Grivel closes shop. :-(

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SherpaKroto said:
Like losing an old friend. Those G10's have left quite an imprint out there (pun intended). Could this be a case of a product being too good? Mine never failed me.
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They claim it's a matter of the Euro/dollar exchange rate - it makes their product way more expensive than it ought to be.
 
They did make great gear, and will be missed. I havent found any crampon that could be adjusted from winter boots to trail runners.
 
Guess I'm gonna have to start making my own crampons now... Let's see here, on my desk I've got some glue, tape, a few sharpened #2 pencils, paper clips; I should be able to whip something up. Anyone want to be the first to test drive them?

-Dr. Wu
 
dr_wu002 said:
Guess I'm gonna have to start making my own crampons now... Let's see here, on my desk I've got some glue, tape, a few sharpened #2 pencils, paper clips; I should be able to whip something up. Anyone want to be the first to test drive them?

-Dr. Wu
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Can I wait until after the first ice storm?

BTW - MountainGear.com appears to be having the best sale on Grivel...G10's are $114 right now.
 
I'm sure that it's only a matter of time before another North American distributor is named.
 
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kaseri said:
I'm sure that it's only a matter of time before another North American distributor is named.
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I don't think so - this looks like the same situation as when Renault pulled out of the US...it doesn't make sense for them to do business here anymore. I'd bet with the exchange rate, they're losing money hand over fist...

OTOH it could justify a trip to Italy to find them!
 
So if the US dollar is the problem, why not keep a Canadian presence?

Well, given the magic of the Internet I'd like to think we'll still be able to buy their products online, just with extra shipping costs. Hopefully.
 
holy crap. thanks for the heads-up. i'll be buying me a pair of grivel climbing crampons if i can get them for much cheaper.

anyone own the rambo 4 cramp-o-matics?
 
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MichaelJ said:
So if the US dollar is the problem, why not keep a Canadian presence?

Well, given the magic of the Internet I'd like to think we'll still be able to buy their products online, just with extra shipping costs. Hopefully.
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Michael -

I can answer that (since I deal with running offices overseas and know the issues all too well).

Their physical office is in the US, and they likely pay their employees in US dollars...for a while that was cheap, but it's changing rapidly. Also, if they sent any Italian ex-pat's here to run the business, they're probably getting a cost of living allowance. it might be OK to move to Canada, but then there's the expense of the move itself, and it still doesn't help with the exchange since we're near parity with the CanDol now.

I would expect we'll see a lot more of this to come...especially from niche market players like this. Sad, but one of the inevitabilities of the global economy.
 
This is unfortunate but not surprising. The Outdoor retail world is a Dog eat Dog realm. Chances are they will reemerge under a different name/distributor.
 
I'm slightly bummed, but I was actually planning on selling my G14s anyway and getting myself another pair of the new, fixed Petzl Sarkens... I prefer my Petzl M10s better for ice climbing.

It's a bummer for people looking for replacement parts and service (not impossible, just a lot more expensive), but honestly, there are crampons out there from the other major players which work just as well. I guess the way that the customer loses is now there is one less crampon toe wire bail design to try to fit your particular toe bail. I guess the only case where others can't compete is in the rigid crampon line.

leaf said:
holy crap. thanks for the heads-up. i'll be buying me a pair of grivel climbing crampons if i can get them for much cheaper.

anyone own the rambo 4 cramp-o-matics?
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No, but know only a few hardcores who owned them... but the same hardcores are now climbing WI6 M6 with horizontal frontpoints... IMO too stiff for anything other than vertical ice... there are better more universal options out there, like my G14s ;)
 
cbcbd said:
No, but know only a few hardcores who owned them... but the same hardcores are now climbing WI6 M6 with horizontal frontpoints... IMO too stiff for anything other than vertical ice... there are better more universal options out there, like my G14s ;)
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sold! :cool:
 
Worst case scenario... I'll have to buy Petzl crampons next time.
 
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