cams

[rr666]

Thanks freeclimb9, I thought BD came out with a flexible cam prior to wild country. Guess I was wrong

And yes, you are very right the mags do make gear sell.

[freeclimb9]

rr666,the Technical Friend came out in the mid-eighties. Chouinard Equipment introduced the Camalot in 87, or 88, but didn't hype it much; the company was experiencing many lawsuits, and wasn't advertising much of anything. The employee buyout and renaming to Black Diamond went down at the end of 89. These days in Salt Lake, BD has their mills and lathes running for two shifts a day cranking out cams and screws. It's amazing, really.

This thread got me thinking about why folks buy the gear they do. Choosing cams can involve the same impulses that smokers experience in choosing cigarette brands. It's not what's in the cigarette, but rather who smokes them. BD's success has been in part due to their marketing of themselves as climbers working for climbing. They have aligned climbing personalities with their gear more effectively than other companies (Metolius does this well too). I can't think of a single climber working with Wild Country, or Colorado Custom hardware. But BD? Man, there's a bunch.

[rr666]

A good friend of mine that I actually got into climbing a few years back has been working for BD for about 3 years now. He is enjoying the hell out of it. He says everyone there climbs. After work and weekends, everyone is always taking trips to ice climb, rock climb, you name it. I have climbed with them a couple of times, and they are all great people, and into creating the best gear they can at the best quality.