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I acquired my Simmons Single from Ron Simmons at an Old Timers Reunion around 1981.
My Simmons Single is 57 mm. long, 51 mm. wide, 47 mm. high, and weighs 82 g. It is a single channel chest box consisting of a U-shaped aluminum shell and a straight roller. The shell has 28 mm. tall vertical slots for attaching the device to a chest harness.The roller is mounted on a quick-release pin, along with a bushing to fit a large cutout in the shell. Simply by depressing the button on the quick-release pin, one can remove the roller from the shell.
The roller shell is stamped "SIMMONS" ("SNOWWIS" in the southern hemisphere). The quick release pins are each stamped with "AVIBANK PUSH" and "BLS5B10S."
The Simmons Roller is probably the most popular and successful chest box design in the United States. The original roller shells were cut from Gibbs ascenders, but Ron soon started making his own shells. This roller is one of the first batch of seven sold to the general caving community, and it looks much like the final versions that Ron produced before his death.
Simmons rollers were available with bushing and roller bearings.
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I acquired my Simmons Compact Double box from Ron Simmons, but do not have a record of when.
My Simmons Compact Double is 51 mm. long, 72 mm. wide, 53 mm. high, and weighs 244 g. It is a double channel chest box consisting of two Simmons-like rollers asymmetrically screw-mounted to an aluminum back plate.The rollers are separated to provide clearance for the quick release pins. The shells are not standard Simmos roller shells; instead, they have increased height to allow for the asymmetical roller mounting. A shaped block between the roller shells and the back plate helps keep the roller shells aligned perpendicular to the plate. The back plate has 23 mm. tall vertical slots for attaching the box to a chest harness.
The roller shell is stamped "SIMMONS." The quick release pins are each stamped with "AVIBANK PUSH" and 55207-1."
The asymmetrical roller arrangement helps reduce the size of this device. The short back plate packs better than a larger one, but is not as comfortable.
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I acquired my Simmons Double box from Inner Mountain Outfitters at the 1991 Speleofest.
My Simmons Double is 51 mm. long, 113 mm. wide, 64 mm. high, and weighs 326 g. It is a double channel chest box consisting of two Simmons rollers screw-mounted to an aluminum back plate. A shaped block between the roller shells and the back plate helps keep the roller shells aligned perpendicular to the plate. The back plate has 26 mm. tall vertical slots for attaching the box to a chest strap and 26 mm. wide horizontal slots for attaching shoulder straps.
The roller shells are stamped "SIMMONS." The quick release pins are each stamped with "AVIBANK PUSH" and 55207-1."
This is the more common, and more useful version of the Simmons Rollers chest box.
I'm one of the few people that never was sold on the Simmons Roller. Since I had the only skeletonized Gossett box, the Tomer #12, there was no reason for me to switch to the Simmons Roller. On the other hand, since most people had to make the choice between a standard Gossett box and a Simmons Double, the Simmons usually won. Even Jim Gossett and Darrell Tomer thought that the Simmons was better, so they discontinued the Gossett box. Eventually I switched to the Alpine box, which is marginally superior for my needs, but it was too expensive for most people.
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I acquired my Simmons Racing box from Ron Simmons, but do not have a record of when.
My Simmons Racing /w plate is 51 mm. long, 241 mm. wide, 61 mm. high, and weighs 314 g. It is a single channel chest box consisting of one Simmons roller screw-mounted to an aluminum back plate. A shaped block between the roller shell and the back plate helps keep the roller shell aligned perpendicular to the plate. The back plate has 26 mm. tall vertical slots for attaching the box to a chest strap and 26 mm. wide horizontal slots for attaching shoulder straps.
The plate and roller shell are each stamped "SIMMONS." The quick release pin is stamped with "AVIBANK PUSH" and 55207-1."
The Simmons Racing Single mounts a Simmons Roller on a long plate. This plate helps hold the roller closer to the chest than a short plate would, and many people (including me) prefer longer plates for caving, feeling that the increased size is more than compensated for by the increased comfort and climbing efficiency.
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