Jump to content

johndavidjr

Members
  • Posts

    717
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by johndavidjr

  1. You're like a flat-earther, or a corporate groupie or something. The 2004 SEC document that Armor filed & linked above contradicts you. And yeah, they "voluntarily" stopped making the vests when the Feds started investigating. Then they paid $30 million fine for "knowingly" making and selling unsafe safety gear. "Good and attentive hands" indeed.
  2. Dummkopfh!!! SEC Armor prospectus 2004 quote page 14 etc: http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/845752/000095013604000026/file001.txt Second Chance Body Armor, Inc., a body armor manufacturer and competitor to Armor Holdings, has notified its customers of a potential safety issue with their Ultima® and Ultimax® models. Second Chance Body Armor has claimed that Zylon® fiber, which is made by Toyobo, a Japanese 15 corporation, and used in the ballistic fabric construction of those two models, degraded more rapidly than originally anticipated. Second Chance Body Armor has also stated that the Zylon® degradation problem affects the entire body armor industry, not just their products. Both private claimants and State Attorneys General have already commenced legal action against Second Chance Body Armor based upon its Ultima® and Ultimax® model vests. Second Chance Body Armor licenses from us a certain patented technology which is used in the body armor it manufactures, but to our knowledge, no lawsuit has yet been brought against Second Chance Body Armor based upon this licensed technology. We use Zylon® fiber in a number of concealable body armor models for law enforcement, but our design approach and construction are very different. We have been testing our Zylon®-based vests since their 2000 introduction and to date these tests of our Zylon®-based vests show no unanticipated degradation in ballistic performance. In addition, to our knowledge, no other body armor manufacturer has reported or experienced similar problems as those cited by Second Chance Body Armor. Finally, the National Institute of Justice tests and certifies each of our body armor designs before we begin to produce or sell any particular model.
  3. Somebody will point out that Armor acquired a vest maker in mid-2005 and THAT was the culprit... But Kanders' Armor Holdings made the sucky zylon bullet-proof vests prior to this period. Think was $20 million when they "voluntarily" backed off & just before the 05 acquisition. You can see the relevant information here: http://www.allbusiness.com/company-activities-management/financial-performance/12882970-1.html Interesting that Armor never admitted culpability; financial, moral or otherwise. Irresponsible management, in other words. God Bless Stamford, Connecticut-based Clarus. God Bless the uninformed fools here who for some reason wanna kiss Mr. Kanders' scummy ass. Or maybe you like this Kanders protege: http://www.allbusiness.com/government/government-bodies-offices/13801735-1.html
  4. Wow, what a lot of dumb pricks here. Genepires, Thanks for admitting your error. My impression over time has been that this can be expected from you. Those who continue to insist on wildly misinformed fantasy can't be helped. But to purchase BD gear is to trust Wm Kanders, which is, based on the record, a senseless gamble. Perhaps a new post could unambiguously establish the facts for those who are having trouble?
  5. Dumb-ass fools! From Clarus' 2010 proxy statement to SEC: "Prior to the completion of the acquisition of Armor Holdings, Inc., formerly a New York Stock Exchange-listed company and a manufacturer and supplier of military vehicles, armored vehicles and safety and survivability products and systems to the aerospace and defense, public safety, homeland security and commercial markets, by BAE Systems plc on July 31, 2007, he [Kanders] served as the Chairman of the Board of Armor Holdings, Inc. since January 1996 and as its Chief Executive Officer since April 2003." [http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/913277/000114420409023274/v147174_def14a.htm] I know you're already having a lot of trouble following this, but Armor Holdings paid a $30 million fine for "knowingly" making and selling defective safety equipment during the years 2000-2005. Bear with me now and concentrate really hard on this..... Kander was head of Armor during the period 2000-2003. I know you're going to have a lot of difficulty with this. Maybe you'll have to trust me??
  6. Why are you apparently so confused and stupid??? Reuter's story says: "The Justice Department allegations concerned vest sales between 2000 and 2005, Armor Holdings said through a spokesman." http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKN0747464420081007 You can see from Kander's wedding announcement (among other places) that he was head of Armor in 1998: http://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/28/style/weddings-allison-smith-warren-kanders.html?pagewanted=1 This is the guy who now controls Black Diamond Equipment and who for five years, knowingly endangered thousands of people by selling bogus bullet-proof vests. Are you merely dense, or do you have some kind of agenda???
  7. To be fair to Kanders, his Armor Holdings company was fined $30 million by U.S. Department of Justice for "knowingly selling defective bullet-proof vests." What exactly about this don't you understand? You're saying DoJ lied? Made a mistake? Armor paid up because they were victims? That the head of Kanders was too stupid to know what was happening and this qualifies him as controlling officer of BD?? Why are you making this point and WTF is your point?
  8. Sadly you're spraying crap that obscures the issue. Why are you doing this? You wanna get people killed because scumbags are now running Black Diamond??? http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2008/October/08-civ-901.html Feds say "Armor Holdings manufactured and sold Zylon bullet-proof vests despite possessing information showing that the Zylon materials degraded quickly over time and were not suitable for ballistic use. Feds also say yes, the problem also involved other companies. That's not relevant. SEC and even the dumb-ass Dow Jones story tells you that the geniuses who ran Armor Holdings now control Black Diamond. Do you think the feds are making a joke with the $30 million fine???? Just some kind of paperwork?? Why do you reckon the fine was paid?
