Pieps returns to Liberty Mountain for U.S. distribution

The Austrian avalanche-safety brand has appointed Liberty Mountain its exclusive U.S. distributor, reviving a partnership that began in 2003. The deal comes as Pieps moves forward as an independent company and seeks to strengthen service and product availability for American customers.

Pieps GmbH is returning to Liberty Mountain, naming the outdoor-gear distributor its exclusive partner in the United States. The companies say the renewed arrangement is intended to improve ordering, product availability and customer support, with Liberty Mountain supplying retailers through its established distribution network.

The relationship reaches back more than two decades. Liberty Mountain helped bring Pieps’s three-antenna avalanche beacon to U.S. retailers in 2003—a design the company says helped set a standard now common across avalanche transceivers. Pieps says the partnership will support its continued focus on avalanche safety and innovation.

For Liberty Mountain, the appointment adds a specialist safety brand to its outdoor and technical-rescue portfolio. Chief executive Gary Heward said the distributor plans to support retailers and customers with product access, technical training and service. Pieps’s global sales and marketing director, Michael Kiemeswenger, said the company sees Liberty Mountain’s knowledge of the U.S. specialty market and backcountry community as central to the relationship.

The move follows a change in Pieps’s ownership. Clarus Corporation, which owns Black Diamond Equipment, announced the sale of Pieps and assets related to JetForce avalanche-pack intellectual property to a private investment firm in July 2025. The reported total purchase price was €7.8 million, including cash and debt. Pieps now describes itself as an independent company focused entirely on avalanche safety.

The distributor switch also puts customer support in focus for a product category where reliability is critical. Pieps and Black Diamond avalanche transceivers have faced recalls and safety checks in recent years. A 2022 recall notice in Canada said certain devices could fail to switch from SEND mode to SEARCH mode; customers were directed to check their devices and seek repair or replacement if they were affected.

That history is not evidence of a problem with the new distribution agreement, but it underscores why service, clear product guidance and access to technical support matter in avalanche equipment. A transceiver is only one part of backcountry safety, and users still need training, regular equipment checks and practice with their group before heading into avalanche terrain.

The announcement does not specify when the distribution transition takes effect, which products will be immediately available, or how existing U.S. service and warranty arrangements will be handled. The companies’ stated priorities—availability, retailer support and technical training—will be measured in how those details are delivered to customers.