Letter: Clothes Hanger for Armor

Hugh,

Many in the community have invested in steel plate body armor. Due to the weight, use of ordinary hangers is out of the question, so it ends up sitting in a heap on the floor or hooked to a nail in the wall. Constructing an effective clothes hanger for your rig so that it can hang in the closet and up off the floor takes about 15 minutes, six dollars, and a trip to Home Depot.

Bill of Materials:

  • 1 each 2-ft section of 1.25 inch diameter schedule 40 PVC Pipe $3.23
  • 2 each PVC Pipe end caps 1.25 inch diameter $0.83
  • 1 each vinyl-coated screw-in Bicycle Hook 5/16×6 25lb load $1.74

Usual closet hangers are 16 inches wide. Cut the PVC pipe to 18 inches and then glue the end caps on both ends. The end caps create a raised edge so that the vest is less likely to slide off the end if it is hit or snagged when another garment is placed next to it in the closet. The Bicycle hook is located in the center. Drill a small hole and screw the hook in. The smaller the hole, the better. The hook has an aggressive thread and easily bites into the PVC material.

Remember that the clothes rod has to carry the weight, so locating the vest near the end of the rod rather than in the center of the span will help the rod bear the additional load. – Freeman