Product Recall: Snowboard Bindings

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Name of product: Snowboard Bindings Continue reading Product Recall: Snowboard Bindings

CPSC Recall: Bicycle Brake Cables for Road Bikes

This week The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada announced a voluntary recall of Bicycle Brake Cables for Road Bikes from W.L. Gore & Associates.

This recall involves GORE Ride On Low Friction System brake cables for road bikes and GORE Ride On Professional System brake cables for road bikes. The cables are silver and are available with housings in black, white, blue or red. “GORE Ride-On” is printed on the housing for the Low Friction cable. “GORE Ride-On Professional” is printed on the housing for the Professional System cables. The cables are being recalled only if they were installed on road bikes that use a Campagnolo-style brake lever. The ends, or attachment heads, on the Campagnolo systems have the letters “C” “CC,” or “RO” imprinted on them. Continue reading CPSC Recall: Bicycle Brake Cables for Road Bikes

Product Recall: Joss Rock Climbing Cam Units Recalled by Sierra Trading Post Due to a Fall Hazard

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Name of Product: Joss rock climbing cam Units: About 1,280Importer: Sierra Trading Post, of Cheyenne, Wy.Manufacturer: Cassin Sri, of ItalyHazard: The recalled cams can fail unexpectedly after being set, posing a fall hazard.Incidents: One incident reported in Europe. No deaths or injuries reported in the U.S. Continue reading Product Recall: Joss Rock Climbing Cam Units Recalled by Sierra Trading Post Due to a Fall Hazard

Safety First! Product Recalls by the CPSC

Occasionally we highlight product recalls from manufacturers due to defects in design or incorrect material specifications that can lead to injury or death. Often these recalls circulate around the internet for a while and the end user of the defective item might never find out about the deficiency in the product until it is too late. A manufacturer does not have to wait to be notified by the government agency in charge of overseeing consumer safety with regards to a defective products and can imitated a recall on their own; but they always partner with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) during the recall.

The CPSC has one purpose – for over 30 years they have been “protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction.” This is a fairly simple mission, but it can be difficult to get the word out about a defective product especially if the number of items that were manufactured is small. For example, one recall that was just announced was from C.O. Lynch was only for 5,200 units sold as Itasca Fusion Hiker boots  by Big 5 Sports from March 2011 and June 2011. This is a small window of time and a small number of units – this certainly will not make the evening news.

As with a lot of things in life, you have to seek out the information it will not magically appear for you. The CPSC does make searching and reporting of defective products easier for consumers. For about five months now, the website SaferProducts.gov has been up and running providing consumers with a searchable database of all products under the jurisdiction of the CPSC. Continue reading Safety First! Product Recalls by the CPSC

Recall: Magicshine Lights… So Hot, They’re Smokin’

Back in October 2010, Datseplots Inc., DBA GeoManGear, received a consumer complaint regarding a lithium-ion battery for the Magicshine series of lights that are made in China and sold through GeoManGear in the U.S. The consumer reported that a small fire had occurred in the battery pack for his Magicshine light. Upon investigation, two other similar reports came in from other consumers that did not include bodily damage, but did include property damage. GeoManGear took these reports seriously and investigated. They found that there was an issue with some of the battery parks in the Magicshine Series I and II lithium-ion batteries sold with the Magicshine 900 Lumen (MJ-808), 1400 Lumen (MJ-816) and tail light (MJ-818); they immediately stopped production on the Magicshine lights and initiated a recall. Continue reading Recall: Magicshine Lights… So Hot, They’re Smokin’

Bell Recalls Helmets

This week the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, in cooperation with Bell Sports announced a voluntary recall of the Full-face bicycle helmets. The plastic buckle that connects the chin straps can fail, causing the helmet to come off the wearer’s head. This poses a head injury hazard to riders in the event of a fall. The firm has received one report of a buckle failing during an accident, resulting in an injury that required stitches below the wearer’s eye.

Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product. About 31,100 of these helmets were sold in the United States and about 2,500 were sold in Canada. The helmets were sold at Walmart stores nationwide and Amazon.com between August 2009 and March 2011 for between $50 and $60. Continue reading Bell Recalls Helmets