# How to kill a brand 101 - What the hell is Pieps/Black Diamond thinking?



## smellysell (Oct 29, 2018)

I thought I saw something about a recall? 

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## HurtonBair (Feb 2, 2014)

No actual recall thus far.

They’ve offered on IG an upgrade path which I’m okay with, but their actual email correspondence has been vague and boilerplate. I have no idea what I can upgrade to (I’d imagine a BT model but which specific one?) that doesn’t have the same issue, or how much it will cost.
No details. Just copy/paste bullshit.

They even have T. rice and Spencer O’Brien chastising them on SM now. Not a good look.


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## smellysell (Oct 29, 2018)

Nope, terrible look. Glad I went with BCA because I almost bought one. 

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## spaceknight (Apr 22, 2017)

Skiers Demand Pieps DSP Beacon Recall - The Backcountry Ski Touring Blog


After nearly fatal failure of the Pieps DSP Pro and Sport beacons, professional skiers demand a recall.



www.wildsnow.com













Pieps DPS Beacon has Mechanisms of Failure


We also call out Black Diamond to properly address the mechanism of failure and inadequate design, and user safety hazard with their Pieps DSP avalanche beacon.




powdercanada.com





It's even more horrifying when you learn that it's already been an issue in the past resulting in someone dying and their wife trying to raise issues about it, yet they continue to ignore and do nothing. Honestly, trash company.


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## poser (Mar 7, 2018)

I had one of these and the lock broke for no reason. Locked it into the “on” position in the morning and noticed the lock was broke when I turned it off at the end of the day. BD did replace it immediately and without question.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

It's not all Pieps Sport models. There are certain model years that have this problem. BD did announce a recall, but no no doubt they have handled this poorly. For a company that has done recalls over a design tolerance in climbing gear with no accidents, this is surprising and is in poor taste on their part. I expect better of them and I do now think less of the company. Fwiw though, current generation Pieps do not have this problem. Also, do take note, the video has the beacon loaded backwards in the harness, which also helps contribute to the flaw. I doubt the switch would turn off if carried correctly. None the less still a problem that shouldn't be there. Plenty of people carry beacons in their pocket and not the harness.


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## HurtonBair (Feb 2, 2014)

I’m not sure where it is backwards. The beacon was inserted into its harness the same way the manual shows it. 



https://beaconreviews.com/manuals/Pieps-DSP-Sport_2014-10-22.pdf


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

Interesting. I wonder if this is part of their FU? I know several people who have the sport and their manuals show the opposite for carrying the beacon. That does not help the faith issue.


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## HurtonBair (Feb 2, 2014)

On another version of the manual, the beacon is still facing forward in the picture, but it's flipped upside down from the version I posted. What's even worse, the accompanying text says to face the display towards your body. I so guess we're both correct in this regard (which is kinda scary, tbh). So much for consistency!

I got better instructions on the process and submitted a claim for two beacons. I'll update how this goes. I'm not anticipating any hiccups from hereon, but they definitely need to work on their communication regarding this issue.


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## HurtonBair (Feb 2, 2014)

TGR just put out a YouTube video showing the Nick McNutt incident. He was lucky to be with an experienced crew. They don’t specifically call out the company in the video, but everyone is beginning to know.


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## lab49232 (Sep 13, 2011)

HurtonBair said:


> TGR just put out a YouTube video showing the Nick McNutt incident. He was lucky to be with an experienced crew. They don’t specifically call out the company in the video, but everyone is beginning to know.


Holy hell, that's a terrifying video. For a rather expensive piece of equipment, that really even in perfect conditions at peak performance does little to actually insure survival, the chance of malfunction like that is just. Well Iet's just say i wont be swapping my BCA Tracker for a Pieps any time soon. The lawsuits that should develop from this...


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## HurtonBair (Feb 2, 2014)

Sent off my beacons via FedEx two weeks ago. Got an email the following Tuesday to expect the turnaround to take a week or two. 

Almost at two weeks following the email, nothing.


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## HurtonBair (Feb 2, 2014)

I sent an email asking what’s going on and got a vague “you’re in the queue and we’ll ship you a replacement beacon as soon as possible”. In my mind “ASAP” can mean a week, a month, a year.

The only thing certain now is that I’ll never buy a Black Diamond product again.


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## smellysell (Oct 29, 2018)

What the fuck! [emoji35]









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## HurtonBair (Feb 2, 2014)

Replacements were shipped out Dec 3 on FedEx “priority”. They finally arrived today (15th). FedEx fucking blows. Shipping by horse would’ve been faster. In all, a 1.5 month turnaround time. 

Although I’m confident with this updated design, I have one takeaway from all this. If I were to buy a beacon today, I’d get a Mammut. This is based on my CS experience with BD.


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## DownhillKrill (Jan 5, 2021)

smellysell said:


> What the fuck! [emoji35]
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Overpriced for a low-quality product. 😅


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