Quality soft shackle brands recommendation (1 Viewer)

[ga12r1]

Party time

Last photo is Factor55 Extreme shackle left HF shackle right. Look, feel, and finish are basically identical with the HF shackle being slightly beefier and rated slightly higher. About 1/3 the price.

 

[grinchy]

It's amazing how much lower the cost of entry is now than it was 4 years ago when I went soft.

 

[ga12r1]

It's amazing how much lower the cost of entry is now than it was 4 years ago when I went soft.

Yeah/ generics really have brought the price down

 

[highfructose]

There are videos comparing chinesium synthetic line on YouTube…if I remember correctly, some of the off brand stuff performed better than the expensive stuff…

but the cheaper off brand ones were also thicker/heavier than they’re supposed to be (1/4” wasn’t really 1/4”)…

so the Chinese manufacturers may sometimes skirt quality by adding quantity to the strand thickness. So you lose out on weight/thinness but you may not lose out on toughness.

 

[ga12r1]

There are videos comparing chinesium synthetic line on YouTube…if I remember correctly, some of the off brand stuff performed better than the expensive stuff…

but the cheaper off brand ones were also thicker/heavier than they’re supposed to be (1/4” wasn’t really 1/4”)…

so the Chinese manufacturers may sometimes skirt quality by adding quantity to the strand thickness. So you lose out on weight/thinness but you may not lose out on toughness.

That makes sense. All my “off-brand” soft shackles have been physically larger than my Factor55. Interestingly enough though out of about 100 recoveries the only failure I’ve had was a F55 soft shackle attaching a snatch block to a tree saver on a double line pull.
And also at this point I’m not sure I would call HF Badlands products “off-brand”

 

[TeCKis300]

That was brutal. Goes to show anything can fail when used wrong. What I take away is a completely soft hookup is good, but don't let your guard down when recovery forces are involved.

I've been complacent and not always using a line damper. I think I'll be doing that going forward for both kinetic and winch recoveries.

Here's another recent incident that has me clenching. He was lucky here.

 

[kcjaz]

The engineer in me says the rating of 9500 lbf is too low for the application. My winch is rated at 12,000 lbs which means it can actually pull about 1.25 x that which is 15,000. I still want my 5X safety factor for my shackles (like all my rigging components) which means a breaking strength of at least 75,000 lbs and a rating of 15,000 lbs. I know, that 47,500/15,000 = 3.1 and some people may have the opinion that a 3x safety factor is good enough. Maybe so, maybe not. My perspective is from U.S. heavy construction industry which isn't the 4x4 recovery world. What I do know is that we would fire the rigging engineer if he pulled or lifted anything heavier than the weakest RATED component and that is hard for me to get out of my head. I suspect most here would consider what I'm saying as way too conservative and I admit that I have not consistently done what I'm saying. I know I've used my Factor 55 3/8" "Extreme duty" soft shackle, rated at 8,700 lb / 43,500 MBS (less than the HB shackle above) on a single line pull where I stalled out my winch and nothing broke. Does this mean doing that was OK? Theoretically, the 8700 lb rated shackle should never break with 15,000 lbs applied to it. How much safety factor is overkill?

Also, what's with the "do not use for lifting" note on the tag? if you are lifting, at least you know the max load isn't more than the weight of the thing being lifted. Pulling is more dangerous in that you can easily hit your winch limit even if you though it was going to be an easy pull.

