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Simmons rollers were available with bushing and roller bearings. I should have listed them as different variations, but then I would have had to have two different variations for each single and four for each double roller version. One can tell which version one has by looking at the end of the roller assembly - the diameter of the roller bearings is larger than that of the bushings.
There were also two styles of rollers, a straight roller and a U-groove roller. The straight rollers were a 19 mm. (3/4 inch) diameter nylon cylinder. The U-groove rollers were 25.4 mm. (1 inch) in diameter with a 12 mm. wide, 2.5 mm. deep turned groove. The larger diameter of the U-groove rollers required a larger diameter hole in the shell, and this required a larger diameter aluminum bushing on the pin.
[ Top | Single v. A| Single v. B | Single v. C | Racing Single v. A | Racing Single v. B | Racing Single v. C | Compact Double | Double | Racing Double | Return to Chest Boxes ]
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I acquired my Simmons roller prototype in 2017 as part of Bob Thrun’s collection.
My Simmons Single Prototype is 57 mm. long, 73 mm. wide, 49 mm. high, and weighs 89 g. It is a single channel chest box consisting of a U-shaped aluminum shell and a straight roller. The shell has 49 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 "GIBBS" with a double underline and "®" on each side. The quick release pin is stamped with "AVIBANK PUSH" and "55207."Ron Simmons made the shells for his first rollers out of Gibbs Ascender shells. After deciding that he liked his idea, he started making his own shells. This is one of the early ones that still shows the Gibbs markings. Unlike later models that he put into production, this one is tall enough to admit 2" webbing. I like that since it allows me to slip it onto a simple harness without having to sew the roller in place with 1" webbing.
[ Top | Prototype | Single v. B| Single v. C | Racing Single v. A | Racing Single v. B | Racing Single v. C | Compact Double | Double | Racing Double | Return to Chest Boxes ]
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I acquired my first Simmons Single from Ron Simmons at the Old Timers Reunion in 1981. I acquired a second from Bru Randall at the 2023 NSS Convention.
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 "CCG." The quick release pins are each stamped with "AVIBANK PUSH" and "BLS5B10S."
The Simmons Roller was 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. Ron stamped some of his earlier rollers with "CCG" for his company Custom Cave Gear. My first Simmons 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. The one Bru gave to me belonged to his wife Barb Schomer. It was also one of the first batch of seven.
Four of the original seven (including Barb's but not mine)) failed due to a minor manufacturing defect: the shell was bent slightly less than 180°, so the balls in the push pin were not able to extend fully. This was easily fixed. Roberta Swicegood gave a talk on this, Field Repair of the Simmons Roller. She set a roller on the floor and stomped on it - problem solved. Ron adjusted his tooling, and I heard of no later failings.
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[ Top | Prototype | Single v. A| Single v. C | Racing Single v. A | Racing Single v. B | Racing Single v. C | Compact Double | Double | Racing Double | Return to Chest Boxes ]
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I acquired one Simmons, Version B in 2017 as part of Bob Thrun’s collection, and a second from Bob Elron at the 2019 NSS Convention.
My Simmons Single Custom Cave Gear is 51 mm. long, 57 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 "CCG." The quick release pin is stamped with "AVIBANK PUSH" and "BLS5B10S."
Ron used a bead-blasting cabinet to give many of his roller shells a frosted finish.
[ Top | Prototype | Single v. A| Single v. B | Racing Single v. A | Racing Single v. B | Racing Single v. C | Compact Double | Double | Racing Double | Return to Chest Boxes ]
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I acquired one from Geary Schindel in 1992 as part of a Karstworks harness, two from Howie’s Harnesses in 2009 to mount on an On Rope 1, Lightweight Double plate that I acquired without rollers, two in 2017 as part of Bob Thrun’s collection, and one from Bill Liebman at the 2017 Old Timer’s Reunion that was new old stock from Bob Liebman’s (Bob & Bob) estate.
This version is 57 mm. wide, 51 mm. high, 55 mm. thick, and weighs 94 g. It is a single channel chest box consisting of a U-shaped aluminum shell and a U-groove roller. The roller is 25.4 mm. in diameter and 15 mm. wide. The groove is 12.4 mm. wide and 2.5 mm. deep. The shell has 27 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 "55207-XXX."
This is the "final" version that most Simmons rollers followed. The grooved roller helps keep the rope from rubbing on the shell, but the resulting assembly is 15% heavier than the straight-roller version. I prefer the grooved roller, despite the added weight, which is negligible in my view.
