TL;DR: Look for manufacturer standards associations (UIAA, CE, ISO):

Climbing Gear Strength Rating and Testing Standards

The general rule of thumb about gear in Rock Climbing is when you have any doubt about any piece of gear, don't use it.

That being said there are a couple of things to go off of when judging safety equipment manufacturers:

STRENGTH RATINGS

Pieces of equipment that are designed to absorb the force that a fall generates (these include rope and webbing, your harness, and all gear used as anchors or protection on a route) will be rated with the maximum number of kiloNewtons they can withstand.

These Chinese manufacturers have at the very least stamped strength ratings on the side of their equipment.

MANUFACTURING STANDARDS

Most quality climbing products meet widely accepted standards of quality and safety. Although it is not explicitly required by law in some areas, such as North America. Some of the standards you will see associated with climbing products are: CE, UIAA, and ISO.

• CE
  A product stamped with the CE mark indicates that it has passed strength testing requirements, and the manufacturing processes meet European Union laws. The CE mark is accompanied by a number (for example CE 0639) that identifies the registered testing facility the company uses. The standards that products need to be tested to are identified by “EN”; for example EN 959 covers rock anchors.

  In Europe, all climbing products in defined categories must receive CE certification before they can be sold.

• UIAA (UNION INTERNATIONAL DES ASSOCIATIONS D’ALPINISME)
  CE standards are based on the pre-existing UIAA norms that climbing equipment manufacturers referred to before CE testing was implemented.

  Today, the UIAA norms still exist and often lay out additional (though voluntary) requirements for certain products. For instance, the UIAA helmet rating calls for even higher force absorption standards than the applicable CE norm. Products that meet the UIAA norm have been tested in UIAA approved facilities and have the UIAA stamp.

  Many non-European climbing manufacturers seek both CE and UIAA certification in order to sell in the European market and demonstrate the quality of their products to consumers in North America.

• ISO
  ISO is an international standards organization. Manufacturers that are ISO certified have a registered facility oversee their quality assurance systems to make sure they conform to the norms.

^{Source:Climbing Gear Strength Rating and Testing Standards}

Taking a brief look at the specs on some of those pieces of gear I noticed that some had CE certification listed in the specs, some had both UIAA and CE certification, but others did not list any manufacturing standard, though they appeared to have some sort of certification based on the four digit number stamped on the side.

You're welcome to buy gear that has been strength rated without certification, but if you want to play it safe, only buy gear that has a listed manufacturer standard certification.

posted over 9 years ago

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ShemSeger‭

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The products seem to be rip offs of Climb X gear. Here's the ice axe at a cheaper price. It would make more sense to buy the Climb X branded gear since the price difference is small.

posted almost 9 years ago

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Justin‭

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While I'm not too familiar with this brand, a 2013 article on BackpackingLight (largely paywalled) discussed recent developments in canister stoves, most of which are now manufactured in Asia. I think some of the comments from that article, and a preceeding 2009 article discussing Chinese manufacturing of outdoor gear, may apply here as well.

Manufacturing quality can range from very high to quite low. (Most high-quality Western brands are also coming out of Chinese factories now.) An OEM factory doing a "few extra runs" in the evening, or making cosmetic tweaks will likely produce goods that are still of decent quality. A factory that hasn't had direct contact with Western designers and is simply creating products that look similar is much more likely to have quality issues.

One problem identified in the 2009 article was that the manufacturers may not be familiar with the design history, and thus not understand why certain decisions were made. (They also may not be familiar with the actual end use of the product.) This can result in cost-cutting decisions that also impact safety or performance, particularly with manufacturers that don't have in-house engineering talent.

The 2013 article has a more optimistic view, noting some of the in-house Asian stoves makers are showing "serious design and development work". An example of this would be with the Chinese stove-manufacturer Fire Maple, which appears to have added skilled engineering talent to their company and is doing its own development.

Returning to the "GoodMakings" company and their climbing hardware, I would be curious as to whether this company is an OEM for more well-known brands, as that suggests a better chance of manufacturing quality. (Someone with access to the appropriate testing equipment could likely order some of their items and run a few tests.)

Now for the questionable bit. I see their helmet displays the UIAA Safety Label (the image on the back of the helmet), but am not able to find mention of this brand in the UIAA's database. This is worrisome, and suggests a possibility that the certificate markings may be "purely decorative".

Edit: It appears the company is now a UIAA safety label holder, and has at least received certifications for some of its hardware. Based on descriptions of GM products listed on http://storrick.cnc.net/VerticalDevicesPage/VerticalHome.shtml GM may be an OEM for smaller western companies, now expanding under its own name.

posted over 9 years ago

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requiem‭

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They are now UIAA certified, as listed here: http://www.theuiaa.org/safety-label-holders.html

posted over 8 years ago

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htrt‭

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They don't have certification from the UIAA. As it states on the UIAA official website:

The UIAA warns that the following brands may be using the UIAA name and/or Safety Label logo with out UIAA authorization:

GM: The UIAA has received email from climbers in USA, Brazil, Finland and Australia that GM advertising gear with the registered UIAA Safety label logo GM has never applied for a UIAA Safety Label. We consider this to be an unacceptable use of UIAA name in order to create the impression that these products have been tested and approved by the UIAA. The UIAA therefore, cannot guarantee that the products from GM meet up to the standard set by the UIAA Safety Label.

posted almost 9 years ago

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Farang Talk‭

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