Black Diamond Equipment

Last updated

Black Diamond Equipment
Company type Public
Nasdaq:  CLAR
Industry Climbing and skiing equipment
FoundedDecember 1, 1989;34 years ago (1989-12-01)
Headquarters Holladay, Utah, US
Key people
Neil Fiske (president)
Parent Clarus Corporation
Website blackdiamondequipment.com
Chouinard Equipment Company, Ventura, California, 1969. Left to right: Tom Frost, Dorene Frost, Tony Jessen, Dennis Henneck, Terry King, Yvon Chouinard, Merle, and Davey Agnew. Tom Frost - Skunkworks - 1969.jpg
Chouinard Equipment Company, Ventura, California, 1969. Left to right: Tom Frost, Dorene Frost, Tony Jessen, Dennis Henneck, Terry King, Yvon Chouinard, Merle, and Davey Agnew.

Black Diamond Equipment is a manufacturer of equipment for climbing, skiing, and mountain sports, based in Utah, United States. The company also has a global office in Innsbruck, Austria. The company is owned by Clarus Corporation, which also owns Pieps, ClimbOn! Skincare, and Sierra Bullets. [1] [2]

Contents

History

Black Diamond Equipment's history dates from the late 1950s, when climber Yvon Chouinard began hand-forging pitons and selling them from the trunk of his car in Yosemite Valley. Chouinard's pitons quickly gained a reputation for quality, and Chouinard Equipment Ltd. was born soon after in Ventura, California. [3]

In early 1989, after several product-liability lawsuits and a continued lack of profitability, Yvon Chouinard placed the company in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. [4] Black Diamond was founded on December 1, 1989, when the assets of Chouinard Equipment Ltd. were purchased by a group of former company employees led by (now former CEO) Peter Metcalf, and a few outside investors. Metcalf moved the company and its 45 employees from Ventura, California to the Salt Lake City, Utah area in September 1991 to be closer to the climbing and skiing opportunities provided by the Wasatch Mountains. [5]

In 1996, Black Diamond Equipment Europe was established in Reinach, Switzerland, making Black Diamond products more widely available throughout Europe. In 2006, Black Diamond Equipment Asia was established in Zhuhai, China to serve as both a secondary manufacturing facility, as well as a global distribution hub. In May 2010, Black Diamond Equipment was acquired for $90 million by Clarus Corporation. The resulting corporation was renamed and is now publicly traded on the NASDAQ under the name CLAR. [6]

In 2015, Black Diamond announced they would be expanding their Utah manufacturing facility. [7] In 2016, they announced they would be moving their European headquarters from Reinach to Innsbruck in Austria. [8]

Products

Black Diamond Equipment design and manufacture products for climbing, skiing, and mountain sports. Climbing products include carabiners, quickdraws, harnesses, active and passive climbing protection, belay devices, helmets, ice tools and piolets, crampons, ice screws, bouldering pads, and big wall equipment. They also produce skiing and avalanche safety equipment. The company's mountain products include tents and shelters, lighting, trekking poles, and backpacks.

Over the years, Black Diamond has acquired and integrated several gear companies into its line, including Bibler tents (1997), Ascension climbing skins (1999), and Franklin climbing products (1998). In 2010, they acquired Gregory Mountain Products, a manufacturer of backpacks, but later sold it to luggage maker Samsonite in 2014. [9]

Notable Black Diamond products include spring-loaded camming devices called Camalot and Magnetron carabiners, auto-locking carabiners that use magnets in the gate, and a steel insert in the carabiner's nose for added security. [10]

As is common in safety-equipment industries, Black Diamond have issued many product recalls following safety concerns. [11]

Social justice and environmentalism

When the Instagram page of Black Diamond posted a black page in solidarity with anti–police violence protesters on June 5, 2020, in which Black Diamond pledged $250,000 to support access to the outdoors by athletes of color, the company acknowledged it was aware of "widespread concerns" about its "association" with Clarus Corporation chief executive Warren Kanders, who also leads Safariland, the company which manufactured the tear gas widely used against protesters. [12] Activists have called for a boycott of Black Diamond over these ties, which has been embraced by various climbing-related organizations. [13] Safariland announced the divestiture of its crowd control products divisions, including tear gas, on June 9, 2020. [14] The Clarus Corporation also faced criticism for a lack of diversity from pension fund giant CalPERS, who recommended in June 2020 that Clarus shareholders vote against re-electing executive chairman and largest shareholder Warren Kanders and two other board members. [15] CalPERS owns 52,000 shares [16] out of approximately 29,759,000 outstanding shares, [17] or 0.175 percent. On June 9, 2020, Warren Kanders and other board members were re-elected to the board of directors. [18]

Black Diamond's parent the Clarus Corporation also owns ammunition company Sierra Bullets. In 2018, the company monitored discussions regarding the role of guns in the outdoor industry for boycotts. [19]

Former [20] Black Diamond CEO Peter Metcalf had a history of political advocacy for both the outdoor industry and the public lands of Utah, and united with other outdoor companies against policies that threaten public lands and outdoor recreation. [21] [22]

