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. This photo shows the opposite side of the cam. This is the side of the axle with the nut. 2) Identify whether the axle is “peened” or “mushroomed” over the round nut. Correct: The axle-end is smooth and flatter. Incorrect: The axle-end is sharp and has concavity.     Correct: no threading from the axle should be seen. Incorrect: some threads may be visible beyond the 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. Two cams compared side-by-side 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 info@omegapac.com. Michael Lane Sales & Marketing Director info@omegapac.com 800.360.3990 toll-free 509.456.0170 international

Figure 1 Figure 2 June 7, 2002 It has come to our attention that Omega Pacific Jake Quik-Lok carabiners have recently been discovered which do not exhibit properly pinned gate rivets. Although the number of affected units is very small, we feel that it is important to notify the public and request that anyone who purchased a Jake Quik-Lok in the specified timeframe please inspect all their Jake Quik-Loks to determine if any need to be replaced. The affected lot bears the stamp "LD" on the spine of the frame (see figure 1) and any affected carabiners were shipped between February 15, 2002 and May 20, 2002. Please inspect any of your Jake Quik-Loks (other Jakes are unaffected by this notice) from that lot by pushing against the rivet as pictured below (figure 2). Pressure against the end of that rivet with even a simple ballpoint pen will reveal the problem. If affected, it will slide through the hinge hole and you will be able to completely remove the rivet, which permits the gate assembly to be removed from the frame. This simple procedure will determine if your Jakes need to be replaced. If your Jakes do exhibit this characteristic, please contact Omega Pacific for an immediate replacement. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Michael Lane, sales & marketing manager, at 800.360.3990 or info@omegapac.com.