02/02/2010Dragons to be Unveiled at ISPO

DMM will be unveiling the first set of pre-production fully working Dragon cams in all their glory at the International Trade Fair for Sports Equipment and Fashion (ISPO) when it opens on Sunday 7th February.

Prototypes of the eagerly awaited Dragons were first shown at the European Outdoor Trade Fair last July in Friedrichshafen (previous news). Since then several changes have been made as the design has evolved alongside testing. There will be a full item about the Dragons in the near future and they should be available from early March onwards.

The main change involves the extendable 8mm dyneema sling because this was cutting through the wire stem loop at high loads. The DMM designers came up with an elegant solution that involved forging a 7075 aluminium thumb grip that has a large, concave surface for a secure and stable grip. The termination is very strong in every orientation and allows the units to be rated at 14kN with the sling in both extended and doubled positions.

The cams are using a constant 13.75 degree cam angle and relatively stiff cam lobe springs to maximise the security of placements in low friction rock or flared cracks.

DMM's Brand and Export Sales Manager Chris Rowlands will be heading out to Munich this week to set the stand up ahead of the rest of the team. In between packing, Chris said: "ISPO is an important venue for catching up with our world-wide distributors as well as U.K. retailers that have made the journey. Anyone at the show is welcome to call-by and meet the Dragons. We'll be in Hall B5, stand 321."

Chris added: "Other important new products that will be on the stand are the Puma, our first female dedicated climbing harness, and Aero screw-gates, entry-level hot-forged biners. Crux will also be alongside us on the stand."

German Sales Manager, Ben Slack, has had his hair cut especially for the occasion and will be easy to spot at ISPO. Also at the show will be Simon Marsh (Climbing Products Manager), Sam Brown (UK Sales Rep), Elliot Tanner (Design Engineer), Graham Desroy (Product Development) and Jude Spancken (Sales Rep/DMM Climbing Team).

Photo: The new range of Dragon Cams