Notice of Voluntary Recall
June 8, 2012

Airway Heights, WA — Omega Pacific has discovered a defect in a certain number of gates used in our 7/16” Quik-Lok carabiners that could contribute to accelerated corrosion which may—over time—deteriorate the strength or lifespan of the item.

The defect was discovered during an internal Quality Assurance review and has not resulted in any product failure or injury. Destruct-testing of the affected goods do not reveal any deterioration of strength as all defective samples broke at or above rated strength. However, as the parts do not comply with our ISO 9001 quality standards, and the issue is very difficult for a consumer to identify, we request all customers with potentially affected carabiners return the goods to Omega Pacific for inspection. If the goods possess the defect, they will be replaced.  If the items are determined to be of first-quality, they will be returned.

The recall is limited to carabiners with the following combination of specific characteristics: SKU, lot number and date of purchase. No other goods are included in this recall and if you are in possession of similar items that do not meet all three of the criteria, they are not subject to this recall.

1. If customers have any one of the following SKUs (see photo):

NOTE:  This is limited to Quik-Loks and Quik-Loks with Captive Eye pins only.
All Modified D 7/16” Screw-Loks and 3-Stage Quik-Loks are not affected.

1. With the following lot numbers stamped on the back of the spine (see photo).

1. And were purchased between 1 April 2012 and 22 May 2012, we request those goods be returned immediately to Omega Pacific for inspection.

Should there be doubt whether your items are included in this recall, please call us at 800-360-3990 or email us at [email protected] and use the word “recall” in the subject line.

Please do not return the goods to retailers. Instead, securely package any of the affected goods and send them to:

Omega Pacific Returns Department
11427 West 21st Avenue
Airway Heights, Washington 99001
Attn: RGA #OP76Q12

Be sure to include your name, shipping address, business name (if you’re a reseller or professional user), and phone number, should we need to contact you. We will return or replace the items within one week of receipt.

In order to identify products from the above lot numbers that have been inspected (both from existing stock and from customer returns) and determined to be defect-free, we are modifying the lot number on the spine to have a permanent dot impressed next to the two-digit alpha code on the spine (see photo).

In the future, anyone reviewing the lot number can be assured that the goods were inspected and deemed first-quality by our Quality Assurance department.

If you are an Omega Pacific distributor or dealer, we request that you distribute this notice to your customers and notify them of this action.

In addition to publishing this notice, Omega Pacific is contacting each customer who purchased potentially-affected items, updating our website (https://omegapac.com/op_climbing_notices.html) and purchasing trade ads in appropriate industry magazines and websites.

Should you have any questions about this recall, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

- Omega Pacific, Inc.

Download PDF Version of this Recall Notice

Link Cam Inspection Notice & Update: Axle Nut
June 11, 2008

Omega Pacific is requesting that Link Cam owners inspect their Link Cams for a potential defect recently discovered.

As of this posting, the incidents are extremely rare and are not considered widespread, but we feel that it is in the best
interest of climbers’ safety to inform the climbing community of the potential for this problem. Should any Link Cam
owner wish for us to perform the inspection, we will be happy to do so. Please contact us for information how to prepare the return.

In May 2008, we became aware of situations in which axle nuts were not properly and permanently fixed on the axle
assemblies permitting the cams to potentially become disassembled. Upon receiving the units, our Quality Assurance
department launched an exhaustive investigation to determine the cause and establish correction of the issue.

Our QA inspectors have determined that the returned units were allowed to progress from one assembly station to the
next without this important step having been completed.

It was determined, based on identification by lot numbers, that the cams returned were manufactured prior to the
implementation of upgraded quality assurance procedures and employee training sessions which were instituted in May
2007. At that point, new work instructions were written, additional quality inspection steps were introduced and
employees were either reassigned or retrained to reduce the likelihood of such lapses in quality from occurring.

Upon receiving the units subject to this Inspection Notice, our QA department met with department supervisors and
upper level management to review those steps, ensure that they were being followed and met with all employees to
reinforce the importance of maintaining quality control. Although we were not aware of this specific issue at the time, we are confident that the upgrades we instituted last spring closed the opportunity for it to occur any longer. Thanks to the new procedures and retraining, no units built since that time are believed to exhibit this characteristic.

We have no reason to suspect that this is a widespread or repeated problem, but we’re issuing an inspection notice to the climbing community so that climbers may inspect their Link Cams to ensure that their cams meet proper specifications. Of course, we will be happy to inspect cams for anyone should they wish to send them to us for analysis. However, a very simple visual examination as described below is adequate to determine whether this problem exists with any Link Cam. The inspection should be made on either #1 or #2 Link Cams, regardless of lot number or date of manufacture. We request that anyone with cams that fail the exam immediately contact us. Should we become aware that this is a larger problem, we will respond accordingly.

It should be noted that no accident occurred nor any injuries suffered as a result of this incident.

To determine if your Link Cam should be sent back for repair or replacement:

1) Identify the side of the cam with the nut.

