The Next Generation of Recovery Gear

The Next Generation of Recovery Gear

A must-have for every four-wheel drive enthusiast when heading off-road is a recovery kit. 

There are plenty of great products available but at the absolute bare minimum, you traditionally want to have a snatch strap and two rated shackles. Moving on from the traditional gear, however, we're now seeing a new generation of recovery products making their way into the market which we recommend investing in if you plan on taking your vehicle off-road.

In this video, Motorama 4x4xMORE Trip Leader, Graham Thatcher, runs us through some of the best products in the next generation of recovery gear.

KINETIC ROPE

Firstly, what we’re seeing in terms of snatch straps, is what we now call a kinetic rope. The first difference you can see is in its shape - it's round, woven and made from a synthetic fibre.

The primary difference though is that this new generation kinetic road is much softer and more elastic resulting in a much more vehicle-friendly recovery. In practice, when the recovering car applies tension to the rope during a pull, the rope exhibits a much longer stretch. This results in a more gradual increase of force applied to the vehicle being recovered which removes the sudden shock of the pull and, in turn, reduces the stress on both vehicles.

SOFT SHACKLES

The second product that we recommend for your recovery kit is soft shackles. These are made from synthetic materials such as ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) rope and offer a lightweight (and buoyant) solution to traditional steel bow shackles. The key advantage of the soft shackles over their steel counterpart is the improvement in safety while retaining a comparable level of strength. If something goes catastrophically strong, it’s possible for steel bow shackles to become a projectile, however, the reduced weight and flexibility of the soft shackles removes this risk almost entirely.

While we recommend transitioning to soft shackles, we still suggest carrying at least one bow shackle in your recovery kit just in case you're recovering an older vehicle where soft shackles may not fit the recovery points. However, it's best that you start using a soft shackle as often as possible as it's a much safer scenario.

If you're looking at spending more time off-road in your four-wheel drive, investing in a good recovery kit will be invaluable for your confidence and peace of mind.