- Black Diamond Equipment
Black Diamond Equipment, Ltd. is a company in
Holladay, Utah ,United States , that producesclimbing andoutdoor gear. Black Diamond was founded onDecember 1 ,1989 when the assets of Chouinard Equipment Ltd. were purchased by Peter Metcalf, Maria Cranor, Meredith Saarinen, Hong Kyu Kwak, plus other former Chouinard employees and a few outside investors. Birth of the new company was facilitated byYvon Chouinard , who extended deadlines until financing could be arranged.During the late 1980s, Chouinard Equipment Ltd. was the target of several liability lawsuits, mostly the result of non-climbers who alleged not that the equipment was defective, but that there was insufficient warning of the dangers of climbing. Yvon Chouinard placed the company in Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early 1989.
On founding, the company was located in one end of the Patagonia warehouse in Ventura,
California . The company moved from Ventura to theSalt Lake City ,Utah , area onSeptember 1 ,1991 .Black Diamond established itself as a maker of high quality climbing gear and backcountry skiing gear. Black Diamond manufactures climbing gear in a Salt Lake City facility (including
carabiner s andclimbing protection ), has gear manufactured to specifications elsewhere, and distributes other brands in theUnited States , including Beal Ropes and Fritschi Diamir backcountry ski bindings. Black Diamond purchased Bibler Tents and Ascension Enterprises to add to their line of mountaineering and backcountry skiing products.Black Diamond prides itself on developing innovative new equipment, but also, as advocated by
Yvon Chouinard , on giving back by supporting conservation and advocacy groups likeThe Access Fund ,The Nature Conservancy , The Utah Avalanche Forecast Center,Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance , TheAmerican Alpine Club , and other climber- and skier-oriented non-profits.Bibler tents
In 1996 Black Diamond bought the Bibler
tent -making business [http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Black-Diamond-Equipment-Ltd-Company-History.html Company history] from Todd Bibler, who became an employee of Black Diamond [http://www.kurious.org/usteam99/teambios.htm#Todd%20Bibler Todd Bibler] . The Bibler range is particularly notable in that, unlike most conventional mountaineering tents, they are constructed from a single skin of abreathable fabric with poles placed on the inside. This gives advantages and disadvantages; theTent article discusses this further. Bibler also have a range ofbivy bag s made from the same materials. Bibler equipment is noted for being of high quality [http://www.spgear.org/category/60/tents.html Tent categories] .References
*http://www.bdel.com/about/origins.php
*http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/contribution/patagonia.go?assetid=3351 Accessed 20 Aug, 2006
*http://www.inc.com/magazine/19950401/2219.html Accessed 10 May, 2005External links
* [http://www.bdel.com/ Black Diamond Official Website]
* [http://www.skibd.com/ Ski-specific site of Black Diamond Equipment]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.