Front	Rear

Technical Details

I acquired one Coat Hanger from my bedroom closet in 1974 and another in 2023.

The anodized aluminum coat hangers are is 432 mm. tall, 232 mm. wide, 12 mm. thick, and weighs 98 g.

One side is stamped "MILWAUKEE WIRE FRAME CO. MILW. WIS." The other side is stamped "// OF ALCOA ALUMINUM //."

Comments

In 1968, Rick Banning invented three unique descenders, and described them in the Potomac Caver. The first was a sand-filled box with a handle that compressed the sand, squeezing it against the rope to increase friction. The second was a well-trained boa constrictor. The third was an ordinary coat hanger. The first would be hard to build, training a snake isn't easy, so I've only tried the third. Perhaps this is what inspired the Lirakis Sidewinder? The idea really isn't bad, except that most coat hangers aren't designed to be strong enough to rappel on. I found one that wasn't too bad, if belayed. A coat hanger works well if you find a strong coat hanger, and very poorly if you don't. The lower opposing turns help cancel any spinning tendency imparted by the upper turns. (By the way, the snake in Rick’s drawing needs to coil the other way to reduce the spinning tendency).

Warning: Don't rappel on a coat hanger, an organic snake (the steel snake is OK), or a sandbox.