[leadin]Black Diamond Equipment today issued a massive recall of some of the most critical gear for climbers: Carabiners and runners.[/leadin]
The recall affects almost all carabiners manufactured by Black Diamond over the course of 2015. It also affects 18mm nylon runners, because of a possibility that the nylon runner is not load-bearing and will fail under standard use.
We urge owners of Black Diamond carabiners and nylon runners to visit the Black Diamond recall website for carabiners and runners for complete and thorough inspections and return instructions. Basic details follow.
No accidents have been reported; however, in the interest of customer safety, Black Diamond decided to voluntarily issue a recall, subject to user inspection, according to the brand.
Black Diamond Carabiner Recall
The recall affects all carabiners/quickdraws with manufacturing codes between 4350 and 6018. The complete list of carabiners, quickdraws and harness, belay, and rock protection packages concerned by the recall is noted on the company’s website.
According to the brand:
In some carabiners, the gate rivets (in solid gate carabiners) and wire ends (in wiregate carabiners) attaching the gate to the carabiner body may not be properly manufactured, potentially resulting in the gate becoming detached.
Additionally, in some screw-gate carabiners, the locking sleeve may not have been correctly assembled, resulting in a locking carabiner that does not lock properly.
Black Diamond urges anyone who has purchased its ‘biners, either alone or in a package, to follow the inspection procedure detailed on its website here. If your carabiners/quickdraws fail inspection, stop use immediately and contact Black Diamond. The brand will replace your carabiners/ quickdraws free of charge.
Nylon Runners
Black Diamond issued a recall for 18mm Nylon Runners 60cm/24in (Style Number 380060) and 18mm Nylon Runners 120cm/48in (Style Number 380061) due to a small number of Nylon Runners found to contain a tape splice, resulting in a product that is not load-bearing and will fail under standard use.
This recall concerns nylon runners with a manufacturing code of 2014 or 2015, which is found on the sewn-in label.
If you have any Black Diamond runners, pull them out, inspect them, and if they fail inspection, return them to Black Diamond immediately.
More information about the runner recall can be found on Black Diamond’s website here.
