UKC

Any help much appreciated. I have C4 0.75/1/2 and 3 that ideally should get slings replaced. Trying to work a way through the Black Diamond system from a UK address seems a nightmare.

Wish I would have gone DMM DRAGONS  

 I log into the system -US wont accept in Europe and the get to check out and it all goes pear shape.

No doubt some will tell me its straight forward

Regards

Andy

Try Fish Products (Joshua Tree)

I actually had contact with BD for this a month back. After being passed from pillar to post they eventually said this isn’t something they currently offer as the cost of shipping from the UK and import etc makes it unfeasible. They said to email back in a couple of months to see if they have something in place. But I got the distinct impression they won’t be. To be honest they weren’t very helpful.  

I bought a couple of Dragons and will be steadily replacing my old Camalots with Dragons. It’s a shame as I prefer the thumbloop on the Camalots but the customer service isn’t a patch on DMM’s. 

I managed to get BD to re-sling my camalots a few years ago, by emailing customer service and getting someone to take charge of the process rather than trying to use the online system.  To be fair to them they only charged me for return postage so it was actually very cheap overall.  Took a few weeks to get then there and back.

But yeah, that's why I use totems and DMM now.

Okay, so looks like a big change happening. Retailers will send back cams on mass to a distributor who will send back once they have enough to make it viable. Most retailers are not aware of this as yet, Needle sports are.

Me thinks long waits and DMM Dragons get more and more appealing 

Have you thought about just buying some climbing tape and tying your own loops using a water knot or other suitable knot. Climbing tape being 22Kn with a 40% loss of strength due to the knot is still 13.2Kn which may be strong enough for you. You can then also choose the lengths of the loops you would like and how extendable you would like them. Just make sure you leave enough tail, dress the knot properly and then inspect regularly. 

http://www.kakibusok.plus.com/Equipment/ReslingCams/Resling.htm

This is a shame to hear... In 2015 I sent a couple of Camalots to BD in Utah - communication was great (over email) and I only needed to pay postage.

That’s very interesting…do you have to contact needle sports directly? Also don’t suppose you have been given any indication of cost? 
thanks. 

Have had cams reslung by BD twice. The only cost was the postage (they did the work for free and posted back at their cost). Communication and service was excellent so a shame to hear you have not experienced the same.

I heard not long ago that BD were looking to set up operation in Europe for reslinging and equipment maintenance (for a fee) so may be that they've discontinued their previous exceptionally good Saltlake offer until this is sorted. 

Needle Sports sell a ready cut length of 5.5mm dia Dyneems cord especially for the job. Needs to be tied with a triple fisherman's knot. I've done all my old Technical Friends this way and find it perfectly satisfactory. 
Their item is described here: 
https://www.needlesports.com/Catalogue/Climbing/Rock-Trad-Climbing/Cord-Tap...

There is something about the way the BD wire loop pinches the sling, causes it to fail

https://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en_EU/stories/experience-story-qc-lab...

Could you just clip a draw straight into the loop?

Thanks for this. I read It and it makes perfect sense that the knotted cord solution is more appropriate for e.g. Technical Friends where it's threaded through metal, not a wire loop.
 

I always wondered why BD cams did this but for some reason wild country, metolius and dmm cams with thumbloops apparently don't? Loads of thumbloop cams on the market with thin dyneema loops. 

Wild country have 2 ratings, one for sling unextended and one extended to account for the strength loss.

My understanding is that with dragonfly's because they are smaller the point of failure is no longer the thumb loop and therefore the relative strength loss is irrelevant.

I contacted Black Diamond at their EU base in Innsbruck in September '23 re the reslinging of cams and received this reply....

'Thanks for reaching out. For the reslinging: Please, bring your cams to the closest Black Diamond dealer/ retailer. The dealer will then collect slings that need reslinging and send them to our office in bulk from where we furtherly distribute them to professionals that can actually replace the slings. The entire process - since it is just starting and everything is new to us as well as to you - will take a minimum of 2-3 months. Just so you are aware. 

For prices please refer to your retailer. But the more Cams you are handing in the cheaper it will be. Just be aware that UL Cams, C3, Z4 and X4 Cams cannot be reslinged.'

Following on from this I then contacted Outside in Hathersage who sent me the following info...

'Many thanks for your enquiry. We have now heard back from Black Diamond regarding the procedure for sending Camalots off for reslinging.

BD Europe are therefore only able to offer a resling on a C3 or C4 with a thumb loop. In terms of the procedure, it is not as simple as posting them off unfortunately. Since we are no longer in the EU, we need to send at least 10 cams per shipment. I’m not sure how many cams you (and any of your mates?) have but as this is the first enquiry, I suspect it might take several months before we can accumulate enough cams to be able to fulfill their quota.

In terms of pricing, we are not able to provide a firm quote, but a rough estimate would be around £25 per cam. It may be more, depending on the final cost of shipping the cams to Austria.

If you would like, we can keep your details on record in case we have any more enquiries from other customers for the same service. Please reply with the number of suitable BD cams you have that require reslinging.'

I currently haven't got round to sorting out my cams for re-slinging but it does at least appear that there is a method for getting BD cams re-slinged.

Oh wow that sounds a bit rubbish! Both times I sent mine off it cost me <£30 (I think the postage on the first lot was actually <£20 but that was over 5 years ago). 

More Brexit shithousery. Remember when we could get shoes resoled incredibly well in Europe for about £20? Anyone know what cams Farage uses?  

Fish Products is still advertising $4 per cam + postage, could make a climbing trip to Joshua Tree interesting. I have shipped mine out before a trip and had them returned to the first nights hotel (so no return postage charge). 

Do they sew C4s the way they're designed? The website isn't clear. Also sounds like they just go off climbing for 8 months every year and shut the shop down (and who can blame them!).

He's famously averse to Aliens

Hi All,

We received the following from Black Diamond UK, which gives the latest on what's happened/happening. I've absolutely no doubt that they've been pushing hard for this on both a personal and professional level, as they're a good, active bunch.

Hopefully a workable solution will be found ASAP.

"At the end of 2023 Black Diamond Equipment established a re-slinging service in Europe to service all European territories. This replaces the previous service offered from Salt Lake City. Given the nature of Black Diamond distribution in Europe this service must be accessed via the existing network of dealers not individual members of the public. The UK no longer being part of the EU has added an extra set of challenges that Black Diamond UK are currently trying to navigate (i.e. customs checks on PPE and extra import/export duties). Until these have been resolved and we are confident the is no risk to our customers property or hidden charges incurred, we are unable to establish official partners in the UK to facilitate the re-slinging of cams. Black Diamond UK are working to overcome these problems and establish UK partners as soon as is practical."

Yay Brexit!

Wild Country have Thumb Loops.

Sad to hear BD's  brilliant and friendly service has changed...I sent 9 cams out to them in the US three years ago...I only paid postage out.

As a footnote BD's courier lost them on return and washed their hands of any responsibility ...BD replaced the whole lot 🙂