PowerLink Hell

I love the idea of the SRAM PowerLink but I find removing them to be a nightmare. I've talked to other riders who say the same. I refuse to drop $15 on the park tool, so I started to think about techniques to remove the link. First I started with a wire hangar. This worked once or twice but the last time it just kept bending the wire and the link wouldn't budge. Some time later when replacing my shifter cables, I found myself staring at the old cable. I started to think the cable might work. I threaded it through the PowerLink and pulled the cable ends tight and the PowerLink popped right off. The last time I removed the chain it was a bit more difficult -- it took two vice grips to pop the link. Perhaps there is a better method but this works for now and I'm $15 richer.