Quality soft shackle brands recommendation (1 Viewer)

[kcjaz]

Looking at soft shackles. There seem to be endless choices and price range. I want a quality product that is really rated and type tested but I also don't just want to pay dollars for branding and marketing. Recomendations?

 

[1world1love]

Bubba rope, Warn, Maxtrax, factor 55, and a host of other mainstream 4x4 equipment vendors offer soft shackles. Just choose one that is rated for your expected use.

 

[1world1love]

Looking at soft shackles. There seem to be endless choices and price range. I want a quality product that is really rated and type tested but I also don't just want to pay dollars for branding and marketing. Recomendations?

Curious though, why a soft shackle rather than a bow shackle?

 

[kcjaz]

Curious though, why a soft shackle rather than a bow shackle?

Haven't totally decided. Just looking at what's out there. IMO, you can't totally replace bow shackles with soft shackles. For me its not really a question of one or the other, its more bow shackles only or both and use the soft shackle whenever possible.

 

[Artie]

I went with the bubba rope soft shackles, kinetic ropes and tree savers, and factor 55 snatch blocks (I think they called them ‘rope rentention pulleys) and other closed loop winching items. The bubba rope seemed to have the highest weight rating and failure weights for soft shackles and the factor 55 looks to me to have top tier machining and all the testing to justify the cost. I bought straight from the manufacturer and every piece has the rating tags on them. I have a couple Crosby now shackles but would rather carry the soft shackles for the weight savings and safety factor if they ever take flight.

 

[highfructose]

I’m going to go look for failure tests for the cheap amazon ones on YouTube...some YouTube must have torture tested them...

 

[CharlieS]

I have Factor 55 soft shackles. The dizzying array of options was confusing, so I went with a trusted company. I also have a few ARB bow shackles.

 

[kcjaz]

dizzying array of options was confusing

You got that right!

 

[CharlieS]

Curious though, why a soft shackle rather than a bow shackle?

I'm not really qualified to answer, but I'll take a shot: from what I can tell they are lighter, have less mass to do damage if get launched, and have higher load ratings. They also have to be used correctly, and you need to be careful of sharp edges.

 

[Rigger]

I like that they are lighter.

 

[bloc]

I'm not really qualified to answer, but I'll take a shot: from what I can tell they are lighter, have less mass to do damage if get launched, and have higher load ratings. They also have to be used correctly, and you need to be careful of sharp edges.

They can also fit onto or through some places a bow shackle will not.

For everyone: also consider a synthetic lifting “round sling” in your recovery gear. Perfect for wrapping around axle, suspension arm, frame, or crossmember when the stuck vehicle doesn’t have good recovery points, quite abrasion resistant, and the sleeve makes it tolerant of grease and dirt. And not very expensive.

 

[grinchy]

always a sobering watch

 

[borfoo3]

Curious though, why a soft shackle rather than a bow shackle?

Safer, lighter, easier to mount, just as strong as a bow shackle, prevents damaging the vehicle or bumper.

I've had good luck with Bubba rope soft shackles for a few years now. I still have my d shackles but barely use them anymore beyond decoration on my rear bumper

 

[g1701gst]

Dillo Hide Soft Shackle

We took the traditional view of soft shackles, and turned it up to 11. In addition to the light weight, strong, and versatile soft shackle, we went...

www.treatyoakoffroad.com

The strong points of the Treaty Oak soft shackles are that they are made here in the USA and are tested at there ISO 9001 manufacturing facility so you know that you are purchasing a fully rated and tested shackle.

 

[ga12r1]

Looking at soft shackles. There seem to be endless choices and price range. I want a quality product that is really rated and type tested but I also don't just want to pay dollars for branding and marketing. Recomendations?

Ironman has some good options and the price is right, buy a few and get free shipping too. I would recommend getting two of the smaller and two of the larger because the larger diameter doesn't always fit through the holes on some recovery points. I've gave mine hell and had zero issues.

 

[TLC2013]

I prefer the soft shackles for all above mentioned points. Have had good result with both the cheapo amazon soft shackles and US made high end/pricey ones. I have and use both depending on the situation.

 

[linuxgod]

I'm not really qualified to answer, but I'll take a shot: from what I can tell they are lighter, have less mass to do damage if get launched, and have higher load ratings. They also have to be used correctly, and you need to be careful of sharp edges.

One comment about increased load ratings... in a failure scenario (where for instance you're puling on a vehicle that is completely stuck), physics says something has to give. Maybe it's your shackle, maybe it's your winch line, maybe it's your frame. Not saying you should buy unrated or underrated shackles, just that if you're buying shackles rated at 100k lbs WLL expect your much more expensive winch line to break first.

As to various types of shackles, everyone should carry both. Bow shackles/D-rings are needed in some scenarios, soft shackles work best in others.

 

[WCDAVE]

I found this discussion of the differences enlightening.

 

[kcjaz]

One comment about increased load ratings... in a failure scenario (where for instance you're puling on a vehicle that is completely stuck), physics says something has to give. Maybe it's your shackle, maybe it's your winch line, maybe it's your frame. Not saying you should buy unrated or underrated shackles, just that if you're buying shackles rated at 100k lbs WLL expect your much more expensive winch line to break first.

As to various types of shackles, everyone should carry both. Bow shackles/D-rings are needed in some scenarios, soft shackles work best in others.

Another thing to understand about rigging is that pulling things horizontally is very different than lifting things vertically. The big difference is that on a vertical lift the maximum load is really just the weight of the object you are lifting which you know. If you don't know the weight, you have no business lifting it. On a horizontal pull, the maximum load is whatever the winch can deliver. A bigger winch doesn't hurt you in a vertical lift but bigger can kill you in a horizontal pull situation. Sure, your truck may only weigh 8000 lbs but it could get hung up on something and become an anchor point. If that happens your winch will max out and the maximum pulling force is usually greater than the winch rating. a 12,000 lb rated winch could have a maximum pulling force 125% or even more than the rating, e.g. 15,000 lb. As long as your rigging and the attachment points are rated or at least have a breaking strength greater than 125% of the winch rating, you are probably good. It is easy to make sure your rigging has the correct capacities. Its usually the attachment points that pose the most risk. What I am trying to achieve when I add my winch is that the winch itself will be the "fuse" or limiting component, then nothing will fail or break in the rigging or attachments if the truck gets hung up.

 

[bloc]

Another thing to understand about rigging is that pulling things horizontally is very different than lifting things vertically. The big difference is that on a vertical lift the maximum load is really just the weight of the object you are lifting which you know. If you don't know the weight, you have no business lifting it. On a horizontal pull, the maximum load is whatever the winch can deliver. A bigger winch doesn't hurt you in a vertical lift but bigger can kill you in a horizontal pull situation. Sure, your truck may only weigh 8000 lbs but it could get hung up on something and become an anchor point. If that happens your winch will max out and the maximum pulling force is usually greater than the winch rating. a 12,000 lb rated winch could have a maximum pulling force 125% or even more than the rating, e.g. 15,000 lb. As long as your rigging and the attachment points are rated or at least have a breaking strength greater than 125% of the winch rating, you are probably good. It is easy to make sure your rigging has the correct capacities. Its usually the attachment points that pose the most risk. What I am trying to achieve when I add my winch is that the winch itself will be the "fuse" or limiting component, then nothing will fail or break in the rigging or attachments if the truck gets hung up.

That is an atypical viewpoint, when winches are so often talked about in "bigger is better" terms, but the above makes a ton of sense.