Petzl America Recalls Nomic and Ergonomic Ice Climbing Axes Due to Fall Hazard; Risk of Serious Injury or Death

Hazard

The ice axe shaft can break at the handle during use, posing a fall hazard, which can result in serious injury or death.

Remedy

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled ice axes and contact Petzl America for a free repair kit. Consumers should register at https://www.petzl.com/US/en/Sport/Contact?request=product-recall to request a pre-paid shipping label to return the shaft. Petzl America will send a repair kit with a new shaft, hardware for the grip rest and assembly instructions.

Repair

Incidents & injuries

The firm has received 26 reports of the ice axe shafts breaking at the handle. No injuries have been reported.

Product description

This recall involves the Petzl Nomic ice climbing axes (model U021AA00, serial numbers 17L 0000000 000 to 20F 9999999 999) and Ergonomic ice climbing axes (model U022AA00, serial numbers 18F 0000000 000 to 21L 9999999 999). The axes are made from an aluminum shaft, steel pick and reinforced plastic grip. Nomic axes are black and Ergonomic axes are orange. The serial number for both models is printed on a label on the upper portion of the shaft.

Sold on

REI, Moosejaw Mountaineering and other specialty stores nationwide and online at petzl.com, REI.com and Backcountry.com from December 2017 through March 2022 for between $380 and $440.

Contact the company

Petzl America toll-free at 877-807-3805 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. MT Monday through Friday, email at [email protected], or online at https://qr.petzl.com/a/recall-nomic and click on "Safety Recall" at the top of the page for more information.