Climbing gear recall notice: Courant Spliced Kalimba climbing ropes (CPSC 26675)

This page sets out what the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the United States importer and the French maker say about the recall of spliced Kalimba climbing ropes. The CPSC describes them as ropes designed for tree climbing and pruning, commonly used by arborists. The wider list is in the guide to climbing gear recalls and safety notices. Each record is restated in our own words. This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here.

The notices

The importer posted its recall notice on June 23, 2026. The CPSC recall record, number 26675, carries a recall date of August 6, 2026 and was last published on August 7, 2026. The CPSC hazard line reads that the spliced termination ends "can fail unexpectedly", with a risk of serious injury or death from a fall. The importer calls it a design defect in the splice used on the Kalimba until then.

Which ropes

The CPSC lists six part numbers. Each rope carries a tag on the rope ends showing the brand, part number, type (diameter) and length.

The CPSC and the importer both add any other Kalimba spliced under the maker's splicing protocols before June 15, 2026. The maker's FAQ says the recall covers spliced Kalimba ropes of all colours since the rope was launched. It says Kalimba ropes without splices are not affected, because the defect is in the splice and not in the rope itself. It also says splices made by Hevea or FTC are not covered by the recall.

Numbers and reports

• CPSC: about 1,050 units. Made in France by the maker, of Angers. Imported by Wichard Groupe North America, of North Kingstown, Rhode Island.
• CPSC: sold from January 2023 through June 2026 by Vertical Supply Group, Arbsession, RBI Corporation and retailers across the United States.
• CPSC: the firm has received three reports of splices failing. No injuries have been reported.

What the maker says caused it

The maker's FAQ says the spliced Kalimba had been available for three years and that its splice passed the checks done during development and stays certified by an accredited certification body. It says the splice used parallel strands, with the whipping playing an important part in holding the eye. After several field incidents, it says, it found that if that whipping is missing, defective or altered, the integrity of the eye may be compromised, so it stopped that process. It says it is moving to a looped splice based on the FTC splice principle.

Remedy

The CPSC says consumers are told to stop using the ropes immediately and to contact the importer for a free replacement rope with shipping included. The importer's notice says not to inspect, repair, re-splice, test or destroy the ropes, and not to ship them to the maker in France. It describes a return form that produces a pre-paid shipping label and a return authorization number by email within 48 hours of submission.

Two replacement options are named. The fast option lists a 60 m rope of 11.7 mm Komora or 12.1 mm Kanopa with a single splice, a 60 m 11.5 mm Squir rope with no splices, or a 54 L Cross Pro bag in a random colour. The like-for-like option is a spliced 11.9 mm Kalimba with the new splice, which the importer says could not be given an availability date because the splice was being finalised. The CPSC says one of the two options has availability beginning mid-September. The maker's FAQ says the timeline depends on the accredited certification body validating the new splice protocol first.

To correct or remove an entry, write to the address at the foot of this page.

Sources

• U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, recall record 26675 for Courant Spliced Kalimba climbing ropes (recall web service), read October 9, 2026
• Wichard Groupe North America, product recall notice for the spliced Kalimba (June 23, 2026), read October 9, 2026
• Courant, Kalimba recall FAQ, read October 9, 2026