Who are they?
Petzl in its modern guise was founded by Fernand Petzl in 1975 with the sole purpose of making and distributing innovative pieces of caving kit technology. Having started caving many years earlier, Fernand, along with caving partner Pierre Chevalier, began to re-imagine and redesign the tools they were using to explore the darkness. Starting up commercially in 1968 under the name ‘Produits Fernand Petzl’, Fernand marketed his best invention - the first version of the rope ascender. This was followed by the first mountaineering specific headlamp in 1973 before Fernand finally, in 1975, established the company’s HQ in Crolles, France. Here, Petzl was formally born, going on to become the world leader in safety equipment across every mountain, cave or trail pursuit.
Petzl is a family run enterprise and since Fernand’s passing in 2003, his son Paul has been at the helm whilst other family members play an active role in the company.
What are Petzl known for?
Since those early days of caving kit creation, the company have expanded their market into all aspects of the vertical world, from sport climbing equipment to professional rope access kit. It’s hard to define Petzl with so many of their products proving to be market leading or sport transforming. But, where Petzl really stand out is with the GriGri belay device and their range of head torches. Originally invented in the 90’s, the GriGri transformed the way we belay. Nearly 30 years on, the GriGri has been perfectly fine-tuned to produce the most popular belaying device on the climbing market. Petzl headtorches are unrivaled when it comes to their performance and adaptability across a range of pursuits with superb technology like their Core rechargeable batteries.
Where are Petzl products made?
The majority of Petzl products are made in France but some pieces are outsourced to Malaysia and other areas across the Far East.
Environmental action
Petzl are committed to the 3 R’s:
- Reduce: Zero single-use plastics used in our packaging and in our factories by 2025.
- Reuse: 50 % of our cardboard and pallets reused by 2025.
- Recycle: 80 % material recovery of our waste by 2025.
Furthermore, Petzl are committed to reducing their carbon emissions 50% by 2030.
You can read more about Petzl's environmental stance via this page.
What sets Petzl apart?
Unrivaled quality across every discipline.
