Overland Journal testing Sand Mats/Ladders

[siliconwombat]

An interesting test for sure! Never seen the pillow tracks before, see where the idea is coming from but it makes you wonder whether the designer/manufacturer did any testing of their own!

To me it looks like there is a gap in the market. While the products on offer do fulfil some criteria none have it covered. My first criteria would be usefulness. They need to have as many purposes as possible, which means they work great for bridging and traction on sand, ice, mud, wet rock and tyre rubber. No point the track gripping if the rubber doesnt! For bridging they would need to support the equivalent weight of a fully laden truck, and not just once but repeatedly, catastrophic failure in a bridging situation is likely to result in vehicle damage at best and could well be fatal. Further usefulness around camp is a personal thing and the possibilities are endless!

After this comes the aesthetics, weight and size. Too short and they might not do the job but too heavy and they become awkward to use. Finally for me is cost. I'm willing to pay for a good product but there are limits!

The closest at the moment for me is the waffle boards but there are many improvements possible.

Great vid and I will be subscribing soon!

:coffeedrink:

 

[The Long Paddock]

G'day from Australia,

Here's the latest video testing on all these sand traction boards that was done in 4x4 Australia magazine.

http://www.thelongpaddock.net/traction-boards.html

Now, there is no debate as to which is best for sand recovery - we prove which is best and why.

Cheers
The Long Paddock
http://www.thelongpaddock.net /

 

[LR Max]

G'day from Australia,

Here's the latest video testing on all these sand traction boards that was done in 4x4 Australia magazine.

http://www.thelongpaddock.net/traction-boards.html

Now, there is no debate as to which is best for sand recovery - we prove which is best and why.

Cheers
The Long Paddock
http://www.thelongpaddock.net /View attachment 312930

Cliff notes:

Matrax.

 

[Sabre]

Cliff notes:

Matrax.

Sort of.

The Treds performed exactly as well as the Maxtrax. The latter got the nod by a whisker or two for having handles and ramps at both ends. The end user only has to do a cost comparison and evaluate the real world use that the device will see.

 

[LR Max]

I like the test where the guy made tracks out of a milk crate. Considering I *might* be in a sandy situation next year, that is what I'll probably use. Simply because it'll be near 0 cost and then afterwards I can toss em.

However if I ever end up living in the dunes, the Matrax will be on my short list.

 

[Ducky's Dad]

Re MaxTrax vs Treds, the decision should be based partially on the weight of your vehicle. Treds will probably work better as bridging ladders (stacked) for a 2-door Jeep than for a Ram Cummins. When Summit was closing out the last generation of Treds, they were a viable choice and an alternative to MaxTrax. At current prices, they seem to be too close to the price of MaxTrax. If I could still get Treds at the closeout price, I'd buy a pair to throw into the back of my DD Tundra, but for my Power Wagon I went with Maxtrax even when the Treds were cheap. I think the MaxTrax also pack flatter, so take up less space. Everything is a compromise in some way.