In 1989, Chouinard Equipment was facing a liability lawsuit. Chouinard had to separate the liability of Chouinard Equipment from the deep pockets of Patagonia, which he had founded in 1973. Chouinard Equipment filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to protect the firm's assets. The lawsuit ultimately went nowhere. Peter Metcalf, Maria Cranor and former Chouinard Equipment employees purchased the company assets in 1989, formed Black Diamond Equipment Ltd., and moved the firm to Salt Lake City Utah.
Initially Black Diamond continued using the "C-inside-a-diamond" logo inherited from Chouinard Equipment. Over time, this logo evolved into the current "cut diamond" design. The exact year of this transition isn't precisely documented, discussions among climbers suggest that the new logo was introduced around the year 2000. Archived web pages show that the cut diamond was in use by the beginning of 2000, but the 2000 summer catalog still contains the older logo.
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↑ 428: Black Diamond HT
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↑ 423: Black Diamond Nut Tool
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↑ 438: Black Diamond Nut Tool
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↑ 422: Black Diamond Nut Tool
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↑ 087: Black Diamond Nut Tool
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↑ 088: Black Diamond Wiregate
Black Diamond's First Shot is a complex tool that can inspire both love it and hate it opinions. It provides an Abalakov hooker, a small saw, and ice screw guides for drilling Abalakov V-slot anchors, all of which fold into a compact package. Mine does not open smoothly (especially when cold, which goes with ice climbing), and opening it while wearing winter gloves is difficult. The hooker is easily bent, and if bent, it must be straightened before it can be stowed. The saw is sharp and ideally placed to cut ones glove fingers. I'm not sure what I will be sawing while ice climbing – maybe some webbing(?), hopefully not the rope. The screw guides are nice if the ice surface is flat, but nearly useless on bulging ice. Since one needs to be able to drill V-slot holes by eye in case one drops the First Shot, the guides become luxury items. My preference is to carry a simple wire hooker instead.
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↑ 101: Black Diamond First Shot