Which Recovery snatch strap to buy?
 

I'm shopping for a new strap. My old one is 18,000 lbs 2x20'. it served me well FOR YEARS, but looking back, I should have a bigger strap both in length and ratings to carry in my 5,000# JKU. I'll be keeping the old one for those times when a 20' strap is needed.

What concerns me is that even Warn straps are made in China. How is that different from Smittybuilt stuff?

I don't want to spend crazy money.

Here's what I found:

Rugged Ridge 15104.01 Premium Recovery 3" x 30' - 30,000lb Capacity. Made in China: $43 on Amazon (delivered with Prime)
Warn (88913) 3" x 30' Standard Recovery Strap Rated to 21,600 pound capacity. Made in China. $58 delivered on Amazon
ARB ARB710US 3-1/8" x 30' Recovery Strap - 24000 lbs Capacity. Made in Taiwan. $82 on Amazon
Poison Spyder Recovery Strap Part Number: PSC57-63-515. 30' x 3" 24,250 lbs. minimum breaking strength. $70 on 4wd.
Smittybilt CC330 3" x 30' Recovery Strap - 30,000 lb Capacity Made in China. $37 on Amazon.
Bubba Rope 176660BLG 7/8" x 20' Breaking Strength Original Rope with Standard Blue Eye - 28600 lbs. Capacity. MADE IN USA. $160 on Amazon.

So, based on this, why not Rugged Ridge?
And is the Warn any better quality because it's Warn even though it's still made in China?

That's an interesting question, but perhaps not for the reason you realize. I have the Smittybilt one--it was a gift from a friend who I helped install a bumper on his H3T Alpha. As I mentioned in another thread, there is a difference between the flat, snatch/recovery straps and the kinetic ropes. However, the Smittybilt snatch strap I have is neither of those. It's a cloth-sheathed, rubberband-like device. I'm really not sure what the construction is under the cloth sheath. It has more stretch (70%) than the typical flat recovery straps (10%) and the kinetic ropes (30% or more). But there is very little pull during quite a bit of that stretch because of the construction, so comparing those numbers directly is misleading.

Honestly, I've used mine once. But, at the price, I think it's a better deal than the flat snatch straps because of that extra stretch. However, if one can afford, then an honest-to-goodness kinetic rope is best. But, then, I do a lot of off-roading and have used my Smittybilt once. One time. $200 for one time in eight years of thousands of miles of off-roading ...?

A few images to get an idea of the differences:

ARB snatch strap at 4 Wheel Parts ...
http://www.4wheelparts.com/aux_incl/...RB&w=450&h=450

Smittybilt snatch strap at 4 Wheel Parts ...
http://www.4wheelparts.com/aux_incl/...fB&w=450&h=450

OKOffroad kinetic rope at OKOffroad website (These folks cater to overlanding market, so recommend doing business with them. They carry expedition gear that more popular websites don't bother with) ...
http://www.okoffroad.com/gifs/stuff/kinetic-1.jpg

Here's some food for thought: The Smittybilt has a protective sheath that lends virtually no strength to the strap. If it gets cut, it's not going to affect the safety or performance of the strap. The biggest problem with damage to the sheath would seem to be allowing dirt and muck to get inside and cause unseen damage. That would seem a pretty strong advantage over the other products. But, I cannot say for sure how the construction compares between it and a quality, USA-made kinetic rope.

cool info. I checked out OKoffroad. They only seem to sell one size rope, the 1". Which I guess is ok even though everyone seems to feel 7/8" is the right size for a JKU (mine is 5,000lbs plus gear and me). But it comes ins ORANGE! I like orange! :yup:

Do we know anything about their ropes? They claim to sell to military.

Hmm. Just found a company called Billet4x4 who's selling both on their own site and Amazon. They appear to have the same site and ropes as OKoffroad. Google them.

I have a billet4x4\amazon one in 1in and it works just fine.

Depending on what kind of pulling\recovery you are going to do please read up on the difference between tow\recovery and recovery\snatch straps and ropes, they are used in very different ways.

I went with Southeast Overland 7/8" x 30'. Great service, all made in USA, good rapport and reviews on other forums, etc.

I have not bought any stretchy recovery straps. I have seen this used where the recovery is out of control and the stuck vehicle gets damaged from the running start mentality. If I can't hook up a tow strap and pull them out I use my winch. It is a much more controlled recovery.

I would just get the 3x30 smitty or rugged ridge. Where I live most of the time we are just helping people teeter over rocks or just helping them get a little motion so they can move under their own power. If I lived where there was real mud I might consider one of the bubba ropes.

True. Agreed about that - it's wheeling in the Northeast. However, I can think of at least once where we had a guy stuck up to his frame in mud and two winches couldn't get him out and thinking back, this rope may have done it.

I've never used baby asprin, but I keep that in my first aid kit. This is just another piece of preparedness. :thumbsup:

The quality kinetic straps have a proven stretch to them, your Jeep doesn't get pulled out, and out of control, obviously you have never used one. When you ask the question "what is the difference if they have the same rating", you should try going to someplace and hold them, something you can't do on the net. You can actually feel the difference. I have several cheap ones that have a good rating that I carry is someone on the trail just needs one. I use my ARB strap, it is bad ass. You can feel the quality, it's easy to use, has a soft pull to it, no jarring affect.

Lab Testing...
 

Coincidentally I was recently reading these test results: SNATCH STRAP COMPARISON - Unsealed 4X4

Of course not every brand is tested, and some broke early or stretched poorly.

The ARB strap was their first choice. ~23.5% stretch. Actual breaking was ~120% over rating.

A thought on sizing the load rating (breaking strength). My understanding is that if the load rating is doubled, the actual stretched distance is cut in half, given the same load. In other words, the actual stretched distance is proportional to the load rating - given that the actual load and length are the same. So a heavier rated strap stretches less distance than an otherwise identical lower rated strap with the same load. My choice is the smaller 17600 pound (8000 Kg) ARB strap. Besides, by then my recovery points are in play to fail, which would be even worse than a strap failure.

One more thought, and this is more obvious: Increasing the length will proportionally increase the actual stretched length, for a given load. So with the same strap in 20 and 30 FT lengths, the 30 footer will have 150% more stretched length -- And feel 150% softer.

:beer: