Army, first responders getting the hook.

• Author: Williams, Robert H.
• Position: Tech Talk - Brief Article

Soldiers and first responders soon will get the hook, literally. In this case, the hook is an Army Natick Soldier Center-designed device that will be used to scale walls and buildings and board boats.

"This hook is soldier-tough," said Jim Sadeck, who invented the compact device. "It passed all Army requirements." He pointed out that when folded, it becomes a cube weighing less than 1.5 pounds. But when deployed, the hook can support up to 1,608 pounds.

Traditional grappling hooks generally are "large, bulky and risky to use, because the breaking strength of the metal is largely...