 

[grinchy]

View attachment 3581736

The engineer in me says the rating of 9500 lbf is too low for the application. My winch is rated at 12,000 lbs which means it can actually pull about 1.25 x that which is 15,000. I still want my 5X safety factor for my shackles (like all my rigging components) which means a breaking strength of at least 75,000 lbs and a rating of 15,000 lbs. I know, that 47,500/15,000 = 3.1 and some people may have the opinion that a 3x safety factor is good enough. Maybe so, maybe not. My perspective is from U.S. heavy construction industry which isn't the 4x4 recovery world. What I do know is that we would fire the rigging engineer if he pulled or lifted anything heavier than the weakest RATED component and that is hard for me to get out of my head. I suspect most here would consider what I'm saying as way too conservative and I admit that I have not consistently done what I'm saying. I know I've used my Factor 55 3/8" "Extreme duty" soft shackle, rated at 8,700 lb / 43,500 MBS (less than the HB shackle above) on a single line pull where I stalled out my winch and nothing broke. Does this mean doing that was OK? Theoretically, the 8700 lb rated shackle should never break with 15,000 lbs applied to it. How much safety factor is overkill?

Also, what's with the "do not use for lifting" note on the tag? if you are lifting, at least you know the max load isn't more than the weight of the thing being lifted. Pulling is more dangerous in that you can easily hit your winch limit even if you though it was going to be an easy pull.

The pat answer is to use a line extension (if necessary to get the reach) and a pulley and make everything half as forceful.

Of course that increases set up time and halves the winch speed too . . . so it takes a lot longer.

 

[ga12r1]

The pat answer is to use a line extension (if necessary to get the reach) and a pulley and make everything half as forceful.

Of course that increases set up time and halves the winch speed too . . . so it takes a lot longer.

The only issue I have with this is you are doubling and tripling potential failure points.
The only shackle failure I’ve ever had was on a double line pull and the snatch block flew off at the speed of light hit a boulder the size of a beach ball and broke it completely in half. We never were able to find the failed shackle.
I have no metal in my line or rigging on a single line pull so I try to do that unless i just have to use a snatch block, usually for redirection.

 

[highfructose]

The only issue I have with this is you are doubling and tripling potential failure points.
The only shackle failure I’ve ever had was on a double line pull and the snatch block flew off at the speed of light hit a boulder the size of a beach ball and broke it completely in half. We never were able to find the failed shackle.
I have no metal in my line or rigging on a single line pull so I try to do that unless i just have to use a snatch block, usually for redirection.

I would tend not to use snatch blocks (true pulley style) with synthetic shackles…at least with my classic snatch block (pulley style), the metal is thin where it engages with a shackle…thin crease point plus synthetic doesn’t seem like a good mix…synthetic line/shackles need a wider radius than what a classic pulley style snatch block offers at the point that it fastens to an anchor.

imo putting a bow shackle on a snatch block (pulley style) is preferable. Obviously the non pulley style snatch blocks are designed for soft shackles.

Bear in mind, the guy in the video from this thread appears to have ripped the recovery point off the vehicle…in all likelihood he wasn’t using a rated recovery point and was, instead, just using a tie down…or he didn’t properly torque the recovery point down.

Either way, I think it was an elastic recovery rope, not a winch.

With a winch, everything goes slow…you can half the speed and double the pulling power…or more. You can hide behind doors…hide behind the car…

 

[ga12r1]

I would tend not to use snatch blocks (true pulley style) with synthetic shackles…at least with my classic snatch block (pulley style), the metal is thin where it engages with a shackle…thin crease point plus synthetic doesn’t seem like a good mix…synthetic line/shackles need a wider radius than what a classic pulley style snatch block offers at the point that it fastens to an anchor.

imo putting a bow shackle on a snatch block (pulley style) is preferable. Obviously the non pulley style snatch blocks are designed for soft shackles.

Bear in mind, the guy in the video from this thread appears to have ripped the recovery point off the vehicle…in all likelihood he wasn’t using a rated recovery point and was, instead, just using a tie down…or he didn’t properly torque the recovery point down.

Either way, I think it was an elastic recovery rope, not a winch.

With a winch, everything goes slow…you can half the speed and double the pulling power…or more. You can hide behind doors…hide behind the car…

Yea. My snatch block was radiused for soft shackle use but I know some definitely are not.
If I can do a single line pull with zero metal involved that is just what I prefer

 

[Umbrarian]

Bit of a thread resurrection but this is recent, and while somewhat way too long, has lessons to take away

Ouch.

