Fake Petzl Reproductions, beware

[sweatinoutliquor]

See link

 

Will be interesting to see if Petzl confirms...

[billcoe]

Eventually everything that a US company moves to be mfg in China seems to get ripped off. I'm holding out for fake Camalots.

 

Thanks fo the notification Sweatin out Liquor.

[RaisedByPikas]

I'm holding out for fake Camalots.

 

Its only a matter of time and this should probably be made a sticky along with the recalls if it is true. It is a little suspicious that Petzl wouldn't have this on their website though.

 

The really disconcerting part is apparently how good these supposed fakes are. With the fake arcteryx stuff its really easy to tell the difference.

Edited February 11, 2011 by RaisedByPikas

[sweatinoutliquor]

After a little research, I think it would be prudent to wait to see if Petzl actually says anything about it. Sounds like lots of people are starting to think it's a hoax (about a hoax)... If so i really apologize for posting this.

 

more discussion here

[murraysovereign]

I'm a Petzl dealer, and we received no such notification from Petzl last week as claimed in the linked site.

 

Also, in my experience any time an announcement includes the phrase "This is not a scam", well, it's a scam.

[sweatinoutliquor]

Looks like it's true

[murraysovereign]

I did eventually receive an email - this afternoon - that certainly appears to be from Petzl. And unlike the web posting linked in the OP, the email does not contain the phrase "this is not a scam", so I'm inclined to give it the benefit of the doubt.

[Coldfinger]

Well, google Petzl and you can find that info, was going to get freaked but.....

 

Then I remembered Thamel and what gets sold there, bottom line is China is going to have to learn to respect property rights if it wants to deal with the West (irony--obviously we don't care enough about human rights). We ARE Capitalists after all.

[genepires]

Interesting that the market for ascenders and pulleys is large enough to attract the fake reproductions industry. I can see faking a NF jacket for the ease of making it, ease of getting away with it and the huge market to sell to.

I imagine that the day we outsourced our production of climbing gear to china is the day that the fake reproductions started being made too.

[ColinB]

Here's Petzl's statement. Its the same as the emails.

 

http://petzl.com/us/outdoor/news-2/2011/02/11/warning-regarding-presence-counterfeit-versions-petzl-products

[rl23455]

effing China has a long history of producing sub-par products, as well as fakes. There was the sheet rock incident that had high levels of sulfur in them and people's homes were ruined, home insurance wouldn't produce a claim on them. And China ignored lawsuits.

[Hugh Conway]

Interesting that the market for ascenders and pulleys is large enough to attract the fake reproductions industry.

 

plenty of small cottage forgers (if that's actually the correct term for this, one wonders if they couldn't meet spec with a decent QC program) in China now with the capability to a decent job in small markets - have been for 5+ years. Course with $100million + in sales, petzl isn't "small"

[j_b]

"Don't worry about it folks, government regulations are for pansies"

[Jens]

Petzl has proven itself to be time and time again to be the single most class act company in the business. They will take care of it and make it right.

 

We have seen this before with some other "fakes". Usually the "knockoffs" are just the same as the regular product. A factory in China gets an order from a gear company in the west to produce several thousand "widgets". When the widget order is complete, the Chinese factory decides to secretly run a few extra of the same item on the same machines with the same materials without stamping serial numbers on them. The widget is identical and just as safe, but the western company that placed the factory production order gets screwed when the extra widgets end up on the free market.

I could be wrong but didn't Costco end up with a small quantity of $300 cannondale bikes and $50 Arcteryx gore-tex jackets once this way?

[Layback]

I'd like to take an optimistic approach and hope that Jens is right, but... Can Petzl (or BD for that matter) introduce new legislation and tighter controls into Chinese manufacturing law that will effectively put an end to manufacturing plants producing bogus gear in after hours? This isn't a Petzl issue. It's a Chinese Manufacturing issue and Petzl produces gear there - so it's now Petzl's issue as well as Black Diamond's issue.

 

Metolius and Wild Country are going to be getting the lion's share of my business going forward.

[Hugh Conway]

This isn't a Petzl issue. It's a Chinese Manufacturing issue and Petzl produces gear there - so it's now Petzl's issue as well as Black Diamond's issue.

 

Metolius and Wild Country are going to be getting the lion's share of my business going forward.

 

So, buy from a local shop you know and trust,

or an honest mail order house. Shitty eBay deals and fly by night discounters may not actually be giving you what you want - just what you paid for.

 

Oh, and make shit in China at your own risk. I'm waiting for BD's and K2's comeuppance next. I already have my fake North Face

[Layback]

I think we'd want to do that anyway. PMS gets all of my business. I'll just be staying away from BD and Petzl going forward. I no longer trust these companies ability to limit this kind of crap no matter how nice the message is on that corporate BD website. I've been skeptical for a while.

[G-spotter]

from ukclimbing

 

* by - Paul Bowen ? on - 20:37 Sun

In reply to KiwiPrincess:

> (In reply to matthewtraver)

>

> Petzl don't get their gear made in China and no it can't tbe the same factory as the strengths are different.

 

Ah that is true, but i had it on good authority they did send a number of items off to China a year or two back with the intent of cutting manufacturing costs... the first batch were produced all ok no problems with strength, then the ok was given for a major order, that's when the problem started and petzl had thousands of items all failing the strength ratings.... what happened to these i have no idea but the chinese factory had the the petzl stamps and everthing else to produce perfect copies of petzl items (all bar the strength ratings) so it doesn't surprise me that these items have found their way to the market place

 

 

[Cobra_Commander]

It's easy to tell the fakes because they're painted with lead paint.

[belcourt]

I won't get into debating the philosophy behind the BD factory in China but I would like to bust a few myths. WC biners are made in Taiwan as well as Metolius biners. Just check the hangtags when you are in the store.

Nothing is forever, and companies do change their sourcing to be more competitive (most don't mention it). This does not mean a change in product quality. Product quality is a function of training, systems, and testing; not ethnic origins. So you get out what you put in regardless of location.

 

You don't have to make gear in China to get ripped-off in China; just ask the Swiss watch company Rolex. There are plenty of $20.00 "Rolex" copies available on the streets of Hong Kong and Rolex does not make watches in China.

 

The outdoor industry is big business these days, and when there is money to be made making copies, there will be people doing it. Just come to the OR show and watch how many people with cameras (from foreign companies you have never heard of) quietly taking pictures of all the new product (mostly packs and clothing). Many times the copies will hit the market before the real thing is even delivered.

 

The work rescue biz is far bigger than the climbing biz so it is no surprise that Petzl (the biggest player) got copied first. It also will be impossible to stop and hard to police so please buy whatever it is from a reputable dealer.

 

I am sure our turn to get ripped-off will come, and I hope the fact that we are well connected in China these days and have our own facility will make it easier to find the rat and put a stop to it.

 

Bill