3-Gate	4-Gate	6-Gate

Overview

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3-Gate
(#597)

Front View	Rear View	Side View

Technical Details

I acquired this Rap Rak from Inner Mountain Outfitters at the 2001 Old Timers’ Reunion.

The 3-gate Rap Rack has three brake bars mounted on an 8 mm. stainless steel frame. The frame is closed near the base of one side with a 9.5 mm. O.D. ferrule. Since I haven't destroyed my Rak, I'm not certain how the ferrule is held in place - it may be crimped or glued. The brake bars are 52 mm. long, 19 mm. diameter, 1.5 mm. wall thickness stainless steel. The top and bottom bar are straight-slotted and swing freely, while the center bar is fixed. The center bar is drilled, and does not pivot. The only markings are "RAP-Rak 1100 kg PFH AUSTRALIA" stamped on the unloaded side of the center brake bar, and "1999" printed on the ferrule. The latter may be the steel manufacturer’s mark.

PFH Pty Ltd. claims that the 3-gate has been destruction tested to 1100 kg, and assigns a safe working load of 220 kg. They recommend using 9 to 11 mm. rope.

Comments

The 3-gate Rap Rak is a lightweight, compact rack. Because of its stainless steel construction, small size, and thin walls, it tends to heat quickly. There is little room to vary bar spacing, so this Rap-Rak should be treated as a constant-friction device. The "slow" rigging can be quite slow on some ropes, while I find the "fast" rigging is too fast for my taste. I don't like having the rope run over the rack frame; however, in a rack of this size, it is a reasonable compromise. This rack is one of the lightest ones still available; however, for normal use, I’d choose a larger, more versatile rack.

PFH Pty. Ltd. recommends that the 3-gate be used by light to heavy persons. This first appears inconsistent with the recommendations for the 4-gate and 6-gate. Perhaps the intent is for the 3-gate to be a special purpose item and the others are general purpose racks.

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4-Gate
(#598)

Front View	Rear View	Side View

Technical Details

I acquired this Rap Rak from Inner Mountain Outfitters at the 2001 Old Timers’ Reunion.

The 4-gate Rap Rak is made out of the same materials as the 3-gate model. In addition, the manufacturer welded a 2 mm. stainless steel stamping to the top of the rack. The first and third bars do not pivot, while second and fourth bars are slotted to do so.

"RAP-Rak 1100 kg PFH AUSTRALIA" is stamped on the unloaded side of the third bar. "RAP Rak PFH - 1100KG" is stamped on the tab.

PFH Pty Ltd.’s literature claims that the 4-gate has been destruction tested to 1200 kg.

Comments

The 4-gate Rap Rack is considerably longer than the 3-gate, and two-thirds of the increase is due to the tab at the top. The tab is actually a rather cleaver design that makes locking off much easier than with the 3-gate, or, for that matter, most closed-frame racks without hyper-bars.

Like the 3-gate, the 4-gate isn't long enough to vary the bar spacing significantly, so it should be treated as a constant friction device. The manufacturer recommends this rack for light to average weight persons with minimal gear. PFH Pty Ltd. did not give any recommendations for single rope use in their instructions. I'm tall enough to weigh 89 kg, well above most people’s recommended average weight, so it doesn't surprise me that the "fast" rigging is too fast for my taste. On the other hand, the "slow" rigging may not let me move on some very muddy, sandy ropes. The extra bar doesn't really increase the friction capability over the 3 Gate, but it does keep the rope from running over the rack frame.

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6-Gate
(#599)

Front View	Rear View	Side View

Technical Details

I acquired this Rap Rak from Inner Mountain Outfitters at the 2001 Old Timers’ Reunion.

The 6-gate Rap Rak is made out of the same materials as the 4-gate models. The odd do not pivot, while the even ones are slotted to do so.

"RAP-Rak 1100 kg PFH AUSTRALIA" is stamped on the unloaded side of the third and fifth bars. "RAP Rak PFH - 1100KG" is stamped on the tab.

PFH Pty Ltd.’s literature claims that the 4-gate has been destruction tested to 1200 kg.

Comments

The 6-gate Rap Rack is considerably longer than the 4-gate, so I don't really consider it to be a compact rack. Like the others, I recommend treating it as a constant friction device. The manufacturer recommends this model for average to heavy weight people with or without gear. As the figure shows, there are quite a few ways to rig the 6-gate.

The instructions page provided with this rack use the 4-gate rack for the three illustrations.

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