dstefan
Well-known member
If you’re gonna post up a bunch of affiliate links, which look like you make money off of, you really need to disclose what you’re doing and be transparent about it.
Best soft shackles made in the USA?
- Thread starter TO_Socal
- Start date
I see you have some experience using rigging and steel. Would you recommend steel to guys (who off road) who are not experts and have maybe one or two recoveries under their belt?
You really think he makes some $$ from all those different companies? I certainly don't dispute it, but please explain, I am not seeing how bubba and factor 55 are even remotely tied.
dstefan
Well-known member
I dont know if all of them are, but the Yakum one clearly is. Screen shot below taken a few minutes ago. The other links aren’t saying. If he’s not just posting affiliate links, I like him to say so, and replace the Yankum one and I’ll apologize for reading the signs wrong.
New member, 16 posts, a large proportion about buying and not making your own, and a thread with no real questions or basic info to share (other than buy here), and at least one clearly marked affiliate site, well I drew some tentative conclusions. I didn’t report the post, just asking for transparency and clarification.
I dont object to people making money, but I do object to not being upfront, IF thats the case.
New member, 16 posts, a large proportion about buying and not making your own, and a thread with no real questions or basic info to share (other than buy here), and at least one clearly marked affiliate site, well I drew some tentative conclusions. I didn’t report the post, just asking for transparency and clarification.
I dont object to people making money, but I do object to not being upfront, IF thats the case.
Ragnarok Overland
New member
Im certainly not going to argue with this guy about his use of steel cables and such for the towing industry, thats his area of expertise, and im sure that with the amount of cars with unknown attachment points, and the fact that on a daily basis they probably are running non stop in the crappiest of conditions, But I will whole heartedly DISAGREE that soft rigging is a fad that will die out. Sure, its certainly NOT for every industry, but its becoming prevalent in a lot, from ship mooring, sailboat rigging (up to the multi million dollar world cup boats), crane rigging to replace steel cables, arborists, and the list goes on. Materials like Amsteel rope (UHMWPE) are some 7x stronger by weight than steel cables, extremely abrasion resistant, UV resistant, and it floats. Its pretty much the perfect material for Overlanding where weight is a big issue. Not to mention, that if there is an accident, a failed steel cable or anchor for said cable unleashes an incredibly dangerous steel whip that will almost certainly severely injure you if not kill you, if the same thing happens with synthetic, sure, probably still gonna get hurt, but almost assuredly not very seriously if at all.
If you have less experience with rigging for overlanding, I would strongly advise to go synthetic over steel since its easier to work with, lighter, stronger in many (most) aspects, easier to store, and so on. And fwiw, my background in rigging is from my years in the fire service, where my specialty was rope rescue, vertical and confined space (didn't get to use it a whole lot, but hundreds of hours of training), plus a few decades of rock climbing, and of course now, lots of overlanding off grid. If people want to stick with heavy steel cables, pulleys, and shackles, hey, more power to ya, personally, Ill never give up my soft recovery gear, and I seriously doubt anyone that uses it will be going back to steel..... ever.
dstefan
Well-known member
All I did was click on the Yankum link the OP listed and I got the message I screen shotted above. FWIW here‘s a copy of the address bar from clicking the Yankum link a moment ago, if thats what you want, but all you have to do is click his original link to see. https://yankum.com/7-16-x-20-double-loop-soft-shackle-wll-7800-lbs/
Maybe HE clicked through an affiliate site and linked it not meaning to as an affiliate. Not trying to make a federal case out of this. Just wanted him to clarify, which interestingly he hasn‘t. Think I’m done with this now.
billiebob
Well-known member
I'd say they need some experience and some training for either steel or soft makes no difference, you need training, and yes I'd recommend steel over soft rigging especially to the new guy. Steel is pretty much care free, soft is intensive care on protecting the soft bits.
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Alloy
Well-known member
There's no hard an fast rule.
My preference when working in the dirt and mud is steel.
I don't carry a torch in my tool kit.
It is easier to undo a frozen soft shackle without any tools than it is a frozen steel shackle.
Drop a shackle pin in 2' of snow and you'll be looking for another shackle. Drop a soft shackle and it's lays on the snow.
Frozen steel is horrible on bare skin.
Keep dyneema and nylon dry then it doesn't freeze.
Yikes! How much WLL do you think you loose when you put heat to a steel pin or shackle? You should probably mention this to a supervisor or safety officer at your company. Any steel that you annealed has been compromised and lost hardness and strength. BE SAFE!
Hillbilly Heaven
Explorer
A propane torch isn't going to provide enough heat to anneal a 3/4 or 7/8 inch steel pin. Now if he brings out the red wrench I would be concerned. There is just too much mass for the propane torch to have any real metallurgical effect.
It took me a while to figure out all that stuff you mentioned. I was a die hard steel rope and clevis guy. I shed 35lbs swapping over. I kept 2) 3/4" shackles just in case. I have had synthetic winch line for years, but steel hooks, shackles, blocks, etc. My wife is a fiair rigger and can get me out a situation now without fighting it. No threading, no whiskers, very light recovery bag, etc..
One of our tasks here at my shop is unloading 53' LTL trailers that have the load on the nose and no dock. For 25yrs we used chain and hooks. to pull the load. This last year we are using kinetic ropes and soft shackles, my soul is at ease!! I would cringe if I had to send a guy to the deck to guide the pallets while using chain.
My propane torch can cut 5" of AR500. Propane has the highest BTU rating of cutting/exothermic gasses. An American made shackle will start to loose RC hardness at 350º F. The real problem is not the hardness, it is the RC hardness differential, the spot where the hardened and annealed molecules meet. A fully soaked shackle at 450º F is better than one that has differing temp damage. This creates stress risers that will rear it's head at the wrong time. It will not break when it is in the riggers box.
This is not my knowledge, it is known physics when working with specific steels and alloys.
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Hillbilly Heaven
Explorer
We aren't talking about industrial propane cutting torches. Not every hardware store carries those. Think simpler.