None of my isolated single rollers stamped "SIMMONS" have a bead-blasted finish, but several of the ones mounted onto plates do.
[ Top | Prototype | Single v. A| Single v. B | Single v. C | Racing Single v. B | Racing Single v. C | Compact Double | Double | Racing Double | Return to Chest Boxes ]
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Bru Randall gave me this Simmons Racing Single, Version A box at the 2023 NSS Convention.
My Version B is 51 mm. long, 241 mm. wide, 61 mm. thick, and weighs 313 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 27 mm. tall vertical slots for attaching the box to a chest strap and 28 mm. wide horizontal slots for attaching shoulder straps.
The plate is stamped "SIMMONS" and "C.C.G." The quick release pin is stamped with "AVIBANK PUSH" and 55207."
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.
[ Top | Prototype | Single v. A| Single v. B | Single v. C | Racing Single v. A | Racing Single v. C | Compact Double | Double | Racing Double | Return to Chest Boxes ]
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I acquired this Simmons Racing Single from Ron Simmons, but do not have a record of when. I acquired another in 2017 as part of Bob Thrun’s collection.
My Version B 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."
Version B lacks the "CCG" markings found on Version A. "SIMMONS" was stamped on the roller shell, and the "SIMMONS" arc was moved to the user's left side of the plate.
[ Top | Prototype | Single v. A| Single v. B | Single v. C | Racing Single v. A | Racing Single v. B | Compact Double | Double | Racing Double | Return to Chest Boxes ]
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I acquired my Simmons Racing Single, Version C box from Bill Liebman at the 2017 Old Timers Reunion.
My Version C is 242 mm. wide, 51 mm. high, 64 mm. thick, and weighs 303 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 27 mm. tall vertical slots for attaching the box to a chest strap and 27 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 55207XXX" with "-1" visible under the first two Xs.
The screws on Version C pass from front to rear. This is advantageous as the back plate is 6.3 mm. thick as opposed to under 2.9 mm. for the channel, allowing for greater thread engagement for the three machine screws securing the Roller to the plate.
Version C has wider harness slots than earlier versions. The shoulder strap slots are closer to the chest strap slots.
The lettering on the Version B back plate is laid out straight rather than on a curve like the lettering on Version A.
[ Top | Prototype | Single v. A| Single v. B | Single v. C | Racing Single v. A | Racing Single v. B | Racing Single v. C | Double | Racing Double | Return to Chest Boxes ]
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I acquired my Simmons Compact Double box from Ron Simmons, but do not have a record of when. I acquired another in 2017 as part of Bob Thrun’s collection.
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 Simmons roller shells; instead, they have increased height to allow for the asymmetrical 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.
[ Top | Prototype | Single v. A| Single v. B | Single v. C | Racing Single v. A | Racing Single v. B | Racing Single v. C | Compact Double | Racing Double | Return to Chest Boxes ]
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I acquired my Simmons Double box from Inner Mountain Outfitters at the 1991 Speleofest. I acquired another in 2017 as part of Bob Thrun’s collection.
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 Block, 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 Darrel Tomer thought that the Simmons was better, so they discontinued the Gossett Block. Eventually I switched to the Alpine box, which is marginally superior for my needs, but it was too expensive for most people.
[ Top | Prototype | Single v. A| Single v. B | Single v. C | Racing Single v. A | Racing Single v. B | Racing Single v. C | Compact Double | Double | Return to Chest Boxes ]
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I acquired my Simmons Racing Double in 2017 as part of Bob Thrun’s collection.
My Simmons Racing Double is 51 mm. long, 241 mm. wide, 64 mm. high, and weighs 428 g. It is a double channel chest box consisting of two Simmons rollers screw-mounted to an aluminum back plate. The back plate has 25 mm. tall vertical slots for attaching the box to a chest strap and 25 mm. wide horizontal slots for attaching shoulder straps.
Each roller shell is stamped "SIMMONS." The quick release pins are each stamped with "AVIBANK PUSH" and 55207-1."
The Simmons Racing Double mounts two Simmons Rollers on a long plate. This plate helps hold the roller closer to the chest than a short plate would, a definite advantage when racing. Many people (including me) prefer using longer plates for much of our caving, feeling that the increased size is more than compensated for by the increased comfort and climbing efficiency.
[ Top | Prototype | Single v. A| Single v. B | Single v. C | Racing Single v. A | Racing Single v. B | Racing Single v. C | Compact Double | Double | Racing Double ]
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