Black Diamond's New Hires and Promotions Support Continued Growth

SALT LAKE CITY, July 19, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Black Diamond, Inc. (Nasdaq:BDE) (the "Company" or "Black Diamond"), a leading global provider of outdoor recreation equipment and active lifestyle products, has made several promotions along with key new hires to support continued growth and strengthen its apparel team for a Fall 2013 product launch.

"As the solid momentum at Black Diamond continues, we have promoted from within and hired exceptional talent for newly created positions that bolster our operational platform and augment our new apparel team," said Peter Metcalf, President and CEO of Black Diamond.

Mark Ritchie has been promoted to Black Diamond's newly created position of Chief Operating Officer. Ritchie joins CEO Peter Metcalf and CFO Robert Peay as one of three senior executive officers of the Company. For nearly 20 years, Ritchie has thoughtfully led the formidable global operational platform that supports the complex, yet highly efficient, modern businesses of Black Diamond Equipment, Gregory Mountain Products and now POC.

Additionally, Black Diamond promoted Zach Posner to Vice President of Information Technology. In less than two years, Posner has transformed Black Diamond's IT functions to better serve the global organization. Wim de Jager has been promoted to Managing Director of Black Diamond Equipment Asia. Formerly Director of Operations at Black Diamond Equipment Asia, de Jager will now lead all manufacturing and distribution activities at Black Diamond's subsidiary in Zhuhai, China. Other promotions include: Lauri Hawkins, Director of Sourcing Development for Apparel; Doug Heinrich, Director of Line Planning; and Kasey Jarvis, Director of Design.

Black Diamond also welcomes new hires Laura Deuser, Joe Moak and Sven Mostoegl to several newly created positions. Deuser joins the apparel team as an Apparel Textile Engineer, formerly serving as a Research Assistant in the Center for Research on Textile Protection and Comfort. Moak joins Black Diamond as Design Engineer and brings over a decade of experience in his field. Most recently, Moak worked at Apple, where he led the product design group and was instrumental in bringing the Mac Mini to production. Lastly, Mostoegl joins Black Diamond Europe as the Apparel Product Manager. Mostoegl's recent experience includes working as a Product Category Manager for The North Face. In that role, he worked alongside their global team in Europe, the Middle East and Asia on a wide array of special projects including product creation and merchandising.

Metcalf concluded: "With this strong class of new positions, promotions and hires, we continue to evolve our corporate structure, strengthen our team and recognize those who have displayed leadership qualities capable of driving this organization forward to our boldly envisioned future."

About Black Diamond, Inc.

Black Diamond, Inc. is a global leader in the design, manufacturing and marketing of innovative active outdoor performance products for climbing, mountaineering, backpacking, skiing, cycling and other outdoor recreation activities for a wide range of year-round use. The Company's principal brands, Black Diamond®, Gregory™ and POC, are iconic in the active outdoor industry and linked intrinsically with the modern history of these sports. Black Diamond is synonymous with performance, innovation, durability and safety that the outdoor and action sport communities rely on and embrace in their active lifestyle. Headquartered in Salt Lake City at the base of the Wasatch Mountains, the Company's products are created and tested on some of the best alpine peaks, slopes, crags, roads and trails in the world. These close connections to the Black Diamond lifestyle enhance the authenticity of the Company's brands, inspire product innovation and strengthen customer loyalty. The Company's products are sold by leading specialty retailers in the U.S. and 50 countries around the world. For additional information, please visit the Company's websites at www.blackdiamond-inc.com, www.blackdiamondequipment.com, www.gregorypacks.com or www.pocsports.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Please note that in this press release we may use words such as "appears," "anticipates," "believes," "plans," "expects," "intends," "future," and similar expressions which constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are made based on our expectations and beliefs concerning future events impacting the Company and therefore involve a number of risks and uncertainties. We caution that forward-looking statements are not guarantees and that actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results of operations or financial condition of the Company to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, the overall level of consumer spending on our products; general economic conditions and other factors affecting consumer confidence; disruption and volatility in the global capital and credit markets; the financial strength of the Company's customers; the Company's ability to implement its growth strategy; the Company's ability to successfully integrate and grow acquisitions; the Company's ability to maintain the strength and security of its information technology systems; stability of the Company's manufacturing facilities and foreign suppliers; the Company's ability to protect trademarks and other intellectual property rights; fluctuations in the price, availability and quality of raw materials and contracted products; foreign currency fluctuations; our ability to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards; and legal, regulatory, political and economic risks in international markets. More information on potential factors that could affect the Company's financial results is included from time to time in the Company's public reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are based upon information available to the Company as of the date of this press release, and speak only as of the date hereof. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release.

CONTACT: Company Contact:
         Warren B. Kanders
         Executive Chairman
         Tel 1-203-428-2000
         warren.kanders@bdel.com
         or
         Peter Metcalf
         Chief Executive Officer
         Tel 1-801-278-5552
         peter.metcalf@bdel.com

         Investor Relations:
         Liolios Group, Inc.
         Scott Liolios or Cody Slach
         Tel 1-949-574-3860
         BDE@liolios.com

Released July 19, 2012