Prototype	Production

Overview

History

Blacksmith Nicola Codega founded C.A.M.P. in 1889 to produce wrought-iron goods. The company first entered the climbing equipment business in 1920 when Nicola's son Antonio started making ice axes for the Italian Army Alpine Corps. The firm continued to grow and was handed down through the family.

From about 1950 through 1976, C.A.M.P. used a diamopnd-shaped logo bearing "D CN & FD CAMP" for "Ditta Cogenda Nicol;a & Figli De Cogedga Antonio Metilde Premana.

In 1968, C.A.M.P. entrusted Robert Charles Maillot and his firm Interalp to distribute C.A.M.P. products outside Italy. These products bore both C.A.M.P. and INTERALP logos. Their relationship continued until 1980.

C.A.M.P. changed its name to "Construzione Articoli Montagna Premana" in 1972.

In 1977 C.A.M.P. started using a new logo with "CAMP" inside a rounded rectangle above a mountian.

C.A.M.P. introduced a new wolfs-head logo in 1992.

C.A.M.P. acquired Cassin in 1997.

In 2003 C.A.M.P. again changed the company name, this time to "Concezione Articoli Montagna Premana, and changed their logo to CAMP in italics.

C.A.M.P. introduced another new logo in 2022.

Many C.A.M.P. products from recent decades have a product traceability code that indicates when they were made. Denis Pivot sent me the following "secret decoder ring" for interpreting these codes:

• Until and including 1995: The code is three or four digits. The first one or two indicate the batch number and the remaining two indicate the year.
  • For example, "295" means second batch made in 1995.
• From 1996 through 2005, The code is a numeral indicating the batch nmuber and a letter in the Italian alphabet indicating the year, with A in 1996 through I in 2004 and L in 2005 (J and K do not exist) .
  • For example, "1D" means the first batch made in 1999.
• From 2006 unttil 2016: The code is three digits. the first indicates the batch number and the remaining two indicate the year.
  • For example, "216" means second batch made in 2016.
• From 2017 onward: The code is two two-digit numbers, where the first indicates the month and the second pair indicates the year.
  • For example, "05 17" means it was made in May 2017.

Some products may not have received a product traceability code.

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Prototype
(#1810)

Front View: Closed	Rear View: Closed

Front View: Open for Rigging	Rear View: Open for Rigging

Technical Details

I acquired this C.A.M.P. Goblin from Denis Pivot in 2013. It is a prototype for later production models.

My C.A.M.P. Goblin (prototype) is 65 mm. long, 71 mm. wide, 29 mm. high, and weighs 272 g. The Goblin consists of an aluminum back plate, aluminum front plate, and several internal parts. There is a rocker lever on the left. This lever pivots on an 8 mm. post riveted to the rear plate. Opposite the lower end of the lever is a fixed anvil, held in place by another 8 mm. pin. The front plate pivots on this pin, swinging clockwise to open. In the closed position, a notch on the left side of the front plate engages the end of the pin supporting the rocker lever. A spring-loaded catch mounted on the front plate secures the front plate in the closed position. A latch on the lower right allows overriding the plunger.

There is another pin on the rear plate that supports another lever. One end of this lever rides against the rope, while the other has an attachment eye. A spring-loaded plunger in the anvil acts to rotate the second lever clockwise, pressing the left end against the rope. A button mounted on the anvil can be raised to lock the plunger (ascender mode) or lowered to allow it to move (fall arrest mode). The supporting pin engages a second slot in the front plate. Finally, a post and roller sit above the second lever.

There are no markings on this prototype.

Comments

Denis works at CAMP R&D and was gracious to send me this prototype. As you can see in the photographs, there are several places where the prototype was filed to provide extra clearance. That shows that the prototype was used to eliminate some "bugs" - exactly what a prototype should be used for.

There are quite a number of miscellaneous ascenders and rocker-type rope grabs that are vaguely similar, but the Climbing Technology Easy Move is arguably the most similar.

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Production
(#1859, 2639)

Front View	Rear View	Side View

Front View: Open for Rigging	Rear View: Open for Rigging

Technical Details

I acquired my C.A.M.P. Goblin from Patroller Supply in 2015. It was made as part of the thrid batch of 2013. I acquired another in 2017 as part of Bob Thrun’s collection.

My C.A.M.P. Goblin is 86 mm. long, 75 mm. wide, 28 mm. high, and weighs 278 g.

The front is printed with the CAMP safety logo, "GOBLIN," "MADE IN ITALY," a rigging illustration, and three triangles showing the action of the button - one up-pointing triangle for the "ascender" position and both up- and down-pointing triangles for the "fall arrest" position. The rear is printed with "3 13;" "0529," "Ref.0999," "EN 12841A/B:2006," "Max 120 kg," "•10≤ø≤11," a book-with-an-"i" icon, "EN 353-2:2002," another book-with-an-"i" icon, "Max 120 kg," "•10.5≤ø≤11," "RESCUE," "Max 200 kg," "•10≤ø≤11," yet another book-with-an-"i" icon, "CE0123," and a fourth book-with-an-"i" icon.

Comments

The production model is essentially identical to the prototype, but better finished.

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