Black Diamond Blaze

What began with a backyard anvil and a hammer has grown into a global company with offices on three continents that's not just for rock climbers, but one that stands for the spirit of sports everyone lives, their values and goals, present and future. Since 1957, when Yvon Chouinard bought a hammer and anvil and started pounding out hand-forged pitons, Black Diamond´s innovative gear designs have set the standards in numerous areas such as climbing, skiing, and trekking.

With its full range of products, Black Diamond continues to excel in all areas of climbing, skiing, and the like. In response to a rebirth in ice climbing, carbon-fiber was incorporated into the shaft of an ice tool to create an ax that was light, responsive and shaped to fit a climber's grasp. Further refinements with carbon fiber have resulted in the creation of the Cobra Ice Tool. This tool is perfectly matched to the attitudes and needs of today's extreme ice climbs and mixed routes. Also introduced was the Turbo Express Ice Screw, the fastest, easiest-to-place ice protection on the market. To help climbers in the never-ending quest to redefine what's possible, Black Diamond built the HotWire, the world's first wire-gate carabiner. Stronger, lighter, and easier to clip, the HotWire proved that a seemingly basic design like a carabiner could be improved to meet the continuing demands of the sport. Black Diamond trekking poles can deal with all the crazy conditions you can find yourself in and stand up to any abuse you heap on them. Backcountry travelers encountering these conditions and desiring to improve their comfort, stability and security will find the locking Binary and “Zero Slip” FlickLock adjustment systems extremely dependable with on/off simplicity.

At Black Diamond, they've adopted both the EN and UIAA standards as the basis of their testing procedures to make sure that all of their products continue to meet all safety requirements outlined by these standards. The standardized harmonic European, or EN, standards are legal requirements that outline the safety requirements and test methods for most PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) climbing equipment. The modern UIAA standards are based on the existing EN standards, but they are not legal requirements and some of them have additional requirements above and beyond the EN standards. Certification to these standards means that the equipment meets the basic design and structural requirements of the standards, but does not guarantee that equipment is unbreakable in all conditions possibly encountered while climbing. A product bearing the CE mark signifies that the product has passed the testing requirements and that the manufacturer either has an adequate system for monitoring the quality of the final product or has an appropriate internal quality control system. This means that all Black Diamond technical climbing products, and specifically those products used to protect against falls (such as carabiners, Camalots™, Stoppers, etc.) must undergo rigorous testing on a continuous basis. What is the end result? Gear you can trust and gear you can depend on.