I have used the hitch pins with bail on a Jiffy and for extension on same, catching a hoodie string or such is legitimate concern. on extension I have had bail pop open including throwing pin at times (not yet lost flighting (drill) portion down the hole yet though, but came close) drilling in thick ice due to ice chip build up in hole. I have had it happen with both 'bail opening' pointed in direction of rotation and against, more likely to happen with bail opening pointed in direction of rotation I think. Have to lift auger to clean out chips from hole often while drilling to prevent (and check to see if bail still closed), but one needs to do that anyway when drilling in thick ice, I have seen stuck flightings such as on Winnipeg. Some day I may experiment with cutting a notch in pin for bail when closed to see if that helps.