$15K CareFlite bill for a chin cut.

Lotta lessons in that video.

 

[rlynch356]

Most/All(?) Winch Ropes have a Steel Gusset Tube Eye - That is perfectly fine to use with a soft shackle.. or a soft eye loop.
Bubba and Safe-Xtract Dip their soft Eye loops for ease of use, that and the regular soft eye loop are fine to use alone as well...


I guess what I am trying to say is, no need to over engineer it when there is a solution already on the end of your rope.


FWIW...
There is an international standard system for Rope...

Dyneema and Plasma ropes are pretty much the ones used in the offshore lifting and boating industry, both are HMPE fibers...

Offshore is Where synthetic winch and dynamic lines came from...
(Spydura is Dyneema with UHMC fibers and is for the offf roading industry, not lifting)

Nowadays there are thousands of companies making synthetic winch lines out of all sorts of materials most are UHMWPE fibers, some conform to the international standards, many don't...

For instance you can get a Chinese synthetic winch line on AMZ for $67.99... No idea what it is other than a "UHMWPE" Line - it says Dyneema in the description but that is the producing company in the Netherlands... and I highly doubt it is Dyneema just because the cost per foot for Dyneema is between $1.25 and $2 in spools before shipping of course.

Anyway, yes you can get cheap stuff from those companies but this is a highly critical load bearing line that is critical to a safe outcome when recovering...

Pretty much all the basic equipment we use in winching came from the lifting industry.. I try and stay with companies that produce for that.

I have a 15 year old Dyneema Samson Blue Rope on my Defender with a SS gusset eye (cut down to 80'), and the Safe-Xtract Plasma Line on the 200....

Pic of my d90 winch line end this is a pretty old rope with 100’s of pulls on it as well…

 

[kcjaz]

1/2" NexGen PRO Gator-Jaw® Synthetic Soft Shackle

The NexGen PRO Gator-Jaw® Synthetic Soft Shackle is made from 1/2" HMPE diameter synthetic rope. It has an average breaking strength (ABS) of 75,000 lbs. and a minimum breaking strength (MBS) of 70,000 lbs. A flexible tough epoxy rubber slider slips over a patented designed knot making a strong...

www.bubbarope.com

 

[Markuson]

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

A few reasons come to mind-
-They don’t kill you if they fail & launch.
-They freely move at various angles without compromising their rating…where some anchors force a standard shackle to angle awkwardly.
-They can wrap around and bend through anchor points standard shackles can’t.

 

[Markuson]

It's amazing how much lower the cost of entry is now than it was 4 years ago when I went soft.

Hey… Stay on topic!
But ya… I hear the blue pill passed its patent life limitation… So entry def cheaper than when you first went soft..

 

[kcjaz]

As I continue down the rabbit hole, I thought that the Spydura synthetic rope that came with my Warn Xeon 12s winch was rated at 16,500 lbs. Turns out that the 16,500 is breaking strength not rating/MLL. Even the Safe Xtract 7/16” line is “only” 21,000 MTS. The HB shackle is theoretically more than twice as strong.

it sure seems that the 5x safety factor used in industrial rigging isn’t what is done in vehicle recovery as winch manufacturers do not do this. I’m sure this is mostly due to OSHA and other regs that apply to construction industry but not recreational 4x4 vehicle recovery. To get to a 5X safety factor, I’d need 3/4” line which would mean I’d probably only be able to have 40’ of it to fit on the drum. Doesn’t seem anyone does this.

Choose the Correct Size Winch Line

www.masterpull.com

This seems like a good potential replacement line similar to safe Xtract.

Superline Winch Line | 3/8" (10mm)

Master Pull manufactures high performance vehicle recovery equipment and rigging for a wide range of applications, from recreational off-road to heavy duty military and industrial use.

www.masterpull.com

 

[rlynch356]

@kcjaz you are correct, we do not need to use the same safety factors as the lifting industry. But then again we are pulling horizontally, and in a static recovery (winching) the loads are generally not as much as the full weight of the truck. For instance it might only take 1,000lbs of force from your 12,000 LBS rated winch to pull you out.

MTS is the Minimum Tensile strength, ie the minimum load that batch of rope will break at, not the maximum. This should be done over multiple batches and as a continual process during manufacturing.

21,000 typically gives you a 2:1 safety factor for that piece of gear, if your truck weights less than 10,500lbs..

Another side note:
Winch are capacity rated on the first wrap around the drum. and every layer of wrap reduces the rating by apt 10% (for easy math).

Chris provides a great explanation here -> Line Strength Ratings - Safe-Xtract® - https://www.safe-xtract.com/key-terminology/synthetic-line-strength-ratings-and-why-they-are-important/

Masterpull is a great choice. I used that on my last D110 build with an 8274.

 

[kcjaz]

@kcjaz you are correct, we do not need to use the same safety factors as the lifting industry. But then again we are pulling horizontally, and in a static recovery (winching) the loads are generally not as much as the full weight of the truck. For instance it might only take 1,000lbs of force from your 12,000 LBS rated winch to pull you out.

I agree with this, but the flip side is that you can go from pulling at 1000 lbs, to the winch limit (15,000 lbs) pretty quickly if you get hung up on something and not realize it. See my posts #20 and #27 above. Thanks for the good discussion and for the feedback on Masterpull. They look to be out of stock for a lot of stuff though.

 

[kcjaz]

Look at what UPS delivered today!

A couple weeks ago I called MasterPull to ask some questions on ratings and differences between there Superline and SuperlinXD winch lines. Emil Bjornsson answered the phone. He happens to be the CEO of MasterPull. He didn't identify himself that way and I had no idea, but it was clear whoever I was talking to was extremely knowledgeable and loved talking recovery gear. I almost couldn't get him off the phone. He was more than happy to answer all my questions. I bet we talked 30 minutes. It became clear during the call that he wasn't just an employee and that he had to have been part of starting the company. I googled him after to confirm.

I went with Superline rather than Suplerline XD mostly because the minimum breaking strength is a little higher than the XD version (29,700 lbs vs. 21,700 lbs). Its also a little less expensive. The XD is more abrasion resistant and they do that by having a rope in a rope. The outer layer is a Dyneema protective jacket. The reason the minimum breaking strength is less is because in order to get the 3/8" OD, the inner rope is less that 3/8". Anyway, I just decided that the better ware resistance wasn't a good trade off for me as my winch line is only used 3 or 4 time a year. After receiving it, it feels like the Superline is more wear resistance that the Warn Spydura I have been using and my Spydure line isn't excessively worn. The Superline should be more wear resistant based on the Dyneema fibers vs the Spectra 1000 that Spydura is made of.

The open soft loop is large and will allow for easy connection to soft shackles and other soft straps that may be wide. The plastic puck thing is cool too. Its removable so if it bothered you as an unnecessary object that could be a projectile you can easily remove it when using the line. Its plastic and pretty lite so its not going to bother me and is way better that the Factor 55 aluminum brick I had on there before.

While I was talking to Emil I asked about his soft shackles as they showed out of stock and there wasn't a price listed. He said that while he has developed these for our market and professional recovery folks, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to sell many with the influx of much cheaper soft shackles flooding the market. His retail price for his shackles is $160. Factor 55's extreme duty 3/8 soft shackle is $90 though it isn't as strong as far as MBS. You can also go to 1/2" shackles and get a lot of strength and not spend $160. I did buy two (and about $1000 of other stuff) and he gave me a discount. I haven't used them but they sure feel like they will last forever. One interesting feature is the sliding knot lock:

It makes slipping the loop over the knot a lot easier, though sliding the lock to the knot is a thing that you have to remember to do. You need to tighten the figure 8 loop on a normal soft shackle too but that will also self tighten.