  9. An incredibly sordid story which reflects directly on future quality of Black Diamond equipment. I can tell you first hand, the Dow Jones' story is just crap. They cook this stuff up in 10 minutes or else get fired, and don't know or give a damn what they're writing, as long as it conforms to press releases they can easily locate, and doesn't piss anybody off who they're writing about and cause them trouble when they come in to work the next day. I've already provided the Department of Justice link. You can look further on the SEC pages. Those in control of Black Diamond Equipment don't give a hoot about endangering the lives of whoever uses their products. Further, they don't know or care about climbing. Anybody who believes what the new management says (reliably) immediately following an acquisition about "no changes are planned," I got a nice bridge I wanna sell ya. The CEO guy from Black Diamond is most certainly doomed just for starters. We needn't feel sorry of course for him. It's the actual customers who lack the "Golden Parachute" when Black Diamond gear starts behaving according to the painfully obvious predictions. They should just start now recalling everything.
  10. The people who now control Black Diamond were fined less than two years ago $30 million, for knowingly endangering the lives of perhaps thousands of people who relied on their equipment. These people who now control Black Diamond knew, according to the feds, that they were selling protective equipment that wouldn't work. When's the next time you're going to buy Black Diamond gear? Are we fools? The company is dead and buried, one should hope.
  11. Yeah, here's news on the $30m fine they paid three years ago for selling "bullet-proof" vests that they knew were bogus. http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2008/October/08-civ-901.html Astonishing background, really, for a climbing gear manufacturer.
  12. slightly related material here:
  13. Umm, yeah, like Black Diamond didn't set the only standard for quality? That era might soon be over. According to the "agreement" the BD chief is going to make "only" a quarter-million bucks annually. This shows only that he's a big chump, and will shortly get fired (with some obscene payout) and Black Diamond will make "urban gear" for a few years before going into bankruptcy and shifting to a mailorder ("electronic commerce") tee-shirt company. Perhaps the Brits will carry on somewhat, but methinks gearheads may be somewhat f**ked in future. Perhaps prison manufacturing, either US or Asian, will eventually set the new standard for climbing gear. One can imagine another outcome wherein after a few years former BD executives buy back the company from the Wall Street guys at 30 cents on the dollar and take it back. This sort of thing does happen, but not usually. Especially when they're only getting a bad and ill-advised deal to begin with. $90 million for BD?
  14. Perhaps they will put more emphasis on clothing. I understand profit margins on "softgoods" (tee-shirts, etc) is much greater than "hardgoods." They paid $90 million for BD; $45m for Gregory. http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/913277/000114420410025809/v184082_8k.htm "Clarus" appears until recently to have been a company with money but no business (a "shell company." Its executives, in Stamford, Conn., appear to have zero background in outdoors industry. Perhaps I'm misreading something here: http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/913277/000114420410013483/v176976_10k.htm
  15. My Hex could take it lying down (with a bit of shoveling).
  16. Remarkable weather reports in early April.
  17. Yeah I hear Wild Things is nice little company run by divorcee near Mount Washington, New Hampshire. I've had two of their wind shirts, made from 1983 and 2003. The older one was slightly more labor intensive and cheaper. The newer one had better materials, slightly lesser workman(person)ship, and was a bit behind the curve of high-end expectations.... and more expensive in adjusted dollars. (Obscenely expensive). Not really different items. Certainly the more you spend on your 3-pound backpack, and/or the cooler it is, the more interesting and significant you and your climbing will be. ZAT is honest truth................I realized zis in days of ze Sacs Millet... but lacked wisdom and dollars to purchase........
  18. Old & new editions seem nearly identical apart from format and cragging additions. Somebody here said some portion of text is based on early 1960s (50s?) Beckey book (??). Interesting question (to me) how frequently some of the most obscure peaks there are/were ever climbed. Some might perceive sand-bagged ratings (???), but my opinion based on very little.
  19. The Tigoat looks interesting. I use (discontinued) water-resistant OR sack with wtrproof floor. Enables one to dispense with ground sheet and stuff sack, adds lots of windproofing and protection for ultralight sleeping bag shell. Invariably used with pyramid tarp shelters. Breaths fine. Obviously inadequate as sole protection from precipitation.
  20. I know more than nothing but much less than a lot about this, & was acquainted with at least a couple of very, very experienced people who guessed all wrong. I wonder though, if you printed out the forecast, dug multiple pits, did multiple block tests & etc., whether you'd actually get to climb anything by the time you're done& & whether or not these procedures tell you what's happening 2,000 feet upslope from whence things might land upon y'all. Perhaps having adequate experience/snow sense/luck could make up for these various steps. The whole topic scares me.
  21. Swell. Hope Superfeet is preparing for onslaught of price competion by adding many colors. I don't care about colors. Effectiveness and price is thing. That's why I like Wenzel puptents for utterly benign summer weather. Nothing competes at the moment with Superfeet, but the price is criminal.
  22. All are green. I've found them to be an extraordinarily effective and relatively simple product. Too bad some sleazy contract manufacturer can't produce them for $15 bucks or whatever in China.
  23. I guess I find Superfeet to be an exceptionally effective product and not like a piece of foam. But I imagine it could be manufactured and sold for profit at a fraction of current retail price. Problem is maybe the relatively small size of currently available market. Eventually manufacturers will figure it out (or have already???). A bit like reverse of available summertime puptents, wherein market hasn't caught up with supply.
  24. I suppose Spenco has many products. Maybe I've used one or two long ago. These weren't comparable to Superfeet. Perhaps though, I should look again.
×
×
  • Create New...