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REI
Ice Axes & Ice Hammers

In 1936, Lloyd Anderson was unable to find quality ice axes in the U.S.A. Two years later, he and Mary Anderson formed the Recreational Equipment Cooperative. On July 21, 1938, the first members joined the Cooperative. I joined in 1971.

Denis Pivot of C.A.M.P. provided the following information on C.A.M.P.'s relationships with other manufacturers:

CAMP and Other Manufacturers

CAMP has always maintained good relations with its competitors. The biggest brands (Chouinard, Black Diamond, Lowe, Cassin, Salewa, Simond, Charlet-Moser, Petzl), thanks to the confidence they had in CAMP's manufacturing quality, subcontracted the manufacturing of mountain equipment to CAMP. This was an opportunity for the latter to make its industrial tooling profitable.

CAMP – Interalp

In 1968, CAMP entrusted its French multi-card agent, Mr. Robert Charles Maillot, with the marketing of its products outside Italy. Through his company INTERALP, Maillot distributed various brands of mountain equipment in Europe and thus helped to make CAMP known outside Italy. In the 1970s, it was common to stamp the manufacturer and distributor brand on equipment, such as Robbins (distributor in the USA of the Alpélit brand) and Alpélit (French manufacturer of ice axes).

Over time, INTERALP focused on developing its own company and hid CAMP's role as designer and manufacturer. CAMP, unable to accept this, withdrew distributing from INTERALP in 1980 and reorganized its distribution network worldwide.

(Without the CAMP brand, the INTERALP company disappeared in a few years…)

CAMP - REI

For special orders of large quantities (usually for entry-level equipment), CAMP has added the REI stamp (see below, front and back of an ice axe blade).

Logo  Logo

Ice Axes

082: REI/Interalp/C.A.M.P. 082: REI/Interalp/C.A.M.P.

↑ 082: REI/Interalp/C.A.M.P.