Seattle Manufacturing Corporation Recalls Ice Axes Due to Serious Injury and Fall Hazards
Home product recall 19-180. Announced by CPSC on Aug 7, 2019.
- 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 Aug 7, 2019. Copied from CPSC on Oct 19, 2026.
- Stop using it what CPSC tells owners to do now (needs attention)
- Refund what’s offered
- About 165 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 spike and/or head of the ice axe can detach from the handle during use, posing serious injury and fall hazards to the climber.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
What should you do?
Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled ice axes and return them to Seattle Manufacturing Corporation (SMC) for a full refund. SMC is contacting all known purchasers directly.
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).: refund.
- How to reach the firm: SMC at 800-426-6251 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. PT Monday through Friday, email customerservice@smcgear.com or online at www.smcgear.com and click on “recall notifications” for more information.
Which ones are recalled?
This recall involves Kobah Ice Axes of lengths 60, 65, 70 and 75 centimeters. The axes each have a steel pick and adze joined at the top of an orange aluminum handle shaft by a black polyamide resin head. There is a steel spike in the bottom of the handle shaft. “Kobah,” “SMC” and Manufacturer’s Lot Number (MLN) 10864 are printed on the handle shaft.
About 165 units, as CPSC gives them.
Kobah Ice Axes.
CPSC, Recalls API. Checked Oct 19, 2026. Updated daily.
CPSC’s photos
CPSC shows 2 photos on its notice. Hearth Record doesn’t copy them; each opens on cpsc.gov.
Who made and sold it?
- Distributed by Seattle Manufacturing Corporation (SMC), Ferndale, Washington.
- Specialty climbing shops along the West coast and online at www.smcgear.com from March 2019 through June 2019 for about $100.
- 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 one report of the axe’s spike detaching from the handle. 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
-
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.