What size hanger bolts do you run into?

With the winter that we have had in our area, I am finding more and more loose hangers out there.  I'm looking to build a tool that will cover 99.9% of what we run into. In my area it's mostly 3/8 in and 1/2-in bolts (9/16 in and 3/4 in nuts on them respectively).  I will obviously include 9/16" and 3/4" but what other wrench sizes do you see?  8mm bolts I believe require a 10mm wrench but need to confirm that.  What size wrench do the majority of the 10mm and 12mm bolts require?  What else is everyone seeing?  I know there are some obscurities out there.

Thanks 

The tool you’re envisioning was invented a long time ago. It’s called a spanner wrench and can be purchased at any hardware store in the world.

3/8" Power Bolts have a 1/2" head and that's the 2nd most useful size after 9/16"
3/4" is a distant 3rd in usefulness
Metric is almost never seen, but having a 17mm head for 10mm bolts would be the next thing to add I think

I run into sleeve bolts that have a funky size 1/2? A small crescent wrench is about as good as it gets for tightening any and all bolts.

Good luck, watch your knuckles.

Why cover 99.9 when you can cover 100?  Crescent wrench.

Unless you're trying to make money off it. In which case just write "Alex Honnold" on the side of a crescent wrench.

Devin Hanes wrote:

Anyone ever try these aluminum adjustable wrenches? $20 compared to $80 titanium.

PTNHZ AN Adjustable Wrench Lightweight Aluminum AN3-AN12 Hose Fitting Tool Spanner(Black) https://a.co/d/8Hh5Oyz

I've been curious about the Al spanners - with frequent use the steel nuts will chew up the aluminum but for the occasional tightening it should work. Though the times when I'm climbing a bolted route where I care about pack weight is rare, usually I just keep a 6" adjustable steel wrench on my rack of draws.

https://www.knipex.com/en-us/products/pipe-wrenches-and-water-pump-pliers/pliers-wrenches
If you want a $$-$$$ solution to your problem.
( they are really nice though, not gonna lie )

A single offset end box wrench for the exact size(s) you need is gold.

Slim wrenches would be great for reduced weight, just add a keeper cord swaged on or something to the spline so you don't drop it.
https://a.co/d/appZBZA

Unfortunately the slim adjustable wrenches I've seen are god awful monstrosities that are heavy and bulky, but then taper down to something actually too thin.

I have wondered about the AN wrenches, but I'm very skeptical.

Devin Hanes wrote:

I like that better, should work on a stuck screwgate as well, maybe bend a clip stick even.

I don’t think you can get much torque with this when it’s close against the rock and you can’t get your hands around it.

PS to the OP, all the bolts I’ve run into were crescent wrench sized. 

Lobtex UM30XD. This lightweight thin 8" steel wrench at 170 g has worked well for me. An edelrid 19g fits the end hole really well.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004OCS9XK?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

8" aluminum wrenches are 40 g lighter but have much thicker jaws than the lobtex.

8" titanium wrenches are also around 40 g lighter than the lobtex, thicker, and 6x the price. 

https://countycomm.com/products/8-inch-titanium-adjustable-wrench-nsn-pending

Boomer Climber wrote:

These are awful. The pins break easily 

Metolius used to make a nut tool with several sizes of bolt heads built in. Not sure if they still make them. 

Chris Douglas wrote:

With the winter that we have had in our area, I am finding more and more loose hangers out there.  I'm looking to build a tool that will cover 99.9% of what we run into. In my area it's mostly 3/8 in and 1/2-in bolts (9/16 in and 3/4 in nuts on them respectively).  I will obviously include 9/16" and 3/4" but what other wrench sizes do you see?  8mm bolts I believe require a 10mm wrench but need to confirm that.  What size wrench do the majority of the 10mm and 12mm bolts require?  What else is everyone seeing?  I know there are some obscurities out there.

Thanks 

Are you planning on this wrench being able to torque to manufacture specs as well as adjustable?

Edit: if these bolts had been properly torqued would the hangers have come loose?

Thanks for all the responses so far. It won't allow me to multi-quote everybody but here it goes.  Those universal pinned sockets bend the first or second time you use them so those are a no-go for me... I wish they worked well and consistently.  I've been using a crescent but as soon as you get angle on them due to rock etc you start getting slippage and I don't want to round off nuts nor beat my knuckles up too bad.  The metolius tool works great as long as you have a nice flat area and the hanger is open enough to allow enough swing to get to the next position (this weekend I got into that position and the metolius would not work where I was at). The AN aluminum crescent style wrenches are great for aluminum but steel or stainless steel even in AN sizing chew them up pretty badly.  They may work a little while but Even when I use them in automotive (I'm a mechanic on the side and work with AN a lot) on the proper sizes the stainless destroys them and typically they are actually built with larger tolerances than a good standard crescent.  I am not looking to torque to manufacturer specification technically.  I'm more looking to build a really lightweight tool that well help you in a pinch and will be worth packing way into the backcountry.  I didn't even think to use my knipex pliers... I'm going to test those this weekend. So far those are the best "universal" pliers I've used and I have a set in my box already.   

