Hanger

Vertical caving terminology and methods > Rigging methods and equipment

Hanger

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A selection of hangers with different shapes. Angled aluminium, steel loops, angled stainless steel, and bent alumimium. The angled and loop versions hold a carabiner parallel to the rock, while the bent version holds it perpendicular to the rock. The loop version is designed to allow a rope or sling to be tied directly to it, without needing a carabiner. The other designs are a bit too sharp for that.
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A smaller variation of the Clown hanger. Clown hangers wrap the rope around the bolt, so that the bolt carries the load directly, as long as the load pulls perpendicular to the bolt. Darling Rifts, Ogof Draenen.

The part of an anchor that you can clip a carabiner into. Usually purpose made, but some may be home made using welded angle iron. Most are then connected to a bolt either directly or using a nut, and then connected to the rock to turn them from a hanger into an anchor. Most aluminium hangers have a minimum breaking strength rating of 1.8 tonnes, and most steel hangers have a rating of 2.2 or 2.5 tonnes. Despite being the weakest piece of equipment used in rigging, a typical aluminium spit hanger can still hold a load of 1.5 tonnes, about 5 times as much as it is ever expected to experience, such as when a large caver, with wet clothing, carrying a heavy tackle bag, bounces around on a rope. The main exception is a Petzl Clown hanger, which was only rated to 1.2 tonnes, and is almost never seen in use since it is no longer sold by Petzl since some time after 2002.

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