Black Diamond Equipment Earns Top Honors for Fall

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 09, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Black Diamond Equipment, Ltd., a global innovator in climbing, skiing, mountain sports equipment and apparel, and a subsidiary of Black Diamond, Inc. (NASDAQ: BDE ), collected several industry and media awards at the recent Outdoor Retailer Winter Market and ISPO Munich tradeshows.

"Black Diamond Equipment is honored to have earned several recent industry accolades," said John Walbrecht, president of Black Diamond Equipment. " To be surrounded by our peers in the winter ski categories and to be recognized for the most exceptional products in our trade is something we take pride in as a category-leading brand and as an employer.”

At ISPO Munich 2017, which ended yesterday and is Europe’s largest tradeshow for the active lifestyle market, Black Diamond Equipment was recognized with an ISPO Gold Award in the gloves & headwear category for its new three-in-one glove system, the Helio Glove. The Helio Glove, designed for weight conscious ski mountaineers and alpinists, features an ultralight Dyneema ripstop shell with goat leather palm and fingers, powder cuffed with a one-hand drawcord closure.

At Outdoor Retailer Winter Market, which was held in January in Salt Lake City, Gear Patrol awarded Black Diamond Equipment’s Boundary Pro 107 ski with an Editor’s Choice Award, which showcases the best gear from the show. The Boundary Pro 107 was one of only 14 products recognized and the only ski in the category.

The full lineup of Outdoor Retailer Winter Market and ISPO Munich 2017 awards is included below:

• Outside magazine “Gear of the Show” – Fritschi Tecton 12 AT binding
• GearJunkie.com “Best in Show” – Fritschi Tecton 12 AT binding
• TheManual.com “Best of Show” – Fritschi Tecton 12 AT binding
• Gear Patrol “Editor’s Choice” – Boundary Pro 107 ski
• ISPO Gold Award – Helio Glove

Fritschi’s Tecton 12 was awarded “Gear of the Show” by Outside magazine, GearJunkie.com and TheManual.com. Black Diamond Equipment and Fritschi, a Swiss manufacturer of innovative alpine touring bindings and accessories, are longtime business partners, and Black Diamond Equipment is the exclusive distributor of Fritschi products in North America. The Tecton 12 combines the tech-style toe unit of Fritschi’s Vipec bindings that feature a pre-defined lateral safety release, with the added benefits of an innovative heel-locking lever.

“Winning these awards conveys our team’s ability to understand the needs of climbers, skiers and mountain athletes by bringing the most relevant, thoughtfully-designed and high-performance gear to market,” said Doug Heinrich, Black Diamond Equipment’s vice president of product.

Black Diamond’s fall 2017 collection will arrive at specialty retail in summer 2017.

About Black Diamond Equipment, Ltd. Black Diamond Equipment, Ltd. is a global leader in creating innovative outdoor engineered equipment and apparel for climbing, mountaineering, backpacking, skiing and a wide range of other year-round outdoor activities. Black Diamond®, and its sister brand PIEPS™, are synonymous with performance, innovation, durability and safety in the outdoor consumer community. Headquartered in Salt Lake City at the base of the Wasatch Mountains, our products are designed and exhaustively tested by an engaged team of discerning entrepreneurs and engineers. The Black Diamond® culture of precision and excellence enhance the authenticity of our brands, inspire product innovation and strengthen customer loyalty. Black Diamond Equipment's products are sold in approximately 50 countries around the world. For additional information, please visit our website at www.blackdiamondequipment.com or www.pieps.com .

About Black Diamond, Inc. Black Diamond, Inc. (the “Company”) is a publicly-traded (NASDAQ: BDE ) holding company which seeks opportunities to acquire and grow businesses that can generate durable free cash flows and attractive returns. The Company has substantial cash balances and net operating tax loss carryforwards which we are seeking to redeploy to maximize shareholder value in a diverse array of businesses. Currently, Black Diamond Equipment, Ltd. is its only operating subsidiary. Black Diamond Equipment, Ltd. is a global innovator in climbing, skiing, mountain sports equipment and apparel. For additional information, please visit our corporate website at www.blackdiamond-inc.com .

Forward-Looking Statements Please note that in this press release we may use words such as “appears,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “plans,” “expects,” “intends,” “future,” and similar expressions which constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are made based on our expectations and beliefs concerning future events impacting the Company and therefore involve a number of risks and uncertainties. We caution that forward-looking statements are not guarantees and that actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results of operations or financial condition of the Company to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements in this release include, but are not limited to, the overall level of consumer spending on our products; general economic conditions and other factors affecting consumer confidence; disruption and volatility in the global capital and credit markets; the financial strength of the Company's customers; the Company's ability to implement its reformation and growth strategy, including its ability to organically grow each of its historical product lines, the ability of the Company to identify potential acquisition or investment opportunities as part of its redeployment and diversification strategy; the Company’s ability to successfully redeploy its capital into diversifying assets or that any such redeployment will result in the Company’s future profitability; the Company’s exposure to product liability or product warranty claims and other loss contingencies; stability of the Company's manufacturing facilities and foreign suppliers; the Company's ability to protect patents, trademarks and other intellectual property rights; fluctuations in the price, availability and quality of raw materials and contracted products as well as foreign currency fluctuations; our ability to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards; and legal, regulatory, political and economic risks in international markets. More information on potential factors that could affect the Company's financial results is included from time to time in the Company's public reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are based upon information available to the Company as of the date of this press release, and speak only as of the date hereof. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.

Company Contact: Warren B. Kanders Executive Chairman Tel 1-203-428-2000 warren.kanders@bdel.com or Aaron Kuehne Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Financial Officer Tel 1-801-993-1364 aaron.kuehne@bdel.com or Radhika Ray VP of Strategy & Investor Relations Tel 1-646-290-0805 radhika.ray@bdel.com Investor Relations: Liolios Cody Slach Tel 1-949-574-3860 BDE@liolios.com