Chris Douglas wrote:

Thanks for all the responses so far. It won't allow me to multi-quote everybody but here it goes.  Those universal pinned sockets bend the first or second time you use them so those are a no-go for me... I wish they worked well and consistently.  I've been using a crescent but as soon as you get angle on them due to rock etc you start getting slippage and I don't want to round off nuts nor beat my knuckles up too bad.  The metolius tool works great as long as you have a nice flat area and the hanger is open enough to allow enough swing to get to the next position (this weekend I got into that position and the metolius would not work where I was at). The AN aluminum crescent style wrenches are great for aluminum but steel or stainless steel even in AN sizing chew them up pretty badly.  They may work a little while but Even when I use them in automotive (I'm a mechanic on the side and work with AN a lot) on the proper sizes the stainless destroys them and typically they are actually built with larger tolerances than a good standard crescent.  I am not looking to torque to manufacturer specification technically.  I'm more looking to build a really lightweight tool that well help you in a pinch and will be worth packing way into the backcountry.  I didn't even think to use my knipex pliers... I'm going to test those this weekend. So far those are the best "universal" pliers I've used and I have a set in my box already.   

The Knipex Pliers wrench are excellent. Not all adjustable (AKA Crescent) wrenches are the same. Check it out: 9:00 in for the goods

Devin Hanes wrote:

Sometimes the hanger is mistakenly oriented so a fall would try to rotate it counter clock wise( the hanger should be that the carabiner hangs dead center below the bolt, if the spine of the hanger is plumb the carabiner will hang left of center and try to rotate the hanger during a fall), but some aren't tightened enough to begin with as well.

Also, you know how when the rope is tight quickdraws go sideways, during falls if the quickdraws go sideways to the right it can have a cumulative effect like an impact wrench using the hanger for leverage on the nut one impact per fall and cumulatively loosen a nut.

These types of bolts are fine without a torque wrench, just tighten to the "knee" of the torque graph(when tightening it will all of a sudden get a lot harder to turn anymore, that's the "knee" of the torque graph(how much you're turning the nut per effort flat-lines)). Actually most people use torque wrenches improperly anyway, just hearing a click or watching the scale doesn't mean it is tightened enough, it has to be on a smooth sweep of the wrench, not a jerking motion, and your hand even has to be in the correct spot on some. If you know how to use a torque wrench properly you don't need one on these types of bolts.

Good to know, I have always wondered about this as an issue.  Would a nyloc nut solve this issue(?)

Hot and cold swings make everything expand and contract, plus loading and unloading etc.  Wedge bolts will loosen over time and use.  In some of our areas, water and ice getting in the holes I assume also works them loose.  (Not a pro, just opinion).  I don't think Nyloc would solve the issue permanently, especially with UV exposure.  The nylon usually deteriorates after a few years in the sun.  I'm not sure what causes them to loosen in every situation but I feel better on a tight bolt for sure hahah!

Chris Douglas wrote:

Hot and cold swings make everything expand and contract, plus loading and unloading etc.  Wedge bolts will loosen over time and use.  In some of our areas, water and ice getting in the holes I assume also works them loose.  (Not a pro, just opinion).  I don't think Nyloc would solve the issue permanently, especially with UV exposure.  The nylon usually deteriorates after a few years in the sun.  I'm not sure what causes them to loosen in every situation but I feel better on a tight bolt for sure hahah!

It's a hassle but rock dissolves in water, the more pressure on the bolt the faster this occurs. With wedge bolts and sleeve bolts the contact point is extremely small and the actual pressure very high so erosion can be suprisingly fast. Freeze push-out is a weĺl known problem, the Alpine associations recommend the lifespan of mechanical bolts in freeze/thaw environments to be ten years and we've certainly seen bolts completely pushed out from the rock in those sort of time periods.

The rock also erodes from under the hanger, at one of the areas where I was brought up the cliff has eroded back nearly an inch since the resin anchors were installed around twenty five years ago.

 Nylocs are a mistake and often prevent re-tightening!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbLS3rGtKDM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id973dHbATc

But... rock does wear away, as Jim says, so in time even these would loosen.

Jim Titt wrote:

It's a hassle but rock dissolves in water, the more pressure on the bolt the faster this occurs. With wedge bolts and sleeve bolts the contact point is extremely small and the actual pressure very high so erosion can be suprisingly fast. Freeze push-out is a weĺl known problem, the Alpine associations recommend the lifespan of mechanical bolts in freeze/thaw environments to be ten years and we've certainly seen bolts completely pushed out from the rock in those sort of time periods.

We’ll I guess this is another reason we should be using glue-in bolts. 

“where I was brought up the cliff has eroded back nearly an inch since the resin anchors were installed around twenty five years ago.”

At what point do you replace these resin anchors?