We have a new supplier out of Japan that carries a wide variety of interesting chain, links and hooks. We're bring the items in slowly to gauge the interest of our customers. The first product to arrive is this line of Square Links -- a series of quick links, square in shape with two parallel knurled edges.
We're proud to carry the selection of titanium products that we do -- and we love titanium -- it doesn't corrode and is lightweight. What we don't love is the fact that it's expensive and hard to get.
We've used two US-based distributors. The first one dropped out of the titanium business because the manufacturer, while they make beautiful, high-quality products, were slow to deliver and it was hard to keep quantities in stock.
The second distributor has been super tenacious about buying the stock and keeping quantities on hand... until now.
What's changed? Worldwide demand for titanium has skyrocketed, and while it's not a precious metal, it is slightly rare. The mills had traditionally been set up to work with grades that were a perfect fit for our parts. Now they are gearing up for large orders from US and British-based Aircraft manufacturers and the Chinese to satisfy their building boom.
Consequently the mills have all converted to types that produce a much higher grade and by extension a much more expensive grade of titanium (there are over 20 grades of ti). The Titanium in the correct grade is not presently available in large quantities worldwide and because if this the parts would be totally cost prohibitive, so they're just not making the parts for us. Well, they are -- but the lead times are upwards of six months and the quantities required for an order with reasonable rates are huge.
So what does this all mean? Hang in there. We may have stock and we may not. We're trying to keep the site reasonably up to date. If you are trying to buy large quanities, let us know before placing the order and let us confirm that we can provide you what you need.
On a happy note, we've recently discovered some close-out stock. We'll be adding these items to the site and passing on the savings to you -- check the Ti page for an indication of what we have on hand.
We've added, with the help of Wikipedia, a guide to the fantastic properties of Titanium.
Quick facts:
Introducing the LightCap.This isn't a Nalgene bottle, although it looks similar (and it's only 4.5 oz heavier than a Nalgene). This Polycarbonate bottle has a cap with an embedded solar panel, charging system, sealed Ni-Cad battery and a white and red LED light. Clip this to your pack, or leave it in the sun by day, and at night you have a lantern for use in your tent or around camp. The panel also has a daylight sensor, which prevents the light from running while the panel is actively charging. The red led on a full charge will run 16-18 hours, and the white LED will run 8-10 hours. We've tested these, and on a dark night they are decent task lighting. You might be able to read by the light given off, but our aging eye grew tired. Neat-o product and not gimmicky at all.
The next product in the Japanese line came in -- it's a Mini Gate Snap -- it's a smaller version of our popular Gate Snap. This is a handsome clip, with about the same strength and durability of the Mini-clip is just slightly smaller at 32mm vs. the Mini-clips 34mm.
We've added a new item to our Tie Down systems collection -- ShockStraps. These guys are a very useful tool for those that need to strap items to a car-top rack. They're especially useful for use with items that you want some flex associated with the tie-down such as kayaks and surf boards. They tie down snuggly, but leave flex for when the items catch air, They gently give, without adding undue stress to the item being secured. The loose end of the strap (always a problem – what do you do with it all???) can be gathered under the unique bungie/cord lock (attached) so it won’t go flapping in the wind.
The ShockStrap will reach up to 5', has a 600 lbs. test carabiner on each end, and will cinch down your load quickly, easily and securely no matter how bumpy the road. The ShockStrap is adjustable from 24" to 60". Just wrap the bungied end of the ShockStrap around any rack (or simply clip it to a D-ring or hook the end of the carabiner to any edge), throw it over your load and clip the other end back around itself.
The ShockStrap is strong (all parts rated to at least 300 lbs.) and goes onto any roof rack or bar system with ease, no matter how big.
This page contains all entries posted to BerkeleyPoint: News in September 2006. They are listed from oldest to newest.
March 2007 is the next archive.
Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.