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I acquired this rack from Larry Howell of Howell-N-Mann in at the 1993 Old Timers Reunion.
This rack is 257 mm. tall, 82 mm. wide, 19 mm. thick, and weighs 360 g. The frame is made from 9.5 mm. ASTM grade 6 6Al/4V titanium alloy bent into shape, with an internal width of 20 mm. The milled aluminum alloy eye is 29 mm. diameter. The eye is threaded to the frame, and locked in place with a lock nut. It is not free to rotate. The four bars are titanium tubing (same type as the frame) with hollow aluminum inserts to absorb and dissipate heat. The bars are each 19 mm. in diameter. The top bar is an 82 mm. long double hyperbar, the next two are 49 mm. long standard bars, and the fourth bar is a 69 mm. long bar with two horns. Allowing 45 mm. for the rope gives a 41 mm. range for spreading the bars.
There are no markings on this rack.
The top hyperbar allows looping the rope over the top for a temporary lock-off, or permits more secure lock-offs by tying the rope in any of several ways. The fourth bar has horns that also facilitate locking off. In addition, they allow pivoting the bar as an added means of braking - a method I can't recommend. With only four bars, this is a fast rack, and one should view it as a constant friction device.
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I acquired this rack from Larry Howell of Howell-N-Mann in at the 1993 Old Timers Reunion.
My Howell-N-Mann Smith Special rack is 372 mm. tall, 80 mm. wide, 19 mm. thick, and weighs 462 g. The frame is made from 9.5 mm. ASTM grade 6 6Al/4V titanium alloy bent into shape, with an internal width of 21 mm. The milled aluminum alloy eye is 29 mm. diameter. The eye is threaded to the frame, and locked in place with a lock nut. It is not free to rotate. The bars are titanium tubing (same type as the frame) with hollow aluminum inserts to absorb and dissipate heat. The bars are each 19 mm. in diameter. The top bar is a 79 mm. long double hyperbar, and the remaining bars are 49 mm. long standard bars. Allowing 45 mm. for the rope gives a 105 mm. range for spreading the bars.
There are no markings on this rack.
This rack is narrower than the others on this page. Bruce Smith had Larry Howell produce this narrow rack to save weight (mainly in the bars), but the resulting rack is not as well suited for the rare occasion where a double rope rappel is needed.
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I acquired this rack from Larry Howell of Howell-N-Mann in at the 1993 Old Timers Reunion.
My Howell-N-Mann Speleo rack is 370 mm. tall, 101 mm. wide, 19 mm. thick, and weighs 552 g. The frame is made from 9.5 mm. ASTM grade 6 6Al/4V titanium alloy bent into shape, with an internal width of 33 mm. The milled aluminum alloy eye is 29 mm. diameter. The eye is threaded to the frame, and locked in place with a lock nut. It is not free to rotate. The bars are titanium tubing (same type as the frame) with hollow aluminum inserts to absorb and dissipate heat. The bars are each 19 mm. in diameter. The top bar is a 101 mm. long double hyperbar, and the remaining bars are 62 mm. long standard bars. The rack has 26 mm. long spacers between the top two bars. Allowing 45 mm. for the rope gives a 85 mm. range for spreading the bars.
There are no markings on this rack.
This rack is wide enough to allow rappelling on doubled rope.
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I acquired this rack from Larry Howell of Howell-N-Mann in at the 1993 Old Timers Reunion.
My Howell-N-Mann Rescue rack is 431 mm. tall, 108 mm. wide, 25 mm. thick, and weighs 674 g. The frame is made from 9.5 mm. ASTM grade 6 6Al/4V titanium alloy bent into shape, with an internal width of 41 mm. The milled aluminum alloy eye is 45 mm. diameter. The eye is threaded to the frame, and locked in place with a lock nut. It is not free to rotate. The bars are titanium tubing (same type as the frame) with hollow aluminum inserts to absorb and dissipate heat. The top bar is a 108 mm. long, 25.4 mm. diameter double hyperbar, and the remaining bars are 63 mm. long, 19 mm. in diameter standard bars. Allowing 45 mm. for the rope gives a 105 mm. range for spreading the bars.
There are no markings on this rack.
This rack is larger than the others, presumably because many members of the rescue community believes that bigger is better.
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