EOG gets involved in ice tool debate
While ice screws, ropes, harnesses and karabiners have all been considered to be personal protective equipment (PPE), the European Commission (EC) has excluded ice tools from the list. However, the European Outdoor Group has helped to change the minds of the decision makers.
The EC’s refusal to accept that ice tools are PPE has held up the publication of the revised EN 13089 standard for mountaineering equipment by more than three years.
As a result, the Federation of European Sporting Goods Industries (FESI) called upon the EOG to intervene. The EOG submitted a technical paper on the issue and then addressed the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) at its recent meeting in Brussels.
The meeting ended with the committee accepting the EOG’s arguments and re-classifying ice tools as PPE Category III. Commenting on this outcome, secretary general of the EOG, Mark Held, said: “We are delighted that this important committee has accepted our arguments and that the industry can now move forward with the right classification of ice tools. The EOG is a powerful voice for the entire outdoor sector and we are happy that we were able to resolve this issue. We trust that this result will now lead to the long awaited ratification of the revised EN 13089 standard.”
