Outside Awards BD’s Infinity 50 Pack with Gear of the Year

Black Diamond Equipment Ltd., a global leader in climbing, skiing and backcountry gear, is proud to announce the Infinity 50, from their innovative Enduro Series of packs, was awarded a 2010 Gear of the Year from Outside Magazine. Outside Magazine’s summer 2010 winners of the Gear of the Year awards, featured in the Outside Spring/Summer Buyer’s Guide, is now on newsstands.

“This is incredible news,” says Nathan Kuder, Black Diamond’s Softgoods Category Director. “Our experience with climbing hardware design truly gives us a unique perspective from which we approach pack design. We started from scratch with our goal being to develop a line of packs to both support weight and provide a similar level of freedom of movement. Our athletes tested the Launch and Enduro Series of packs for over 18 months before their release – in all elements, all terrain and all conditions. Designed with our ergoACTIV suspension, we feel the Infinity is unrivaled in real-world comfort featuring unrestricted motion, a customizable fit and sleek and streamlined features. It is very rewarding to receive this accolade from Outside.”

After some six months of field-testing literally thousands of products, the Outside 2010 Spring/Summer Buyer’s Guide features its staff’s 315 favorite products. All told, Outside’s testers and editors spent several months testing this year’s top sleeping bags, tents, shells, trail shoes and packs in more than a dozen states. Their Boulder, Colorado–based trail and road-running team logged several hundred miles both on and off-road, while their team of 20-plus pro and amateur racers once hammered 50 road and mountain bikes during our week-long test in Tucson, Arizona.

Riding a wave of momentum in 2010, Black Diamond’s new spring pack line has also been recognized by Backpacker Magazine (“All Day Comfort”), National Geographic Adventure (“Best of Adventure Gear”) as well as a Top Gear award from Canada’s Explore magazine. Specifically from Black Diamond’s Launch Series, the technical day-hiker pack, the Octane, earned international recognition from China’s Outside magazine as a “Gear of the Year” recipient.

Winner of the Outside magazine 2010 Gear of the Year for the Justice ski, Black Diamond Equipment Ltd. is an employee-owned manufacturer of equipment for rock climbing, alpinism and freeride skiing. By consistently building innovative, standard-setting products and actively preserving the mountain environment, Black Diamond has assumed a leadership role in the international outdoor community. For more information on Black Diamond visit www.blackdiamondequipment.com.