Product Safety Recall - Wild Country Helium biners

[NCNate]

I also posted this in the gear critic, received it via email today and wanted to pass it on to anyone who might be using these.

-Nate

 

IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTICE

HELIUM KARABINER RECALL

In house testing has revealed a potentially serious problem with some

HELIUM KARABINERS. Wild Country are requesting the immediate return of all

HELIUM KARABINERS AND QUICKDRAWS marked with the following batch codes:

AAA, AAB, AAC, AAD, AAE, AAF

 

 

 

PLEASE RETURN ANY HELIUM KARABINERS

IMMEDIATELY TO WILD COUNTRY FOR INSPECTION.

Alternatively return to us via the shop

from which they were purchased.

For help with identifying this product or further information concerning this recall please contact:

 

Wild Country, Meverill Road, Tideswell,

Nr Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 8PY

Phone: 01298 871010 Fax: 01298 872077

Email: info@wildcountry.co.uk

[texplorer]

So what is supposedly wrong with them?

[billcoe]

Tex, as I understand it, they caught a small group which didn't have the wire seating correctly on the nose. They fear that the carabiner would only have the gate open strength.

 

They must have caught some with this after their regular QC, so thus the recall.

 

Bill

[texplorer]

Mine seem to be working good so far. I am tempted just to keep em and be damned.

[billcoe]

Hi Tex:

 

The gear critic forum has this too (motto, first - live -local?): but climbing mag has it online as well. I don't think you are in trouble with your decision to keep and use them:

 

 

http://climbing.com/equipment/heliumrecall/

 

 

Wild Country Helium karabiner recall

 

Tideswell, Derbyshire (July 15th 2004) – Wild Country Ltd. announce the recall of all Helium karabiners supplied to retail stores between April and July 2004.

 

In-process testing has identified a problem with a limited number of karabiners concerning the location of the gate on the nose of the karabiner under load. Should this problem occur in use the minimum breaking strength of the karabiner would be the "Gate Open" strength of 10kN.

 

Please arrange for the immediate return of all Helium karabiners to;

 

Excalibur / Wild Country, PO Box 1007, Sandy, UT, 84091. Ph: (801) 942-8471

 

The products concerned are;

 

HELIUM - CLEAN WIRE - RED or SILVER

HELIUM 10MM DYNEEMA Quickdraw 13 or 18cm

OXYGEN-HELIUM 12mm Quickdraw 10 or 15 cm

 

The karabiners are marked with Batch Codes; AAA, AAB, AAC, AAD, AAE and AAF

 

All karabiners returned will be inspected and further testing will be undertaken.

 

We will be posting on web-sites and in forums as more information becomes available.

 

 

For help with identifying the product or for further information on the recall please contact us at; usa@wildcountry.co.uk or by telephone on; (801) 942-8471.

[Jedi]

The new ones might start showing up in the US mid Oct.

Jedi

[Lambone]

wow I can't wait

[chucK]

Though difficult, I will give a reply more worthless than Lammy's:

 

slkfhjs

[Lambone]

not quite AS worthless as a carabiner that you can't trust. though they are good for waterbottels and keychains.

[Jedi]

Well, I'm hoping they fixed their problem (which looked pretty fixable). Planning on getting a couple dozen this fall. A notchless wiregate is a great design. I wish someone made a locking wiregate.