Emily and Zach allegedly bought a dynamic Black Diamond rope from Dicks Sporting Goods and what showed up was authentic packaging but not a Black Diamond rope. The rope that they received is likely a static rope from Ali Express which may not be properly certified and is the wrong type of rope to take climbing falls onto. Even if the rope is super good enough, they could have got really injured using this rope in a sport climbing context. Dicks Sporting Goods is an authorized retailer for Black Diamond so it's pretty strange how this happened.
Behind the Scenes
I had to dance around this as carefully as I could to not get sued. "How could Dicks sue you" you may ask. They could claim defamation of their brand and stick me with false facts like another company tried to do once. This channel doesn't always shine the best light on products - #hownottogetsponsored - But I think that is what makes this unique. Being independent gives me a lot of freedom to just test things that I am naturally curious about or honestly review things. So I treated this more of a news report and over used the word allegedly in order to be just the messenger boy. I also think a title with allegedly in it peaks curiosity more. I also made more of the focus of this video about the ropes on ali express which is where the rope clearly came from.
After Post Thoughts
I think the general consensus is it was a dirty return. Black Diamond authorized retailers are not suppose to resell life supporting climbing gear so if it was a dirty return, Dicks is still in the wrong! And I want to make sure everyone understands, even though I don't like no brand name ali express ropes, I don't think they will break dangerously low. A handful of my videos was an ali express rope I did slacksnap tests on because someone sent it to me and it was my only spare rope and it was super good enough for the tests I was doing since the rope wasn't the focus of the test. BUT THE PROBLEM IS it is a static rope and falling on that could really hurt someone. What do you think? Leave your comment in the video's comment section on youtube.
We broke these carabiners that are popping up everywhere, yikes!
