FYI - Warning about fake Petzl climbing gear.
http://www.petzl.com/us/pro/news/20...-presence-counterfeit-versions-petzl-products
http://www.petzl.com/us/pro/news/20...-presence-counterfeit-versions-petzl-products
Fake Petzl Climbing Gear
- Thread starter peakbagger
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bcskier
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So if some guy on a street corner offers me a grigri at an unbeatable price I should probably avoid it, huh?
Chugach001
New member
That's horrifying. Is nothing sacred anymore?
DougPaul
Well-known member
Brambor
Well-known member
scary
watch out for paper mache helmets
watch out for paper mache helmets
DrJJFate
New member
Will you be on a Fung Wah bus down to NYC next week to pick up a few racks in Chinatown for super cheap?
Chip
Well-known member
Thanks for the link. Playing devils advocate though: Fakes are normally not produced to such high standards that they are essentially indiscernable in look and performance from the original. I hope Petzl is not trying to cover up a bad batch. Regardless, as it would be easier to not buy their gear now, it won't help their business. Too bad.
Chugach001
New member
I used to do a lot of work in China and what often happens is that factories will over-produce a run and then sell off the excess through back channels. Or they will run a second shift or assembly line in parallel with cheaper materials. They even order extra packaging so everything looks real and legit.
It's rare that they start from scratch to knock-off products, they usually have the plans and bill of materials (or buy them from a someone in the legit factory).
To my knowledge, the only product counterfeiters ever prosecuted by
the Chinese govt were people who made fake Beijing Olympic merchandise and therefore, competed directly with the Chinese government.
It's rare that they start from scratch to knock-off products, they usually have the plans and bill of materials (or buy them from a someone in the legit factory).
To my knowledge, the only product counterfeiters ever prosecuted by
the Chinese govt were people who made fake Beijing Olympic merchandise and therefore, competed directly with the Chinese government.
So are you suggesting that this is a "Grey Market" situation?
DougPaul
Well-known member
It might be grey market for production overruns, but "assembly line in parallel with cheaper materials" would be fakes. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_market for a definition of grey market.)
The report from Petzl says that the gear in question fails at lower forces than the legitimate gear, so that would suggest that it is fake rather than grey market.
Doug
