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Version B
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The Simonds were a family of man ybrothers working as blacksmiths and who lived in or near Les Bossons, France (near Chamonix). They made farming equipment and cowbells for generations, but gradually began to produce mountain tools for climbers coming from England to explore Mont Blanc.
The Simonds began making ice axes in the 1860s. At that time, their axes had no inscriptions. Eventually the brothers Adolphe (dates unknown) and François (1867-1946) began to mark the axes. head. began to dedicate his work to designing and producing mountaineering equipment such as ice axes and crampons while Adolphe focused on making cowbells and other items.
Francois’s son Claudius (1905-1984).started working in 1925. Under him, Simond soon became a global name in the world of high-altitude mountaineering equipment. After World War II, the business was named after him.
In 1960, Claudius’ son Ludger took over. Since around the 1975s, the ice axes moved to a mass-produced metal shaft, and the form of forged and handmade axes ceased to exist. Ludger built a new headquarters at the foot of Mont Blanc in 1988. He sold his company to Wichard in 2004. In 2008, Decathlon became the sole shareholder of Etablissements Simond.
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I acquired my Simond Multicoin #3 from Denis Pivot in 2013.
The Simond Multicoin #3 is 46 mm. tall, 44 mm. wide, 42 mm. thick, and weighs 62 g. The #3 multicoin is a hexentric chock. The interior has four 14 mm wide protruding lugs that reduce the nominal 33 mm. subcircular cross section to a rounded cross.
The top is stamped "MULTICOIN" and "SIMOND No 3."
The Multicoin works like a standard hexentric chock, but it is the internal structure that interests us here, since it is designed for using the #3 multicoin as a descender. Their cut sheet shows how to rig for a double-rope rappel. In that case, the rope strands for each rope fit into adjacent notches. When used on single ropes, the rope tends to fit into opposite notches, giving a much faster rappel.
The #3 Multicoin can also be used for belaying.
Simond also offered two smaller Multicoins. These did not have the internal cross for rappelling. There were also wired versions. I suppose the wired #3 could be used for rappelling, particularly on doubled rope, but the wire might rub the rope. Without having tried one, I'm skeptical about the idea.
Denis works at C.A.M.P. R&D. He wrote:
Congratulations for the quality of your web site: is helpful for all mountain equipment manufacturers.
This pleased me! I had always hoped that manufacturers would be interested in my site. The more time manufacturers spend researching what has and has not worked before, the more likely we are to see better products in the marketplace.
[ Top | Version A | Return to Misc. Descenders ]
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| Front View | Rear View | Top View |
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| Left View | Right View | Bottom View |
I acquired my Simond Multicoin #3, Version B from Slade Matthews in 2015.
Version B is 47 mm. tall, 42 mm. wide, 45 mm. thick, and weighs 70 g.
The top is stamped "MULTICOIN 3" and "SIMOND"
The markings on Version B are different than those on Version A; otherwise, they are essentially identical.
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