CASSIN

It is not possible to think about Cassin company and not to think about its founder at the same time, who embodies the history of alpinism: like every champion Riccardo Cassin burnt the stops when began to climb; every wall, every ground became too narrow or too easy.

The needs he faced when he began to climb on untouched walls and undiscovered routes obliged him to look for solutions and new products according to the new appearing difficulties.
He stayed in the workshop with his friends after work time to create the rock pitons that today you can find in the cliffs in the Ovest di Lavaredo or in the cracks obstructed with ice of the Nord of the Grand Jorasses.

This active and real connection between ideation and construction of the instrument together with the practice of a mountaineering has been always the guarantee of the Cassin trademark.

It was in 1947 that he started his activity in the shop backside in Lecco.
The first rock pitons were produced in 1947, the hammers in the following year, the ice axes in 1949 while the carabineers made of iron appeared in 1950.

For the production of his tools Riccardo Cassin referred to a blacksmith, Antonio Codega, who lived in Premana, Valsassina, and who had been already producing ice axes for alpinists. The name of his small factory was CAMP!

In 1950 he had produced the first eiderdown duvet jackets for non-European mountaineering expeditions and two years later he started a regular production. In 1958 it was produced the first harness prototype made together with his son and even in this case two years after they started the production. In the meanwhile the company was developing and became an Snc in 1967.

The alpinist always facing new and bigger difficulties in his new adventures knew perfectly the new frontiers of the equipment that he needed to have: the crampons made of titanium created in 1970 to face one of the Himalayan colossus: the Lhotse. The company was moved from Lecco, in the first part of the eighties, near by Valmadrera. The great attention to the creation of products for a progressive mountaineering is the vocation of the company that continued its activity with the presentation of an ice axe with the carbon handle in 1986.

The family business leading during the following 11 years, even if based on the sacrifice spirit and passion for the mountain, was not able to survive in the severe conditions of competitions and quickly changing requirements. And in 1997, after 50 years of existence, we are to notice the new turn for this important trademark; CAMP, famous company that was Cassin constant competitor, bought the trademark Cassin. It was a real important turn ,passionate and impulsive, the reanimation and renovation of the society so prestigious became one of the principal challenges for CAMP group. Codega’s family, so experienced and refreshed with a new energy of its 4th generation, has an intention to give all its innovation, style and service level, that distinguish CAMP group, also to Cassin society, thanks to the Certification ISO 9001 of Quality System, obtained in October of 1993.