I spent 3 years working on a coat hanger [video]
A YouTube maker’s three‑year quest to design a foldable coat hanger for shallow closets and small spaces has drawn both admiration for the meticulous design process and skepticism about its practicality and price. Commenters debate whether the hanger–plus–custom-rod system truly beats existing space‑saving options, how much creasing or bulk it introduces, and whether such a niche product can justify $6–$20 per unit. The thread broadens into reflections on intellectual property and inevitable knock‑offs, the growing role of marketing in hardware success, and the appeal of seeing “shitty prototypes” evolve into polished consumer products.
Product concept & use cases
- Foldable hangers plus a shallow wall-mounted rod let clothes store nearly flat against the wall, targeting shallow closets, alcoves, tiny apartments, RVs, vans, and old houses with too-shallow wardrobes.
- Several commenters say this would have solved real problems they have (Tokyo–style apartments, non‑standard depth closets, RVs, odd alcoves, “limbo” clothes between clean/dirty).
- Others feel it’s niche, useful only as part of a full system (hanger + custom rod), not as a general replacement.
Design, creasing, and limitations
- Positive reactions to apparent simplicity and the clear, iterative design story (over 100 prototypes).
- Concerns that folding garments may cause creases or pressure marks, especially with clothes pressed against walls and with the off‑center fold line.
- Some note it won’t work well for bulky winter coats or certain pants‑hanging styles; others point out pants can be hung in common folded configurations.
- Fixed notches on the rod keep everything neat but may waste horizontal space and reduce flexibility.
“Already solved?” Alternatives and prior art
- Multiple commenters argue space-saving hanging is already “solved” via:
- Rotating hooks hung at 45°,
- Pull‑out or perpendicular rods,
- Vertical multi‑hanger gadgets,
- Shallow hooks or kids’ hangers.
- Counterpoints: those options are messy, harder to browse, need more DIY, or don’t fit shallow-depth constraints as cleanly.
- Some point to prior patents and other foldable hangers, but note this design’s twist—folding while loaded and hanging.
Pricing, manufacturing, and IP
- Many view ~$6–20 per hanger as expensive versus cheap wooden or metal hangers; some suggest it mainly appeals to fans or higher‑income, space‑constrained buyers.
- Others note small‑run hardware, custom molds, and R&D make early units costly; margins may not be as huge as they look.
- Strong expectation that the design will be rapidly cloned on mass‑market platforms; debate over whether patents/design protection can realistically slow this.
- Broader discussion on China’s copy‑driven ecosystem, open‑source vs “rip‑off,” and whether weak IP enforcement discourages innovation or simply shifts value to manufacturing.
Meta: maker culture, marketing, and Kickstarter
- Many praise the transparent iteration, failure‑driven process, and “deceptively simple” design as a model of good product thinking.
- Others see the video and Kickstarter primarily as a polished marketing campaign leveraging an existing audience; debate over whether such launches belong on HN.
- Side discussion on how, in modern hardware, design, certification, and especially marketing often dominate whether a good idea succeeds.