Screw pin vs pin style shackle Which one?

Yep, I was more talking about generic or Chinese copycats. I'm sure there are plenty of riggers using the others you mentioned. We use Crosby and not just their shackles. Old riggers get set in their ways. It took a while for me to come around to Kevlar slings. Those Gator-jaw synthetic shackles posted above look interesting but it will take some convincing for me to believe they are stronger than steel. In what I do if a rig fails people can get hurt or worse.

 

Exactly. We secure rigging at work as shown in the top photo and the shackles on my truck just like the bottom shot.

 

Metal failure under load is serious shit.

I stopped to watch a railcar derailment recovery in Pine Mountain, GA circa 1978. Big old crawler crane with a giant cable and hook was just starting to lift the car with a sling made of cables and I-beams. The bolt on the hook snapped, shot 50 feet or so across the street, and slammed into the brick wall of a warehouse, 2 feet from my head. I kept the steel bolt as a souvenir, but don't have it anymore. As I recall, it was about 1.375" diameter, had a square nut rusted on one side, and the shear was very clean, as if it were popped apart, not cut.

I trust metal clevis and have a couple that I use for tree work and recovery, but I definitely keep them stowed and check them every time they are used. Hanging them off the bumper may look cool, but it's not a good practice for work hours... sorta like gauged ear hoops, IMO.

 

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I cringe when I see them just out there in the elements for 4wd credibility. All your recovery gear needs to be treated as though your life depends on it because if it's abused it might just come to that.

 

I have both. 2 stored in a recovery kit and one outside on a hitch receiver stud. I drive mountain winter roads and use that for pulling people out of the ditch several times each winter so I just leave it there. The recovery kit is in a locked metal box out of the weather.

 

There's nothing wrong with using your gear, that's what it's for. I just don't see a point to leaving shackles, chains, straps unnecessarily connected when it just takes a minute to grab the recovery bag. A stuck vehicle isn't going anywhere while you determine what gear you need and assess the situation. Not to mention then all your stuff is still clean rather than covered with mud and snow and ice. But yeah, once I pull out a shackle or strap I'll usually leave it connected until I'm unlikely to need it again that day.

 

This should’ve been a voting thread, but anywho... the screw on one. Not a fan of the pins

 

Ummmm... http://www.uscargocontrol.com/Towin...aps/Recovery-Straps-W-Cordura-Eyes-2x25-2-ply
Says Recovery everywhere, and the video explains the difference. Not sure if they've changed it or you were seeing something different.

 

They do call them recovery straps but I think what @steelhd is concerned with is if they are dynamic, which the video does say they are.

 

Just a general caution about straps. Almost all of the inexpensive straps, and many of the "premium" brands too, are very sloppy with their terminology.

 

Correct, which is what distinguishes a recovery strap from a sling and/or tow strap. I'm well versed on the ins and outs of all of these, just didn't understand the comment.