BLACK+GRAY Product Review

Black+Gray's Hi-Per Hanger is the latest in the New York company's line of well-thought-out products designed for motorcycle racers. The Hi-per Hanger is a multi-configuration hanger designed to hold multiple items- such as jackets, pants, one-piece suits, gloves, etc.- weighing up to 150 pounds.

To anyone who has ever broken an ordinary clothes hanger trying to hang up a set of sweat or rain-soaked race leathers, the Hi-per Hanger is a winner. To meet the weight demands, the Hi-per Hanger is made from one, solid piece of brushed aluminum and comes with a traditional hanger hook as well as a cutout for hanging on a nail. The hanger is offset so a garment clears the wall when the Hi-per Hanger is hung from a nail in a wall.

Thick molded plastic shoulder supports are 3.0 inches wide and hold jackets or leather suits open to increase ventilation and promote drying. The shoulder supports fit onto grooves on the top of the flat aluminum blade of the hanger and are each attached with two, stainless steel Phillips head screws. Three optional mounting positions give the Hi-per Hanger an adjustable width, ranging from 17.8 inches to 20.8 inches to accommodate larger leathers. On our test unit, one shoulder support mounting hole didn't line up perfectly with the shoulder support but 30 seconds with a Dremel tool resulted in a perfect fit.

On the bottom of the hanger's aluminum blade are five additional mounting holes intended to accommodate optional Power Clips. The two-inch-wide, powder-coated, spring-loaded aluminum Power Clips have strong tension to hold heavy items securely and rubber jaws to prevent damage to the items being held. The clips are claimed to be strong enough to hold leather pants upside-down by the legs, and we do not doubt that claim. The clips can be used alone to hang items or can be used, for instance, to hang gloves inside of a one-piece suit or pants inside of a jacket or several other combinations.

I put the Black+Gray Hi-per Hanger and two Power Clips to the test during a recent race weekend. I used the hanger to hold my Euro size 62, one-piece Teknic leather suit, Held galaxy gloves and spine protector. The dry weight of my gear is in the neighborhood of 30 pounds, and considerably more than that after a long day of riding at Willow Springs in the Mojave Desert. With the shoulder supports adjusted to their widest position, the Hi-per Hanger worked exactly as advertised. It held the weight of all my gear and help my leathers open to promote drying. I bent the hanger's hook slightly to hang from a shelf edge in a trailer, and all my gear was still hanging there when I returned for each session and in the morning.

At $34.95 suggested retail for the basic hanger, the Hi-per Hanger is not cheap, but the saying goes, you get what you pay for. And judging from the materials used in the Hi-per Hanger, the build quality and Black+Gray's other simple and strong products, it will probably be the last leather hanger you ever buy.

The Hi-per Hanger is available from Black+Gray Design+Manufacturing, Inc., Dept. RW, 1602 Route 9, P.O. Box 349, Garrison, New York 10524, (845) 424-4505, FAX (845) 424-4199. www.blackandgray1.com