2) Identify whether the axle is “peened” or “mushroomed” over the round nut.

3) Apply some counter-clockwise force to the nut and attempt to remove it from the axle. I t should not
rotate. Some very minor movement may be within specification, but you should NOT be able to rotate the
nut more than a few degrees.

I f your cams fail this examination - or if you are in doubt of the results for any reason - we request that you contact us at 1-800-360-3990 to arrange for the return of your cam(s). We will repair or replace them as necessary.

We apologize for this inconvenience. Please feel free to contact us for any additional information.

Link Cam Inspection Notice & Update
June 13, 2007

Omega Pacific is requesting that Link Cam owners inspect their Link Cams for two potential defects recently discovered. As of this posting, the incidents are extremely rare and are not considered widespread, but we feel that it is in the best interest of climbers’ safety to inform the climbing community of the potential for the problem. Should any Link Cam owner wish for us to perform the inspection, we will be happy to do so. Please contact us for information how to prepare the return.

In April, we were informed of a situation in which key components of a Link Cam became disassembled after use in the field. Upon receiving the unit back from the climber, our Quality Assurance department immediately launched an investigation to determine the cause and to recommend any appropriate upgrades to our production or quality management processes.

Our QA inspectors have determined the cause was an improper rivet in the link assembly during the assembly process. Prior to this incident, we preassembled the links into lobes, riveted them and then moved them into the assembly station. In this instance, one was not riveted but was included in the move to the new station. The QC inspection of the completed cams did not catch the problem. Therefore, we’ve initiated a new inspection procedure of all links/lobes BEFORE they are moved to final assembly. As well, all persons participating in the final QC inspection have been retrained to look for this issue on every single unit.

We have no reason to suspect that this is a widespread or repeated problem, but are issuing an inspection notice to the climbing community so that climbers may inspect their Link Cams to ensure that their cams meet proper specifications. Of course, we will be happy to inspect cams for anyone should they wish to send them to us for analysis. However, a very simple test as described below is adequate to determine whether this problem exists with any Link Cam. The test may be applied to either #1 or #2 Link Cams. We request that anyone with cams that fail this test immediately contact us. Should we become aware that this is a larger problem, we will respond accordingly.

It should be noted that no accident occurred nor any injuries suffered as a result of this incident.

To confirm proper riveting on your Link Cams, follow these steps:

1) Visually inspect each of four rivets per Link Cam—there is one rivet per link assembly—that connect the gray links to the anodized link. The photo below shows the location of a proper rivet. Note that the rivet head is rounded and peened over as per specifications.

2) A defective rivet will be visually recognizable by the pristine, sharp edges at its crown.

3) Simply pushing against the rivet from the interior side of the linkage will easily force the rivet from its placement. Please notify us immediately if any cam you inspect exhibits this behavior.

During the course of the inspection, we subsequently discovered three units which have a small fissure in the steel linkage of the cam lobes.

As unlikely as it sounds, destruct-testing of these units revealed that the defect does NOT reduce the overall strength of the units. In fact, the units we tested failed ABOVE rating. However, since the goods, obviously, do not conform to our specifications, we would like any units with this defect returned for replacement under warranty.

The steps necessary to prevent this from recurring have been initiated in response to the first issue. We have used this experience to upgrade our inspection policies and practices as well as to improve the materials flow during production.

We take pride in our excellent quality control record and do everything we can to prevent issues like this from occurring. However, the climbing community and our customers can count on us to respond in a prompt, professional manner whenever quality problems do arise. Should there be more action required on our part in response to this inspection notice, we will alert the climbing community.

Please contact us with any questions or comments. We can be reached at 800.360.3990 or [email protected].

Michael Lane
Sales & Marketing Director
[email protected]
800.360.3990 toll-free
509.456.0170 international

Notice of Voluntary Recall
September 23, 2005

Airway Heights, WA – In cooperation with the US Consumer Product Safety Commision (CPSC), Omega Pacific is voluntary recalling a small percentage of Five-O Screwgate locking carabiners built between November and December of 2004.

Carabiners affected by this recall can be potentially opened under moderate loads even when properly locked and must be returned for replacement.

Only carabiners marked with the lot stamp “VT” are affected. The lot number can be found on the backside of the spine and is clearly identified. Do not return any lots other than “VT” as no other lots are subject to this issue. No other models are affected. Only Five-O locking carabiners with the lot stamp “VT” (as displayed) are considered under this action.

Please do not return carabiners to retailers. Instead, please ship any affected carabiners directly to Omega Pacific. Please mark all packages with “Attn: Warranty Returns, RA 728.” Be sure to include your name and shipping address where we can deliver a replacement Five-O locking carabiner.

All returns or inquiries can be directed to:

Omega Pacific Customer Service
11427 W. 21st Avenue
Airway Heights, WA 99001
Attn: Warranty Returns, RA 728

If you have any questions, please call us at 800-360-3990 or email at [email protected]

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this may cause.

--Omega Pacific, Inc.