If jeans and or snow/ski pants didn't work, you'd probably have a set of ski polls with you. They could be bent into a "v" shape or fastened together and that could be used to slide down the cable

John

Probably already been said, but the announcer made a mistake, it's buster 3 not buster 2!

I just have to say somthing about a recent commercial "tube Sock" I think there is more here what can a person use and where for a emergency escape?

When i go snowboarding i use snow pants that are silky not jeans... u never where jeans.... also there would be snow on ur pants making it eazer to slide away...... and if that didnt work then u could slide away on ur board....

~Mike

I have a.d.d. so i didnt read everything but has anyone even considerd using a ski and or snowboard to slide down said cable like the guy above me said (just saw that)?

that would be my first thought being stuck on a chairlift other than the immediate thought of just jumping and trying to land like a heli-jump.

I'm not sure if someone said this is a previous post, but there is a movie where two people use their belts to slide down a wire. The movie is called Tango & Cash (1989). It's a old movie with Kurt Russell and Sylvester Stallone. While they are escaping from jail they use their belts to slide down a power cable. In the scene it's raining, which might help the belts slide.

This might be a good myth to try. I would try almost anything except jeans. lol.

If you were in jeans you would probably be wet, if you were just coming off of a run, and unless you had been up on the lift for a while it would not be a life threatening situation, unless, of course you were having a heart attack (and I seriously doubt you would try to slide down at that point). Any way if the jeans were wet and you were up there for sometime ice could accumulate on the line adding extra slip. And in theory wet jeans might not rip so easily , because there would be less heat from friction. But jeans would not be the best to slide down in anyway, jean fabric catches on alot of stuff so it would be better to try snow pants. Then again snow pants aren't always very durible. Usind the seat of your pants didn't make sense to me at all.

I agree with bretso. If I were stuck on a chairlift I would definitely go with the Tango and Cash belt move. However, it would be a completely different myth int that case. So if there was a person who really was wearing jeans while ski/snowboarding I would guess that person most likely would have had a belt on. I can only hope it was a real person and he didn't make it and fell to an awful end because he was too stupid to use the best materials at hand. With that said I hope to see the boys trying it with a belt.

I agree with the thoughts of a previous poster that if you grab both of the legs one hand at the bottom leg end and the other side slightly before the crotch (basically double legs only being used) it would work better.

Reason is that it would be more rip proof than using the stitched area, and also if they were slightly rolled up to help with friction reduction that would not hurt this stunts results at all, but might help.

Last thought
I would also think that if the hands are only inched from the cable not 2 feet away (length of the jeans) like the way that they tried, the arms might be kept slightly parted , another thing which should help with the friction as well.

i have no professional background.
i do not expect this to be read or answered.
i just graduated from high school in May 2007.
standard physics/biology/chemistry
i noticed that on the episode that when myth about the pant shimmy to safety was busted. i noticed factor that might count enough for the myht to be revisited. when metal outside and the temprature drops causing condensation where the water forms on the outside of the metal object(the cables). also that when tempratures drop below a certain level the water from the condensation freezes causing the acbles to have a then layer of ice. ice has no true friction because the water melts microscopic level which lets 60 LBS. of ice with enough force slide a good number of yards on a similar smooth surface. when the pant myth was taken place the episode showed that mythbusting had taken in warmer season without the frigid tempratures needed for skiers to go SKIENG. if the myth was to be busted it would make since the the cables would have enough of an icy layer to provide less friction between the pants and the cable. causing the actual sliding effect of the myth.
again something not expected to be looked back on. saw the episode thought it would be something to look into. i know Jaimie and Adam like to think outside the box. maybe this might be enough to have the myth revisited.

Kind of along the same lines as the jean zip line idea, in the movie "Tango and Cash", they used their leather belts to zip line down electrical wires during a thunder storm. I would have liked to see the Mythbusters try out leather belts to see if you really can zip line that fast down an electrical wire.

quote:

Originally posted by Macleod:
If jeans and or snow/ski pants didn't work, you'd probably have a set of ski polls with you. They could be bent into a "v" shape or fastened together and that could be used to slide down the cable

John

EXACTLY! Ski poles would be perfect for this, except for the fact that there are lift chairs about every 40 ft. You'd have to climb into each consecutive chair, which would become very tiring very quickly.

So, what angle / coefficient of friction combination is required for the jean situation to work?

Check these out:
Colombian Kids Slide Down 1,200 Foot Cable …to School
http://onemansblog.com/2007/09/08/colombian-kids-slide-...oot-cable-to-school/

Scary Video: 1200-Feet High Zip Line the School Bus for Colombian Kids
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/scary-video/1200+feet-high-z...bian-kids-294523.php

I agree with pretty most of the people... what goober is wearing ski pants of the slopes?
Also agree with the whole.. there's going to be seats hindering your slide and poles if you try the inside wires.
... I saw the episode at work last night and I've needed to say something since then, lol.

I was a little upset that you did not try more things the the jeans. I rather use my belt, then take my pants off. A leather belts would probably be much stronger then the jeans.

y wouldnt he use the skies/snowboard it wouldntcreat mutch friction?

that is very true blue jeans get hott from friction really quick. but would the pole be strong enough?lets get the 100th episode over with already

Just a quick comment, but who in the world would just sling their jeans over the line and go for it?

There is a reason rope is braided and people twist up strips of sheets when they are making an escape.

Not only would twisting up the jeans increase the strength and the cross section of the jeans, it would reduce the friction. Simply grab both ends of the jeans, spin them around until they are twisted up, then throw them over the line. Friction is greatly reduced, and your chances of having the jeans survive long enough for you to get to the next pole on the ski lift go way up.

I have always heard not to use your cruise control during cold weather because if you hit some black ice the car will excellerate rapidly and possibly flip over.

i was wondering if its possible to light a match with blue jeans, ive seen it happen, but i wanted to know for sure if you can light one