Thirty-five brand guides to climbing gear — ropes, hardware, rock shoes, harnesses and the bouldering brands.
Climbing gear is made by a few old metalworking houses and many specialists. These guides set out who owns each brand and where it is made.
Old houses
Grivel, founded in Courmayeur in 1818, is described as alpinism’s oldest; Edelrid, an 1863 German braider that invented the kernmantle rope, is part of VAUDE; CAMP has been a Premana family metalworker since 1889 and owns Cassin; and Kong traces its Bonaiti roots to 1830. Petzl, maker of the GriGri, is family-owned and makes in France, and DMM is described as the only climbing-hardware manufacturer in the UK.
Owners
Black Diamond is a Clarus brand; Five Ten has been an adidas brand since 2011; Simond is Decathlon’s climbing brand; and Wild Country and Salewa belong to the Oberalp Group.
How to use these guides
Each guide covers who owns the name today, where the products are made — by the maker’s own account and, where it differs, by other sources — and the brand’s visual identity. A company’s description of itself is attributed to the company, and where a business has closed we say so plainly. The table at the end gathers the essentials.
Climbing and mountaineering
Grivel, Edelrid, Petzl, Boreal, DMM, Black Diamond and Sterling.
- Grivel — The 1818 Courmayeur ice-axe maker, alpinism’s oldest, forged in Italy’s Aosta Valley.
- Edelrid — The 1863 German braider that invented the kernmantle rope, made in Isny, part of VAUDE.
- Petzl — The family-owned French maker of the GriGri belay and the headlamp, made in France.
- Boreal — The Spanish climbing-shoe maker whose Firé pioneered sticky rubber, from Villena.
- DMM — The Llanberis hardware maker, the only climbing-hardware manufacturer in the UK.
- Black Diamond — The Camalot maker built from Chouinard Equipment, a Clarus brand from Utah.
- Sterling — The Maine rope maker, life-safety ropes made in the USA and Canada since 1992.
Ropes and rock shoes
Beal, Blue Water, Five Ten, Tenaya, Tendon, Butora and Unparallel.
- Beal — The 1951 Vienne rope house of Unicore, family-run, made in France and Madagascar.
- Blue Water — The family-owned Georgia rope maker, American-made ropes since about 1969.
- Five Ten — The 1985 California maker of Stealth rubber, an adidas brand since 2011.
- Tenaya — The 1997 Spanish rock-shoe specialist from Yecla, independent and made in Spain.
- Tendon — The Lanex climbing-rope brand, braided in the Czech Republic, part of BR Group.
- Butora — The Korean rock-shoe maker with dual-fit shoes and its own NEO rubber, since 2015.
- Unparallel — The California rock-shoe brand from the former Five Ten team, rubber milled in California.
Hardware
Simond, CAMP, Wild Country, Kong, Metolius, Trango and Fixe.
- Simond — The mid-1800s Chamonix ice-axe maker, now Decathlon’s climbing brand.
- CAMP — The 1889 Premana family metalworkers, Italian mountaineering hardware, owner of Cassin.
- Wild Country — The Peak District house that brought the Friend to market, now owned by Oberalp.
- Kong — The Lecco carabiner maker, Bonaiti roots to 1830, family-owned and made in Italy.
- Metolius — The climber-owned Bend, Oregon maker of cams and holds, since 1983.
- Trango — The 1991 Lafayette, Colorado maker of Big Bro and climbing holds, designed in the USA.
- Fixe — The Catalan bolt-and-anchor specialist, the fixed hardware that holds sport-climbing crags.
Harnesses and packs
Salewa, Misty Mountain, Singing Rock, Ocún, CiloGear, Blue Ice and Hyperlite.
- Salewa — The 1935 Munich alpine house, flagship of the Oberalp Group, sibling to Wild Country.
- Misty Mountain — The 1985 harness specialist that sews every harness in Valle Crucis, North Carolina.
- Singing Rock — The 1992 Czech harness maker, sewing and forging its gear across the Czech Republic.
- Ocún — The 1998 Czech climbing brand of harnesses, shoes and the early boulder mat.
- CiloGear — The cult alpine-pack maker whose WorkSacks are sewn in Portland, Oregon.
