Petzl America Recalls Climbing Equipment Due to Fall Hazard

[Tim White]

NEWS from CPSC
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Office of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 18, 2006
Release #07-010

Firm's Recall Hotline: (877) 807-3805
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908

Petzl America Recalls Climbing Equipment Due to Fall Hazard

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in
cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of
the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled
products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Carabiners used for climbing

Units: About 8,000

Importer/Distributor: Petzl America, of Clearfield, Utah

Hazard: These carabiners have a green button that acts as a safety mechanism
to prevent unlocking. The recalled carabiners can unlock unexpectedly
without pressing the green button, posing a fall hazard.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

Description: The recall involves the M34 BL Am'D Ball-Lock and M36 BL
William Ball Lock carabiners with metal locking sleeves. Carabiners with
batch number between 06076 and 06178 are included in the recall. The batch
number is engraved on the spine of the carabiner. The recall does not
include Ball Lock carabiners having a plastic locking sleeve.

Sold at: Petzl dealers nationwide from March 2006 through July 2006 for
about $13 for the Am'D model and about $17 for the William model.

Manufactured in: United States

Remedy: Consumers should stop using the recalled carabiners immediately, and
contact Petzl America to have their carabiners inspected and to receive a
free replacement, if necessary.

Consumer Contact: For more information, consumers can contact Petzl America
at (877) 807-3805 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. MT Monday through Friday, or log
on to the firm's Web site at http://www.petzl.com

[cob]

b**ch.... My girlfriend just bought one.... #06254....the #'s say it is safe but now I am paranoid.... It took me a long time to find this girl.... I'd hate to start all over....

thanx tim, I very much appreciate your's (and all other's) attention to these matters. I will contact them to be on the safe side


tom

[hank moon]

Hello

The document Tim posted above is not the recall notice - please go to

http://en.petzl.com/petzl/SportNews?News=160

to see the recall notice. Note that this information was posted on this board before:

http://www.caves.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.p ... highlight=

Anyone having any questions regarding the recall should contact Petzl America directly. That said, I will certainly try to monitor such questions on this board and post a reply as soon as possible.

Finally, I do not recommend the BALL-LOCK locking system for caving use - the mechanism is sensitive to grit/silt and can lock up if it gets muddy. Best to use screwgate carabiners for caving.

[cob]

thanx hank. much appreciated.

tom

[raemepritchett]

Hey Tim,
Although Petzl's position is no one has been hurt due to any of the mentioned biners, it's not true. I've been contacted for info due to a fall that resulted in serious ankle injuries. I couldn't tell if the lock didn't engage or, like mine, it broke.
Like Hank said, these biners are not suitable for caving. That whole family of biners can be a dangerous choice when used with hard gear, such as a rack or figure eight. We were able to break it with only 19 lbs of pressure.
I've personally paid tens of thousands of dollars testing the the petzl self locking biner and would be glad to make it available to the right forum.
Give me a yell.