Recovery Gear - Straps vs. Ropes and What Size?

[Nickel]

Hi,

Looking for opinions/advice on recovery gear, specifically ropes vs. straps and what size.

1. Truck is a 2021 Tacoma double cab long bed - have added recovery points in front (BPF Fabrications) front passenger and back with a 2" hitch recovery)
2. I don't do any serious offroading technical trails, mainly fire roads, sand, snow.
3. I want to be prepared.
4. Also, I do not have a winch (if that matters)

In looking at recovery gear, I see straps in various widths (1" to 3") and lengths (20' to 30') and kenetic ropes - similar, larger diameter and lengths.

Is one style widely accepted as better than the other - rope or strap? My impression is kenetic rope is stronger/better but more expensive.
Is width or diamters mainly about strength or are there other benefits?
Is there any benefit to also getting soft shackles? My plan is to not have the steel shackles on my truck permanently, they would be in my gear bag in the truck and would attach them when needed. I gather the benefit of the soft shackles is for people who have the steel shackles permanently installed and the soft shackles remove the need to take them off to put the rope or strap loop thru them?

Mentally I have arrived at getting a 20', 3" wide strap. Before I buy I wanted opinions/advice.

 

[smritte]

I have two 2"X 20' tow straps and one 20' Kinetic strap.
The tow straps are for pulling/moving things(Mild stuck vehicle, tow a vehicle, down trees, tie off to something for the winch..) and the Kinetic is for when I need to get a bit of a running start to unstuck someone. The Kinetic is not happy if I need to tow someone any distance.

I use the 2" wide strap because they have a bit more stretch than a 3". I also don't have a full size truck but have never had any issues using my 2" on anything.
I've used this combo for decades as well as steel shackles. For the areas I go, I worry about the soft ones. I also don't use a steel shackle to tie two straps, only on ends. I have a technique for tieing my straps together so I dont need a shackle in-between.

OH, yea...the 2" are easier to store

 

[smritte]

I gather the benefit of the soft shackles is for people who have the steel shackles permanently installed and the soft shackles remove the need to take them off to put the rope or strap loop thru them?

I keep steel shackles in a bag and just use them as needed. If I had to use my winch pullies, I would still need a steel on the pulley. If you have the mounts steel are easy to put on and off. Once in a while, I have had to tie onto something that would cut a soft shackle. I don't see the need to have soft when I already carry 6 steel.

 

[tjZ06]

Kinetic ropes, not straps. There are a zillion brands now, I have one from Masterpull that I use for recovering larger vehicles (I'm talking 30-40k lbs RVs stuck in the sand when I go to Glamis) and a smaller one that I think is a Bubba Rope that I carry for trucks 'n Jeeps and such. A kinetic rope is ALWAYS the way to go for pulling one vehicle with another. It makes the recovery easier, and also easier on both the vehicles involved. If you're not familiar with them, the basic idea is they stretch (generally up to 50% of their overall length) which is storying energy in the rope. They gently break the stuck vehicle free and apply all of that energy without shocking either vehicle with a hard "hit." It is still good to have some shorter strap material (like a large tree saver) to use for attaching on vehicles without suitable recovery points, when winching (don't winch with a kinetic rope, IMHO), or using to secure a vehicle that might be sliding into a ditch/body of water/cliff/whatever.

-TJ

 

[madcratebuilder]

You want to match the kinetic rope diameter to the weight of the vehicles you are working with. 1.25" rope with a small rig you don't get much stretch.

 

[grubworm]

Truck is a 2021 Tacoma

ok...you have a toyota, so chances of needing recovery gear is slim....

i generally go with something that will serve double duty, so i went with a 3" strap. i have a tundra, and although it is a fairly light vehicle, i factored in the suction of it getting in deep mud and figured the 30K rating of the 3" strap would be plenty. i could have gone with a smaller strap, but for a few bucks more, i went with the 3" just in case i come across a large RV that is stuck and might need help and the 3" strap can also be choked and still have a high pull force rating.
although retired, i still do some construction work and use the strap for that sometimes. i looked for a strap that is well made and has good stitching. i have bought harbor freight straps and the stitching has come loose, so i really don't want those for recovery gear. i ended up going with this one off amazon....i use it a good bit and recently used it in a building demolition doing repairs after hurricane ida. its a very tough strap and takes abrasion well...

i do carry various shackles and i go with harbor freight on those and just go with a slightly larger size because they are cheap and i really dont trust the rating. crosby shackles are the best, but expensive. shackles are great because i can hook them to items that might damage my strap (sharp angles, etc) and i can use the shackle to choke the strap or rig it as a basket for more strength. shackles really help with rigging and versatility and are a lot easier to remove than using a knot to join rope or straps

if its being used for strictly vehicle recovery, i'd go with the kinetic rope as for the reasons @tjZ06 stated.

