<story><title>Backcountry.com sues anyone who uses its namesake</title><url>https://coloradosun.com/2019/10/31/backcountry-com-sues-anyone-who-uses-its-namesake-is-it-bullying-or-just-business/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>hombre_fatal</author><text>How much engineering staff do you need to make some walking sticks?</text></item><item><author>notadoc</author><text>&amp;gt; Don&amp;#x27;t forget, Black Diamond laid off much of the Utah engineering staff and their climbing cams will now be made in China...&lt;p&gt;That might be why</text></item><item><author>wsinks</author><text>I recently bought a set of collapsable climbing poles from Black Diamond.&lt;p&gt;They broke on my first really long hike.  1&amp;#x2F;3 of the way into a 72 mile route..</text></item><item><author>dgzl</author><text>I chatted with a rep last night and they were very responsive, said &amp;quot;our managers are listening to customer feedback.&amp;quot;&lt;p&gt;Don&amp;#x27;t forget, Black Diamond laid off much of the Utah engineering staff and their climbing cams will now be made in China... Not sure what other gear is taking that fate. Looks like it&amp;#x27;s Metolious Master Cams for me now.</text></item><item><author>crikli</author><text>I’m a climber &amp;#x2F; skier &amp;#x2F; runner etc based out of Colorado and between my wife and we’ve spent a small fortune with backcountry.com.  I didn’t know about any of this.  Suing a maker of backcountry skis?  Well, fuck you too, private equity jerkoffs.  I’m going to light up my rep on this and let them know my spend and my recommendations are going elsewhere.&lt;p&gt;---&lt;p&gt;Edit3: GoFundMe for the legal costs of one of their targets:
&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.gofundme.com&amp;#x2F;f&amp;#x2F;legal-defense-to-fight-backcountrycom&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.gofundme.com&amp;#x2F;f&amp;#x2F;legal-defense-to-fight-backcountr...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;Edit2: A follow-up article with more details on just how predatory and unreasonable BC (by proxy through their attorneys) have become:
&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;coloradosun.com&amp;#x2F;2019&amp;#x2F;11&amp;#x2F;05&amp;#x2F;backcountry-com-trademark-lawsuits-boycotts-backlash&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;coloradosun.com&amp;#x2F;2019&amp;#x2F;11&amp;#x2F;05&amp;#x2F;backcountry-com-trademark...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;Edit, @skierjerry, et, al, here&amp;#x27;s what I just sent my rep:&lt;p&gt;Heya &amp;lt;person&amp;gt;,&lt;p&gt;I read an article about Backcountry in the Colorado Sun that really disappointed me. Your employer has adopted ugly business tactics and begun using its size to attack smaller businesses who have the ubiquitous term “backcountry” in their name.&lt;p&gt;Please look at my lifetime spend with Backcountry as well as that of my wife.  It is significant.  It also stops now, and I’ll be making significant contributions to the legal funds of the boutique makes and businesses that your employer is assaulting.&lt;p&gt;I wish you nothing but the best on a personal level and hope that your employer chooses to take a better path.&amp;quot;</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>CydeWeys</author><text>Black Diamond makes a lot more than just walking sticks.  But even if that&amp;#x27;s all they made ..&lt;p&gt;You&amp;#x27;re seriously underestimating how hard it might to to engineer and test even something as seemingly simple as a walking stick.  These are lightweight, high-tech materials we&amp;#x27;re talking about (carbon fiber), which even SpaceX gave up on for their latest spacecraft.  They&amp;#x27;re also collapsible&amp;#x2F;foldable.  Simply put, this is harder than you think it is.</text></comment>
<story><title>Backcountry.com sues anyone who uses its namesake</title><url>https://coloradosun.com/2019/10/31/backcountry-com-sues-anyone-who-uses-its-namesake-is-it-bullying-or-just-business/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>hombre_fatal</author><text>How much engineering staff do you need to make some walking sticks?</text></item><item><author>notadoc</author><text>&amp;gt; Don&amp;#x27;t forget, Black Diamond laid off much of the Utah engineering staff and their climbing cams will now be made in China...&lt;p&gt;That might be why</text></item><item><author>wsinks</author><text>I recently bought a set of collapsable climbing poles from Black Diamond.&lt;p&gt;They broke on my first really long hike.  1&amp;#x2F;3 of the way into a 72 mile route..</text></item><item><author>dgzl</author><text>I chatted with a rep last night and they were very responsive, said &amp;quot;our managers are listening to customer feedback.&amp;quot;&lt;p&gt;Don&amp;#x27;t forget, Black Diamond laid off much of the Utah engineering staff and their climbing cams will now be made in China... Not sure what other gear is taking that fate. Looks like it&amp;#x27;s Metolious Master Cams for me now.</text></item><item><author>crikli</author><text>I’m a climber &amp;#x2F; skier &amp;#x2F; runner etc based out of Colorado and between my wife and we’ve spent a small fortune with backcountry.com.  I didn’t know about any of this.  Suing a maker of backcountry skis?  Well, fuck you too, private equity jerkoffs.  I’m going to light up my rep on this and let them know my spend and my recommendations are going elsewhere.&lt;p&gt;---&lt;p&gt;Edit3: GoFundMe for the legal costs of one of their targets:
&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.gofundme.com&amp;#x2F;f&amp;#x2F;legal-defense-to-fight-backcountrycom&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;www.gofundme.com&amp;#x2F;f&amp;#x2F;legal-defense-to-fight-backcountr...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;Edit2: A follow-up article with more details on just how predatory and unreasonable BC (by proxy through their attorneys) have become:
&lt;a href=&quot;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;coloradosun.com&amp;#x2F;2019&amp;#x2F;11&amp;#x2F;05&amp;#x2F;backcountry-com-trademark-lawsuits-boycotts-backlash&amp;#x2F;&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;https:&amp;#x2F;&amp;#x2F;coloradosun.com&amp;#x2F;2019&amp;#x2F;11&amp;#x2F;05&amp;#x2F;backcountry-com-trademark...&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p&gt;Edit, @skierjerry, et, al, here&amp;#x27;s what I just sent my rep:&lt;p&gt;Heya &amp;lt;person&amp;gt;,&lt;p&gt;I read an article about Backcountry in the Colorado Sun that really disappointed me. Your employer has adopted ugly business tactics and begun using its size to attack smaller businesses who have the ubiquitous term “backcountry” in their name.&lt;p&gt;Please look at my lifetime spend with Backcountry as well as that of my wife.  It is significant.  It also stops now, and I’ll be making significant contributions to the legal funds of the boutique makes and businesses that your employer is assaulting.&lt;p&gt;I wish you nothing but the best on a personal level and hope that your employer chooses to take a better path.&amp;quot;</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>notadoc</author><text>I have no idea, I&amp;#x27;ve never made an artificial walking stick. Good strong wood is quite sturdy however, but not nearly as light as a synthetic walking stick. Trying to replicate the strength of a hard wood in a very lightweight synthetic material is probably a challenging engineering task.&lt;p&gt;Anyway I&amp;#x27;d think production&amp;#x2F;manufacturing and quality assurance would be more to blame, particularly if the same products used to perform better than now.</text></comment>