Black Diamond says that they recycle as much waste as possible, make substantial use of wind and solar power, and support environmental non-profit bodies. [23]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spring-loaded camming device</span> Piece of rock climbing or mountaineering protection equipment

A spring-loaded camming device is a piece of rock climbing or mountaineering protection equipment. It consists of two, three, or four cams mounted on a common axle or two adjacent axles, so that pulling on the axle forces the cams to spread farther apart. This is then attached to a sling and carabiner at the end of the stem. The SLCD is used by pulling on the "trigger" so the cams retract together, then inserting it into a crack or pocket in the rock and releasing the trigger to allow the cams to expand. A pull on the rope, such as that generated by a climber falling, will cause a properly placed SLCD to convert the pulling force along the stem of the unit into outwards pressure on the rock, generating massive amounts of friction and preventing the removal of the unit from the rock. Because of the large forces which are exerted on the rock when an SLCD is fallen on, it is very important that SLCDs are only placed in solid, strong rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glossary of climbing terms</span> For rock climbing and mountaineering

Glossary of climbing terms relates to rock climbing, mountaineering, and to ice climbing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock-climbing equipment</span> List of manmade gear

Rock-climbing equipment varies with the type of climbing undertaken. Bouldering needs the least equipment outside of shoes and chalk and optional crash pads. Sport climbing adds ropes, harnesses, belay devices, and quickdraws to clip into pre-drilled bolts. Traditional climbing adds the need for carrying a "rack" of temporary passive and active protection devices. Multi-pitch climbing adds devices to assist in ascending and descending fixed ropes. And finally aid climbing uses unique equipment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nut (climbing)</span> Protection equipment in rock climbing

In rock climbing, a nut is a metal wedge threaded on a wire that climbers use for protection by wedging it into a crack in the rock. Quickdraws are clipped to the nut wire by the ascending climber and the rope threads through the quickdraw. Nuts come in a variety of sizes and styles, and several different brands are made by competing manufacturers. Most nuts are made of aluminum. Larger nuts may be threaded on Dyneema cord instead of wire, but this has become unusual.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clean climbing</span> Rock climbing techniques which avoid damage to the rock

Clean climbing is rock climbing techniques and equipment which climbers use in order to avoid damage to the rock. These techniques date at least in part from the 1920s and earlier in England, but the term itself may have emerged in about 1970 during the widespread and rapid adoption in the United States and Canada of nuts, and the very similar but often larger hexes, in preference to pitons, which damage rock and are more difficult and time-consuming to install. Pitons were thus eliminated in North America as a primary means of climbing protection in a period of less than three years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piton</span> Metal tool used in rock climbing

A piton in big wall climbing and in aid climbing is a metal spike that is driven into a crack or seam in the climbing surface using a climbing hammer, and which acts as an anchor for protecting the climber from falling or to assist progress in aid climbing. Pitons are equipped with an eye hole or a ring to which a carabiner is attached; the carabiner can then be directly or indirectly connected to a climbing rope.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yvon Chouinard</span> American mountain climber (born 1938)

Yvon Chouinard is an American rock climber, environmentalist, philanthropist, and outdoor industry businessman. His company, Patagonia, is known for its commitment to protecting the environment. He was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Robbins</span> American rock climber (1935–2017)

Royal Robbins was one of the pioneers of American rock climbing. After learning to climb at Tahquitz Rock, he went on to make first ascents of many big wall routes in Yosemite. As an early proponent of boltless, pitonless clean climbing, he, along with Yvon Chouinard, was instrumental in changing the climbing culture of the late 1960s and early 1970s by encouraging the use and preservation of the natural features of the rock. He went on to become a well-known kayaker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petzl</span> French consumer goods company

Petzl is a French manufacturer of climbing gear, caving gear, work-at-height equipment, and headlamps based in Crolles, France. The company was created by the cave explorer Fernand Petzl in the mid-1970s. Their three specialties are:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Kamps</span> American rock climber

Bob Kamps was an American rock climber whose climbing career spanned five decades. Born in Wisconsin, he began climbing in California in 1955, and was a member of that cadre of Yosemite pioneers who first ascended many of its great walls in the 1950s and 1960s. He was particularly adept on steep rock faces, and was among the first to shift attention from aid climbing to free climbing. Over the years he made more than 3,100 climbs. Many were first ascents or first free ascents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of rock climbing</span> Key chronological milestones

In the history of rock climbing, the three main sub-disciplines—bouldering, single-pitch climbing, and big wall climbing—can trace their origins to late 19th-century Europe. Bouldering started in Fontainebleau, and was advanced by Pierre Allain in the 1930s, and John Gill in the 1950s. Big wall climbing started in the Dolomites, and was spread across the Alps in the 1930s by climbers such as Emilio Comici and Riccardo Cassin, and in the 1950s by Walter Bonatti, before reaching Yosemite where it was led in the 1950s to 1970s by climbers such as Royal Robbins. Single-pitch climbing started pre-1900 in both the Lake District and in Saxony, and by the late-1970s had spread widely with climbers such as Ron Fawcett (Britain), Bernd Arnold (Germany), Patrick Berhault (France), Ron Kauk and John Bachar (USA).

