuming that ANY cam during that particular run could be defective.

They probably started drug testing in March which is assurance it hasnt happened since then.

PaulMudd wrote:Wow! BD is really shitting the bed on quality control lately!

Maybe why they're advertising an opening for a new director of quality.

Miguel D wrote:To put your mind at ease a little bit: I met someone who works at BD. Regarding the recall about the carabiner gates, this person told me that they found ONE carabiner that didn't meet specs, and because their policy is "one is too many" they issued that recall. And over a month after the recall, they had not found a single other carabiner with the same problem. At least that's what I was told

Looks like the same issue for the cams. One total.

As an example, tens of thousands of Camalots™ have been produced in our Salt Lake City factory since repatriation, and we have found only one unit that did not meet our critical quality requirements.

Only one out of ten thousand. I think we'll be fine.

Miguel D wrote:To put your mind at ease a little bit: I met someone who works at BD. Regarding the recall about the carabiner gates, this person told me that they found ONE carabiner that didn't meet specs, and because their policy is "one is too many" they issued that recall. And over a month after the recall, they had not found a single other carabiner with the same problem. At least that's what I was told

and yet theres recalls across multiple product lines, soft and hard goods

and the carabiners had 6 distinctive inspection failures across different products in the last recall

- wire not riveted correctly

- poor tension on gate

- locking sleeve oriented wrong way

- wrong number of stopper wrings on lock

- locking sleeve wont capture nose fully

- runner splice

add in for the current recall

- not riveted on cams

- not riveted on ascenders

- no stitching on via ferrata lanyard

its more than a "single carabiner"

Jeffrey L wrote: Only one out of ten thousand. I think we'll be fine.

it only takes one unstitched via ferrata lanyard for someone to die ...

i love how folks are making excuses for QC failures across MULTIPLE product lines ...

;)

Ya they only found one, but as bearbreader has pointed out 1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+1 = 9. And 9 quality escapes in less than a year is unexusable for a life dependent product.

I would encourage people to read the statement on BD's website too.

http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en/safety-recall-notices.html

"Voluntary recall for inspection of Easy Rider and Iron Cruiser Via Ferrata lanyard sets, Index Ascenders, Camalots™ and Camalot™ Ultralights

We are a company of climbers. For more than 25 years, manufacturing climbing equipment has been the centerpiece of our company and an expression of our mission to build innovative product of exceptional quality for our global community of users.

In 2014, we began the process of repatriating our manufacturing to Salt Lake City, Utah from Zhuhai, China. We are proud to bring our manufacturing operations back to the United States. We did this to fulfill our ongoing mission: to design, engineer and build world-class climbing equipment.

We recently uncovered quality issues with a very low percentage of our carabiners manufactured in the United States. For Black Diamond, this is unacceptable. As a result, we initiated a comprehensive quality audit of our manufacturing operations.

Today, we are issuing a voluntary recall for inspection of Easy Rider and Iron Cruiser Via Ferrata lanyard sets, Index Ascenders, Camalots™ and Camalot™ Ultralights. This is in addition to previously announced recalls of select carabiners and nylon runners.

The number of affected units found is extremely small and no incidents or injuries have been reported. As an example, tens of thousands of Camalots™ have been produced in our Salt Lake City factory since repatriation, and we have found only one unit that did not meet our critical quality requirements. Nonetheless, our legacy of excellence and commitment to the climbing community compels us to take extraordinary measures to ensure products in the field meet all necessary safety requirements.

As a company of climbers, we know the paramount importance of trusting your equipment. We are proactively mobilizing our entire global organization to ensure the quality of our product. You can expect that we will do this with rigor, honesty and transparency.

If you or anyone you know use the Black Diamond products mentioned, please follow the self-inspection and recall procedures outlined in the links below:"