Product Safety Recall - DMM Brand Carabiners with integral swivel

[LoadedLimbs]

Just released from DMM earlier today (November 2, 2022) there is a PRODUCT SAFETY RECALL on their compact swivel units that are integral to a variety of their carabiners and mini-swivels. Apparently, the swivel assembly can unscrew and disconnect under certain circumstances. DMM is instructing all users of affected product to immediately stop use, remove from service, and quarantine the hardware. Details are here:

DMM Compact Swivel Units - Product Recall

As hunters who use a lot of equipment to hunt from elevated positions, we hear about potential product safety issues from time to time. The companies don't always do what we would expect them to, and sometimes don't even recall products that have a clear defect or issue that can make them unsafe to use. DMM is taking this swift action after learning of just one "near miss" by a user who experienced pin separation but was uninjured in the incident. Per the recall information, their product safety team conducted an investigation and "Our investigation has identified a product fault that, under certain circumstances, may allow the swivel assembly to unscrew and subsequently part." This is an excellent example of a company that puts customer safety first, and takes swift action to notify affected buyers to minimize the chance of injury once they have identified an issue with their product. Kudos to DMM - they set a great example for others to follow.

 

[Brocky]

Somebody on another forum stated they were done with DMM because of this!

 

[kyler1945]

I’m happy to see this sort of action.

I’m also reminded of how much responsibility a person takes leaving the ground. Short of DMM employees walking up to you at the base of your tree prior to a climb to inform you of a recall, I can’t imagine most, if any of the hobby users of these will even be aware of a recall, much less heed it. Professionals aside, how would a casual user of this equipment get informed of the recall? How are they communicating it?

 

[LoadedLimbs]

DMM contacted those who carry their product line and asked them to review their sales records and notify purchasers.

In my case, I had purchased two of the affected product pieces from WesSpur.com, and I received an email from WesSpur indicating that their records showed I had purchased the affected product, and provided me with instructions and links to the DMM recall. What impressed me was that WesSpur got me the notification on the SAME DAY that the product recall was issued ... so like DMM, WesSpur ALSO moved very swiftly to determine who they had sold the affected products to, and to notify them without delay. Terrific action all around, in my opinion, and another reason to only purchase climbing equipment and ropes from climbing or professional arborist supply companies. Does anyone think that Amazon (with all their information technology and data) would be as efficient? Or notify customers at all?

Incidentally, one of the reasons that I like DMM hardware is that they are one of the few companies making carabiners that DON"T MAKE THEM IN CHINA. They make their own stuff - they're located in Wales.

 

[gcr0003]

@John RB i know you use and recommend this style of carabiner with the swivel for your climbing method so just tagging you so you can let your folks know on your different pages that there was a recall on this brand specifically.

I think these are generally less common for most of us but regardless, good looking out @LoadedLimbs

 

[kyler1945]

DMM contacted those who carry their product line and asked them to review their sales records and notify purchasers.

In my case, I had purchased two of the affected product pieces from WesSpur.com, and I received an email from WesSpur indicating that their records showed I had purchased the affected product, and provided me with instructions and links to the DMM recall. What impressed me was that WesSpur got me the notification on the SAME DAY that the product recall was issued ... so like DMM, WesSpur ALSO moved very swiftly to determine who they had sold the affected products to, and to notify them without delay. Terrific action all around, in my opinion, and another reason to only purchase climbing equipment and ropes from climbing or professional arborist supply companies. Does anyone think that Amazon (with all their information technology and data) would be as efficient? Or notify customers at all?

Incidentally, one of the reasons that I like DMM hardware is that they are one of the few companies making carabiners that DON"T MAKE THEM IN CHINA. They make it their own stuff - they're located in Wales.

Amazing how these lines of communication can impact our well being. If properly implemented.

I still wonder how many people immediately delete those emails assuming they’re junk spam or ads.

I appreciate you putting this up. I admittedly am one of the folks I describe. I will no longer ignore emails from the couple of arborist sites I’ve purchased my climbing gear from.

 

[Exhumis]

Completely unrelated but here’s how DMM carabiners are made:

 

[John RB]

@John RB i know you use and recommend this style of carabiner with the swivel for your climbing method so just tagging you so you can let your folks know on your different pages that there was a recall on this brand specifically.

I think these are generally less common for most of us but regardless, good looking out @LoadedLimbs

Thanks. Yes, I heard about that and I posted it in my group last week but I really appreciate you reaching out. I was out at hunting camp for a couple of days and was offline.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[Spartan]

I use DMM carabiners quite often...have several of them. Not any swivel carabiners, though. This doesn't shake my confidence in their gear one bit. Certainly an isolated and very specific situation that they seem to be handling quite well.

Now, for the companies that issue recalls a few weeks after product release because they were obviously just rushing to get sales out the door before hunting season...that's a different matter (cough, cough, cough...)

 

[fwafwow]

I’m new to climbing, so forgive the idealistic and/or unrealistic questions. Does anyone periodically check for recalls, or are you all like me - waiting to be contacted (by my car manufacturer, or whatever)? If one was inclined to check, it would be great if the “Own It List” function at Weigh My Rack could be tied to recall alerts - although I realize that site doesn’t have every product.