 

[MMc]

I have two 2"X 20' tow straps and one 20' Kinetic strap.
The tow straps are for pulling/moving things(Mild stuck vehicle, tow a vehicle, down trees, tie off to something for the winch..) and the Kinetic is for when I need to get a bit of a running start to unstuck someone. The Kinetic is not happy if I need to tow someone any distance.

I use the 2" wide strap because they have a bit more stretch than a 3". I also don't have a full size truck but have never had any issues using my 2" on anything.
I've used this combo for decades as well as steel shackles. For the areas I go, I worry about the soft ones. I also don't use a steel shackle to tie two straps, only on ends. I have a technique for tieing my straps together so I dont need a shackle in-between.

OH, yea...the 2" are easier to store

This is good info. I have kinetic rope and static straps so they are not confused. I also have soft and hard shackles. The most important thing is knowing how to use them.

 

[KAIONE]

I have a 2021 4Runner @grubworm, same boat as far as you for where and what I’m venturing on. I got a 4”x29’ ARB snatch strap and also have a 4”x30’ tow strap from Rhino USA. I have 2 soft shackles and 2 steel. My $.02 was spend the money on the kinetic and save on the tow. Shackles come and go, they carry easy. Do you go out solo? That’s one thing I do a lot and so I went a bit overboard just in case I’m stuck and someone comes along and gives me a hand I don’t want to have my gear fail cause I don’t want to waste others time for giving me a hand. Yank me out and be on your way, I’ll do the rest is my approach. I also went bigger in case others need assistance. I had to help tug a 1ton truck back onto the road in the snow and am glad I had larger kit. So I recommend going bigger than your GVW, cause it’s not always about just your rig and if you snap your $300 rope on a 1ton, it’s hard to walk up to someone and say “hey can you buy me a new one? Thx”. Also if you do go with a group there might be bigger rigs or those times where you need to double down on some trees or multiple rigs etc.

Stay safe out there!

 

[Ragman]

This is good info. I have kinetic rope and static straps so they are not confused. I also have soft and hard shackles. The most important thing is knowing how to use them.

Well Said

 

[tjZ06]

You want to match the kinetic rope diameter to the weight of the vehicles you are working with. 1.25" rope with a small rig you don't get much stretch.

110%. I don't use my large 33k lbs rope with pickups and Jeeps and stuff, it will act much more like a strap at that point.

-TJ

 

[smritte]

Here's a bit on info on the Kinetics. Hopefully someone doesn't learn the hard way like me. The manufacture site's will (hopefully) tell you about not using it too many times in a row without letting it cool down. If you get them too hot they can loose their ability to stretch.
I towed a vehicle back to camp. The distance was around 20 miles. My Kinetic strap was new. When I went to use it the next day, it barely stretched. I contacted the manufacture and was told I overheated it. They still sent me a new one. Now if I tow, its with my regular strap.

 

[Nickel]

Thanks everyone. To echo back the main points:

1. Straps are for towing
2. Kenetic Rope is for recovery (Snatch)

Some of the straps I see online advertise as both snatch and tow. Is this legit or a gimmick? Put another way, is this a trustable claim?

Example here.

 

[smritte]

I believe the bottom line is, you can do either with either as long as you know the limits.

 

[MMc]

There are both kinetic and dynamic ropes and straps. I keep my straps kinetic so I don't confuse myself.

 

[slomatt]

As noted above you want to size a kinetic rope/strap based on the weight of the vehicles you'll be recovering. ASR Offroad has a good chart showing recommended sizes.

