Looking for recommendations on quality Shackles

I never said they are not safe? I said large pieces of metal do not add to the safety of a recovery? Which I am correct in saying.

Sure having hard shackles which are heavy, and take up space in your recovery bag is an option. I have 1. Never used it. Its collecting dust.

Lets find some proof of your outlandish claims that the synthetic line just dies. I have a quote here that says it lasts over 10 years... even with sunlight exposure

Quoted from fourwheeler.com

 

I second soft shackles.

These guys were referred to me by @In4aride
https://www.voodoooffroad.com/

 

One huge thing I love about soft shackles is using them in the snow an cold(-20C), which I do for 6 months a year. No problem with freezing fingers, the metal shackle sticking to your fingers, and possibly pulling skin off...ouch..

Or dropping the pin and then attempting to find it in the snow and ice. I have watched that process before, I would not participate.

 

https://factor55.com/uncategorized/uv-degradation-of-synthetic-winch-rope/

However, that wasn't really the primary point of my post, anyway. It was just a suggestion to not rely on a singly type of recovery equipment that does have a weakness in some situations (primarily abrasion).

I've never used a lot of stuff in my safety/recovery kit. I still carry them. Because I know I've not yet encountered even 1% of all possible situations.

But if your rig is so chock full of stuff you can't spare a couple pounds for a hard shackle, maybe reassess what you take with you in general.

Since hard shackles are so small, IMO you're not really giving anything up to carry 1 or 2 with you, even if you're unlikely to use them. Better to have them and not need them, then need them and not have them.

But anyway, you do you.

 

Anyone have pictures of hard shackle failures from medium pickup rescues?

 

1000 time this.

People get all defensive when others make suggestions like I did. They think that because I suggest one piece of equipment that I'm telling them that their equipment is crap and doesn't work.

This seems to come down to what I mentioned earlier: any equipment is unsafe if not used properly. A cotter pin shackle seems like an odd choice to used for a vehicle recovery...

 

There was a video a while back of a dude that was killed while using a chain to pull out another truck (a "wtf were you thinking?!" type thing). I don't remember what failed in that instance, but iirc it was the chain itself.

I did some more looking and couldn't find anything that wasn't part of a "simulated" failure or a lab torture test.

The strength of these things is astounding, and they have a huge safety factor, which is why it's important to go with a company that actually tests its products and stands by those tests (i.e. not Amazon, lol).

Very important to know where your weak point is, and what's likely to happen when it fails. Assume it WILL fail.

It's like pilots who assume they'll have an engine failure at the worst possible time. So they plan for it and don't have to think about it. It's icing on the cake when it doesn't happen and you go about your flight.

 

So wait, was the shackle in your radiator part of the same 4-winch recovery? or two different incidents?

 

Here's a video test:


(35,219 kg "rated" d-ring vs 9,327 kg soft shackle using rounded edges)

 

That's pretty impressive, ~7.5x the rated working limit to break it.

The sharp edge thing is pretty telling too, failing at like 2/3 the rated strength. Even with a sheath it didn't get to its "rated" strength.

This is likely why we don't see a lot of videos/instances of a hard shackle failing during an actual field recovery. They are easily the strongest bit in the system. But as people have said, the shackle doesn't have to fail for it to become a projectile.

 

Watch out guys, we are on a forum, for discussion.

Do not disagree, or discuss.

That is NOT how you learn, or find out what you are doing wrong.

@jbrandt someone did not agree with you, they must be defensive and upset right?

You found a post in the other thread and seemed to follow me, and quote me again. Am I upset, do I care? Its all in good fun on a forum. Lets not be so serious. Banter can be fun, and you can learn a lot from people you disagree with.

Why do so many guys think its arguing when you are simply trying to discuss a topic with different opinions? I am hear to learn, and try to help others with information I have learned.

Thanks for the factor55 link, on the degradation of synthetic line from UV light.

I am going outside to beat the crap out of the 10cm of snow that fell today, I SHALL RELEASE THE RAGE YOU SAY I HAVE!

 

I certainly don't mind discussion, and even strong disagreement. I welcome it, which is why I keep posting here, lol. If we all just sat around butt slapping each other with "I agree", it'd be a really boring place.

I do (or did) take issue with your statement that I made an "outlandish" claim about UV breakdown. I thought that was pretty common knowledge. If there's one thing I hope we can take away from this discussion, it is that fact...

Where I'm coming from:
I see a LOT of discussion from people who make claims like "synth is safer" as if to say steel isn't safe (both in terms of winch cables, and relevant to this thread: shackles), and I try my best to refute those claims because they simply aren't true.. I won't deny that I sometimes come off as an asshole. That's really just part of my charm, lol

More often than not when I make a statement like "hard shackles are good" people assume that I must also mean "soft shackles are bad." I think it's pretty obvious that's not true.

I want people to understand that (in my opinion) they aren't making their recoveries universally safer just because they've gotten a synth winch rope and some soft shackles. I believe that type of thinking leads to a false sense of security, and that's when bad things happen. People have been making perfectly safe recoveries for generations with steel-based equipment. Synth isn't "better", it's "different" and has advantages and disadvantages just like steel.

I would love for someone out there to do a statistical analysis on recoveries and equipment failures, or even design a study where a myriad of real world recovery situations are replicated and the only variable is steel or synth. The above video does a pretty decent job, but that's only part of the story.

Anyhoo, enjoy the snow.

 

Check your crosby's

 

Purchased a couple soft shackles from https://www.voodoooffroad.com/ after reading this... decent prices and extremely fast shipping ..thanks

 

Aren't cotter pin style shackles meant more for semi-permanent rigging, rather than vehicle recovery, anyway? I mean, sure, they certainly can be used for vehicle recovery (although I have a lot of reservations about using the non-threaded cotter pin , they just seem like an extra step that may tend to be ignored. I'm betting that a lot of people either re-use the cotter pins multiple times, or they just omit them entirely.

IMO, better to go with a design where that extra step isn't necessary (like a screw pin).

Voodoo is definitely up there as far as the leaders of the industry.

Just get a protective sheath for them, and watch those sharp edges.

 

Yes but this recall was on the wall at work, figured I'd pass it on

 

no worries mate, it's good info no matter what. thank you for posting it.

 

Question for you yahoos, where do I attach the soft shackle? I have a receiver in my hitch for a 3/4 hard shackle, but what closed loop could the soft work in?

 

You can soft strap through a wheel, or soft strap two tow-lines together? Some may use them at rated towing points, but they run the risk if the points have sharp edges. WarFAb Sheridan Hitch Skid has 45 degree corners.

Interesting media if you have the time:

 

Nice, thanks.