GTHI Recalls Climbing Belay Devices Due to Fall and Injury Hazards
Home product recall 17-176. Announced by CPSC on Jun 13, 2017.
- CPSC: stop using it
Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. CPSC’s own notice is on cpsc.gov.
The short answer
Announced by CPSC on Jun 13, 2017. Copied from CPSC on Oct 19, 2026.
- Stop using it what CPSC tells owners to do now (needs attention)
- Replace what’s offered
- About 2,600 (in addition, about 100 were sold in Canada) units, as CPSC gives them
- None injuries, CPSC’s notice says
Every line below is in CPSC’s own words, with its source beside it.
What’s wrong with it?
The handle on the Vergo belay device can loosen and cause the device’s assisted braking capacity to malfunction, posing fall and injury hazards to climbers.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
What should you do?
Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled devices and contact Trango for instructions on receiving a free replacement.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
- What the company offers to fix a recalled product or vehicle: a repair, a replacement or a refund, as the recall notice says. For a vehicle, dealers make the safety repair free. Follow the notice’s own steps, or contact the company it names. Source: CPSC; NHTSA (49 U.S.C. 30120).: replace.
- How to reach the firm: Trango email at vergorecall@trango.com, or call 800-860-3653 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. MT, Monday through Friday, or online at www.trango.com and click on “Product Alerts” for more information.
Which ones are recalled?
This recall involves Trango Vergo belay devices with batch numbers 16159 and 16195 printed on the side of the unit. The devices were sold in blue, gold, or purple and feature the word “VERGO” on the front plate of the unit. Belay devices are used with climbing ropes to protect the climber while climbing, to arrest a fall or while being lowered on the rope.
About 2,600 (in addition, about 100 were sold in Canada) units, as CPSC gives them.
Vergo belay devices (climbing tool).
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
CPSC’s photos
CPSC shows 3 photos on its notice. Hearth Record doesn’t copy them; each opens on cpsc.gov.
Who made and sold it?
- Distributed by Great Trango Holdings Inc. (GTHI), Lafayette, Colo.
- Authorized GTHI dealers and outdoor specialty stores nationwide and online at www.trango.com from October 2016 through April 2017 for about $90.
- Made in United States, as the notice gives it.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
Was anyone hurt?
The firm has received three reports of the belay device’s handle over-rotating and braking malfunction. No injuries have been reported.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
What the record doesn’t say
- The notice lists no UPCs, so check the model, the description and the photos.
- The notice lists no model numbers in a field of their own; its description may give them.
- How many have been returned or fixed isn’t in the notice.
Hearth Record wrote these lines.
Sources
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U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Recalls API.
Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily. Public domain (U.S. Government work). CPSC asks to be credited, and that no endorsement be implied.
Recalls of kids’ and home products are from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). CPSC does not endorse Hearth Record. Copied on Oct 19, 2026.