Patagonia, Inc. is an American retailer of outdoor recreation clothing. It was founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1973 and is based in Ventura, California. Patagonia operates stores in more than 10 countries globally, as well as factories in 16 countries.

Sheridan Andreas Mulholland Anderson was an American outdoorsman, fly fisherman, author, and illustrator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CAMP (company)</span> Italian manufacturer of climbing equipment

CAMP manufactures equipment for climbing and associated activities such as ski mountaineering and industrial safety. The company is based in Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hex (climbing)</span> Rock climbing equipment to arrest a fall

A hex is an item of rock-climbing equipment used to protect climbers from falls. They are intended to be wedged into a crack or other opening in the rock, and do not require a hammer to place. They were developed as an alternative to pitons, which are hammered into cracks, damaging the rock. Most commonly, a carabiner will be used to join the hex to the climbing rope by means of a loop of webbing, cord or a cable which is part of the hex.

Mountain Gear is a privately held online retailer of outdoor equipment and apparel, based in Spokane Valley, Washington in the United States. The business decided to close in 2019, beginning to close its in-person stores after the holiday season, and selling the rest of its inventory online through 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grivel (company)</span> Company that produces equipment for outdoor recreation

Grivel Srl is a company that produces tools and equipment for alpinism, climbing, and outdoor activities. It exports to 26 countries. All the personal safety products, ice axes, crampons, pitons, helmets are produced in Italy. The company has been certified GS TUF since 1992, ISO 9001 since 1996, ISO 1400 since 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Frost</span> American rock climber (1936–2018)

Thomas "Tom" M. Frost was an American rock climber known for big wall climbing first ascents in Yosemite Valley. He was also a photographer and climbing equipment manufacturer. Frost was born in Hollywood, California, and died in Oakdale, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camalot</span> Spring-loaded camming device

Camalot is a brand of spring-loaded camming devices manufactured by Black Diamond Equipment used to secure ropes while rock climbing. Camalots use a dual-axle system, resulting in a slightly higher expansion range than similarly sized single axle units, however that results in significant weight penalty. Dual-axle was patented and for decades was only used by Black Diamond, however the patent has expired in 2005 and several other manufacturers began producing dual-axel cams, often also replicating Camalots sizes and coloring. Most notable Camalot look-alikes include DMM Dragons and Wild Country's New Friends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Gallwas</span> American rock climber (born 1936)

Jerry Gallwas is an American rock climber active in the 1950s during the dawn of the Golden Age of Yosemite Rock Climbing. He achieved a number of pioneering first ascents including sandstone spires in the American Southwest, and the first ascent of the Northwest Face of Half Dome with Royal Robbins and Mike Sherrick in 1957. Gallwas made his own heat-treated chrome-molybdenum steel alloy pitons, which contributed to the success of the climb.

References

  1. Mike Gorell (May 10, 2010). "Utah's Black Diamond Equipment sold for $90 million". Salt Lake Tribune . Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  2. "Black Diamond Completes Sale of POC to Investcorp for $65 Million". August 10, 2015.
  3. "Company History: Beginnings and Blacksmithery". Patagonia. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  4. "Suits Force Mountain Gear Firm to File for Bankruptcy". Los Angeles Times. May 11, 1989. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  5. Peter Metcalf (April 1, 1995). "Lessons Learned". Inc Magazine . Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  6. Black Diamond (August 10, 2017). "Press Release: Black Diamond, Inc. to Change Name to Clarus Corporation". Clarus Corporation. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  7. "Black Diamond is Here to Stay". Utah Policy. February 16, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  8. Black Diamond (January 14, 2016). "Black Diamond Equipment Relocates European Headquarters and Appoints Tim Bantle to Managing Director". Yahoo Finance. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  9. "Black Diamond sells Gregory to Samsonite". SNews. June 19, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  10. David Crothers (July 13, 2011). "New Magnetron Carabiner Technology from Black Diamond". Climberism Magazine. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  11. "Product recalls". Black Diamond. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  12. "Maker of tear gas used on D.C. protesters gets millions from federal government". CBS News. June 8, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  13. "Boycott Black Diamond" . Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  14. Pogrebin, Robin (June 9, 2020). "Warren Kanders Says He Is Getting Out of the Tear Gas Business". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  15. "Maker of tear gas used on Washington, D.C., protesters will exit business". CBS News. June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  16. "Key Decisions". CalPERS. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  17. www.sec.gov https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/913277/000110465920059571/tm2014674d1_10q.htm . Retrieved June 26, 2020.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. www.sec.gov https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/913277/000110465920071382/m2022056d1_8k.htm . Retrieved June 26, 2020.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  19. "Guns and the outdoor industry: Where do we go from here?". SNEWS. April 7, 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  20. Lauren Steele (August 14, 2014). "Black Diamond President Peter Metcalf Steps Down". Outside magazine . Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  21. "2003 Golden Piton Awards - Service". Climbing. March 31, 2004. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  22. Michael Frank (August 7, 2012). "Black Diamond CEO Fights for Utah Environment — Against Utah Politicians". Adventure Journal. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  23. "Sustainability". Black Diamond. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved March 5, 2016.