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Jul 22, 2021Liked by John Middendorf

I had a friend who owned a major Tech business in the 70-90's and he advised me patents were to expensive, easy to work around not worth it, unless you had something that was so unique and unable to work around.

I spent 7 years designing and testing my SEA Sling (Now the Trango Alpine Equalizer!) I had Dennis at Forrest Safety doing my web gear and he felt this wasn't going to sell well, suggested raising the price. Then I was working with Jim Bowes of Ushba who loved it and also used Dennis for his Webb gear. Anyway USHBA wanted the SEA Sling with their titanium rings and label offered me a royalty. Dennis would sew, Ushba would Market. However Dennis felt it was wrong for me to collect money when he was sewing and ushba marketing. Anyway the deal fell apart and both Ushba and Myself ceased business with Forrest. Later after I moved to Arizona It became a Trango Product. I had friends who wanted to boycott Trango, I advised them NOT TO. I have known Malcom and was a Trango Dealer when they first started. I was and am still happy the idea came to life and is available still. The only money I ever made on it was the 30 or so that I sold through my business. I've had plenty of ideas and created some but never mass produced and plenty other concepts on paper or in my feeble little mind. "Necessity is the mother of invention"

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ouch. Painful to hear stories of all the effort trying to protect IP, time better spent innovating! Keep up the good ideas!

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Jul 22, 2021Liked by John Middendorf

UK is a Hugh Banner Cobra

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author

Thanks for that. I think the Cobra one of the better designs in that era of trad gear being key to the hardest ascents.

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I will agree. I never had good luck with (lowe/Trango/ Camp) Ball Nuts, HB Cobra seemed to always work even with the tiny cylinder.

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