- Blue Ice — The Chamonix ultralight-alpine brand behind the sub-150-gram Choucas harness.
- Hyperlite Mountain Gear — The 2009 Maine maker of white Dyneema ultralight packs and shelters.
Bouldering and training
Snap, Moon, Organic Climbing, Beastmaker, 8BPLUS, Friction Labs and Tension.
- Snap — The 1990s Chamonix bouldering brand of crash pads and apparel, now part of the Arkose group.
- Moon — The Sheffield bouldering brand of climbing legend Ben Moon, and the standardized MoonBoard.
- Organic Climbing — The handmade, colourful crash pads and chalk bags sewn in Pennsylvania.
- Beastmaker — The iconic wooden training fingerboard, made in the UK since 2007.
- 8BPLUS — The Alpine-rooted climbing brand of characterful named chalk bags, named for the 8b+ grade.
- Friction Labs — The 2013 Denver maker that turned climbing chalk into a premium, made-in-USA product.
- Tension — The 2015 Denver maker of the standardized Tension Board and wooden holds, made in Denver.
At a glance: who owns the name and where it is made
Taken from each guide’s fact panel, as of October 2026. Ownership and production change; follow the link for sources and detail.
| Brand | Founded | Owner | Where made |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8BPLUS | Alpine (the 8b+ grade) | Undisclosed | Offshore |
| Beal | 1951 (Vienne) | Beal family | France + Madagascar |
| Beastmaker | 2007 (Sheffield) | Independent | UK |
| Black Diamond | 1989 (Utah) | Clarus Corp | USA & China |
| Blue Ice | ~2008 (Chamonix) | Founder-led | Undisclosed |
| Blue Water | ~1969 (Georgia) | Family-owned | USA (Georgia) |
| Boreal | 1970s (Villena) | Privately held | Spain (heritage) |
| Butora | 2015 (Korea) | Founder-led | Korea (reported) |
| CAMP | 1889 (Premana) | Codega family | Italy |
| CiloGear | ~2006 (Portland) | Independent | USA (Portland) |
| DMM | 1981 (Wales) | Independent | Wales (UK) |
| Edelrid | 1863 (Isny) | VAUDE Group | Germany (ropes) |
| Five Ten | 1985 (California) | adidas | Offshore |
| Fixe | Catalonia (Spain) | Privately held | Spain (implied) |
| Friction Labs | 2013 (Denver) | Privately held | USA (Denver) |
| Grivel | 1818 (Courmayeur) | Gobbi family | Italy (Aosta) |
| Hyperlite Mountain Gear | 2009 (Maine) | Founder-led | Maine + Mexico |
| Kong | 1977 (roots 1830) (Lecco) | Bonaiti family | Italy |
| Metolius | 1983 (Bend, OR) | Climber-owned | USA (cams/holds) |
| Misty Mountain | 1985 (North Carolina) | Independent | USA (NC) |
| Moon | ~2002 (Sheffield) | Founder-led | Designed UK |
| Ocún | 1998 (Czechia) | RP Climbing | Undisclosed |
| Organic Climbing | early 2000s (Pennsylvania) | Independent | USA (PA) |
| Petzl | 1970s (Crolles) | Petzl family | France |
| Salewa | 1935 (Munich) | Oberalp Group | Global |
| Simond | mid-1800s (Chamonix) | Decathlon | France + global |
| Singing Rock | 1992 (Poniklá) | Independent | Czech Republic |
| Snap | ~1996 (Chamonix) | Arkose group | French brand |
| Sterling | 1992 (Maine) | Privately held | USA & Canada |
| Tenaya | 1997 (Yecla) | Independent | Spain |
| Tendon | ~2000s (Czechia) | Lanex / BR Group | Czech Republic |
| Tension | 2015 (Denver) | Independent | USA (Denver) |
| Trango | 1991 (Colorado) | Independent | Offshore |
| Unparallel | ~2017 (California) | Independent | CA rubber + Asia |
| Wild Country | 1977 (Peak District) | Oberalp | China + UK (superlight) |
Frequently asked questions
Who owns Five Ten?
adidas, since 2011, according to our guide.
Who invented the kernmantle rope?
Edelrid, according to our guide.
See also our camping gear brand guidelines.
Part of our Sports & Outdoors brand guidelines. See also all collections.