Dreaded quality fade hits BD.

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1776

“One of the problems facing China is that manufacturers continue to engage in a practice I call “quality fade.” This is the deliberate and secret habit of widening profit margins through a reduction in the quality of materials. Importers usually never notice what’s happening; downward changes are subtle but progressive. The initial production sample is fine, but with each successive production run, a bit more of the necessary inputs are missing.”

black diamond changed suppliers(you can guess the reason) for the 2010 line of packs. cold temperatures cause the hoses to crack. seems like a good idea for a winter product 🙄

while the packs may be stiched together in other places, i think the plastics used in the avalung have always come from china. i might be wrong on that though. anyway my avalung is from 2008 and still in the box so i guess i’m safe.

@Unruly Baker wrote:

@Zee wrote:

Dreaded quality fade hits BD.

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1776

“One of the problems facing China is that manufacturers continue to engage in a practice I call “quality fade.” This is the deliberate and secret habit of widening profit margins through a reduction in the quality of materials. Importers usually never notice what’s happening; downward changes are subtle but progressive. The initial production sample is fine, but with each successive production run, a bit more of the necessary inputs are missing.”

Nice rant, but my Covert says “Made in the Philippines”… Damn Pilipino slackasses…. Oh wait, mine wasn’t on the recall list. :clap:

They might still be made in the Philippines… I just assumed it was made in China, because a) everyone is outsourcing to China and b) stuff made in China is prone to more problems.

Mine not on the recall list but hisses like crazy when I breathe through it and does not feel right from an airflow standpoint. Feels like there’s a roach stuck in there somewhere. Just waiting for the ‘schlurp’ sound and ending having something nasty in my mouth. When I asked BD about that they told me the Darth Vader sound was normal. I told them mine was more like Darth Vader after a shot of helium but they did not reply after that… Also the Largest size is tight around my chest. Fed-up, it stays in the box now.

Hi jlag,

no worries, actually you make an interesting point since I have never used it under real conditions. I suppose that althought to be compliant with regulations you’re supposed to use it, nobody wears the nose clip. So as a result I assume that once you get caught in a slide, you put the tube in your mouth and pray for the best. I guess it means you’ll have your nose/ears full of snow and will only be able to inhale and exhale via the Avalung. Does it mean that it works only if you exhale through it and you inhale through your nose which may reduce the effective probability of the system being useful if you can’t inhale through your nose, or you can both inhale & exhale via the tube? Since it’s been back in its box for a while I’ll have to check that next time I get around to my ‘mountain’ apt.

I wish they had made the Covert a bit more board specific wrt the carry straps. Just bust through mine and not really sure how to replace. Should have had some reinforcement where the edges rub in carry mode, esp since split carry is heavier than regular board carry. 2008 model so I’m OK I suppose.