Kinetic Recovery Rope info/use

www.asroffroad.com

I just upgraded my 20 year old well-used 3"x30' strap to a 7/8"x20' rope. Most ropes stretch more than straps (~10% more) which means you can build up additional energy to help with the recovery. A downside to a rope is that a strap takes less storage space. As an example, my strap is 10 feet longer than the rope, yet it packs into a much smaller space. I went with a 20' rope because on the trails I run there isn't always room to get 30' between trucks, and if I need additional distance I can always use my tree saver and a soft shackle to extend the rope.

As for shackles, I recommend carrying enough to connect the recovery rope/strap to your vehicle and also to another vehicle. This way if someone is stuck (or you are stuck and someone else is recovering you) you don't depend on them having the necessary gear to attach a strap/rope to their vehicle. It looks like you have shackles front and rear on your truck, so you might want to carry a soft shackle and a spare hitch pin for potential use on another vehicle. The soft shackle can hook to factory recovery points, or to a control arm (not recommended), or be stuck into a trailer hitch with the spare hitch pin (avoid side pulls).

 

[Downs]

I keep steel shackles in a bag and just use them as needed. If I had to use my winch pullies, I would still need a steel on the pulley. If you have the mounts steel are easy to put on and off. Once in a while, I have had to tie onto something that would cut a soft shackle. I don't see the need to have soft when I already carry 6 steel.

Because there are places you can use soft shackles are safer than steel shackles. Example is connecting two straps together, if you use a steel shackle in this instance and one of the straps fails you now have a 2lb missile, where as the soft shackles will carry far less energy in such a failure. Basically hard shackles for connecting to hard points, soft shackles for connecting soft things together. Though you can use a soft shackle to connect to hard points as long as it's sufficiently smooth.

 

[rho]

Reminder that straps and ropes need to get checked for abrasion and wear. Soft shackles are also must haves in addition to steel shackles. When I get home from work I can put up a more comprehensive list on inspection of slings, rope and straps.


We had a strap fail on us this past weekend, and, well. Yeah.
If we used a steel shackle when rigging this it would hand dramatically increased the potential damage.
I suspect this one had more than minor internal damage, but it also had some evidence of wear on the outer jacket in a few spots. The wear on it was something I missed when I was getting the rigging setup, so my fault there but no one was injured and no truck damage occurred.
We got lucky.


No matter what the OP goes with, consider this a reminder to take good care of your rigging and recovery gear, and replace it before it gets to the point of failure.

 

[huachuca]

Carry both - As noted by others here, they serve two different functions (Strap for towing and kinetic rope for extraction). Also, a 6' to 8' tree saver. Strap and/or tree saver can be used in conjunction with kinetic rope as extension(s) if necessary.

I carry two 2" x 20' straps, a 4" x 8' tree saver, one 3/4" x 30' snatch rope, four 3/4" hard shackles and four 1/2" soft shackles. I also have a half dozen or so 3/4" x 6" hardwood dowels that I use when connecting the straps and/or rope to each other (Makes separating them so much easier and much safer than a hard shackle). Last is a 5/16" x 6' length of chain which I use in lieu of the tree saver if I'm dragging something through mud or over rocks. A good pair of leather gloves can come in handy as well,

 

[smritte]

Because there are places you can use soft shackles are safer than steel shackles. Example is connecting two straps together,

As I mentioned in my post, I don't use steel shackles to combine straps and never have. There's a very old technique for tieing them together and still be able to separate them. That's what I have used for decades, sometimes combining as many as four straps. In my lifetime, soft shackles are a recent addition. If they were available when I started learning this, I would still have learned to be able to do this without them, just in case I didn't have access.

In all the recoveries I have done, including moving obstacles, there has never been an instance where soft shackles would have made any difference. Everyone has diffrent techniques, some better than others. For me, I find soft shackles a waste of money.

I am also of the opinion that lack of proper available training in the way of recovery, they have a place.

 

[9Mike2]

I have found Factor55 makes great products, and you can see their destruct testing on YouTube. I also use "Crosby " brand Shackles as that's what Edison uses for all our work... I have seen what happen to chain, lines and shackles that are pushed too far, not pretty...Oh I just thought about one problem , be very careful of any "side pull" as we even had alot problems happen even on the boom of a crane when someone pulls to the side, blowing up the bull gear of a 18 ton crane when an operator did a 10 ton side pull....