Black Diamond Set to Join Russell 3000 Index

SALT LAKE CITY, June 14, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Black Diamond, Inc. (Nasdaq:BDE) (the "Company"), a leading provider of outdoor recreation equipment and active lifestyle products, is expected to join the U.S. broad-market Russell 3000®Index when Russell Investments reconstitutes its comprehensive set of U.S. and global equity indexes on June 24, according to a preliminary list of additions recently posted on www.russell.com/indexes.

Annual reconstitution of Russell's U.S. indexes captures and ranks the 4,000 largest U.S. public companies as of the end of May 2011 by total market capitalization. Membership in the Russell 3000, which remains in place for one year, means automatic inclusion in the large-cap Russell 1000Ò Index or small-cap Russell 2000® Index, as well as the appropriate growth and value style indexes. Russell determines membership for its equity indexes primarily by objective, market-capitalization rankings and style attributes.

"Our expected inclusion to the Russell 3000 Index represents another major milestone for Black Diamond," said Peter Metcalf, the Company's CEO. "It underscores the fact that we've arrived at an inflection point in terms of our growth and profitability, given our recent sales momentum, innovative product launches, insightful marketing and retail partnering. The anticipated greater visibility and awareness in the investment community this listing is expected to bring couldn't be timelier."

The Russell 3000 also serves as the U.S. component to the Russell Global Index. Russell indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for both passive and active investment strategies. An industry-leading $3.9 trillion in institutional assets currently are benchmarked to them. These investment tools originated from Russell's multi-manager investment business in the early 1980s when the company saw the need for a more objective, market-driven set of benchmarks in order to evaluate outside investment managers.

About Russell

Russell Investments provides strategic advice, world-class implementation, state-of-the-art performance benchmarks and a range of institutional-quality investment products. Russell has about $161 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2011, and serves individual, institutional and advisor clients in more than 35 countries. Founded in 1936, Russell is a subsidiary of The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. More information about Russell Indexes, including total returns, is available at http://www.russell.com/Indexes/data/default.asp.

The information in this paragraph and preceding paragraphs relating to Russell has been obtained from the Russell website, identified herein.

About Black Diamond, Inc.

Black Diamond, Inc. is a leading provider of outdoor recreation equipment and active lifestyle products under the principal brands of Black Diamond® and Gregory®. The Company develops, manufactures and globally distributes a broad range of products including: rock-climbing equipment (such as carabiners, protection devices, harnesses, belay and devices, helmets and ice-climbing gear), technical backpacks and high-end day packs, tents, trekking poles, headlamps and lanterns, gloves and mittens, skis, ski bindings, ski boots, ski skins and avalanche safety equipment. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Company has more than 475 employees worldwide, with ISO 9001 manufacturing facilities both in Salt Lake City and Southeast China as well as a sewing plant in Calexico, California; distribution centers in Utah and Southeast China; a marketing office in Yokohama, Japan; and a fully owned sales, marketing and distribution operation for Europe, located near Basel, Switzerland. For more information about the Company, visit www.blackdiamond-inc.com, www.blackdiamondequipment.com, or www.gregorypacks.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. 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 release include 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.

CONTACT: Company Contact:
         Warren B. Kanders
         Executive Chairman
         Tel 203-428-2000
         warren.kanders@bdel.com
         or
         Peter Metcalf
         Chief Executive Officer
         Tel 801-278-5552
         peter.metcalf@bdel.com
         
         Investor Relations:
         Liolios Group, Inc.
         Scott Liolios or Cody Slach
         Tel 949-574-3860
         BDE@liolios.com

Image: Black Diamond, Inc. Logo

Released June 14, 2011