Ronny Dahl's Recovery Mat Torture Test
- Thread starter DzlToy
- Start date
NHMachinist
New member
I watched it. Kind of extreme. 61$ for x bull still can buy a lot of replacements ,for us that aren't on a real expedition
I agree, they could have done a lot more with them before moving to that. It seemed like they wanted a particular outcome and they got it.
I was pleased that the Tred Pros did well in their abuse... I got in on the Kickstarter a few years ago and got them for about $125. Have only needed them one time since, and that was to help someone else out. They worked great, but I'm confident something like the X-Bulls would have worked fine in that situation too.
roving1
Well-known member
Using them in the field or realistic tests? Why would anyone want that? ?
Comparison in a use case that resembles nothing anyone would ever do with them. Everyone knows (if you are not a complete noob or moron) the MT's are made of better plastic and are more durable. So this was an expensive way to prove that while also gathering the least amount of other info possible.
The question most people want to know is which ones work the best for the money or will they work for their use case.
This is what I wanted. I don't understand why people don't have the mental voltage to imagine this kind of test, which then could have ended in the super destruction testing and been just fine. A modern version of this with more brands and Ronnie's production quality would have been Great and provided more content for a guy that makes his living in content.
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janders
Member
I bought two pairs of the X-Bulls based on this video because he put them through a bunch of recovery scenarios. They weren't as good as MTs but I can buy two pairs of X-Bull boards for the price of one pair of Maxtrax. That's a no-brainer.
Ducky's Dad
Explorer
I have used my Maxtrax a few times and no melting yet. If I do melt the studs, I plan to just drill them out and insert short nylon or aluminum bolts.
Actually you can buy *four* pairs of the x-bulls for the price of one pair of maxtrax.
janders
Member
Truth. I do really like Ronny's videos. I've learned a ton from him. I didn't learn much from this one but his channel is one of my YT goto channels.
Box Rocket
Well-known member
Just me two cents. Great example of the "buy once, cry once" philosophy. I've had Maxtrax for several years now with a fair amount of use and they still look new. Yeah there are cheaper options but eventually they're gonna fail. I guess I look at it in the sense that I don't want to be on a trip where I need a traction board and they get destroyed before the trip is done and I'm left wanting when I still need them. Maxtrax is nice peace of mind that they will survive the best for the longest amount of time.
No regrets in spending more up front for me.
No regrets in spending more up front for me.
I have to agree with Box Rocket. Ronny's test sealed the deal for me. I have the Amazon special Maxsa tracks(they were a gift). Though, i have rarely used them in the past 3.5 years, I now have a clear path when i look to replace these. The fact that Ronny went straight to "lets try to break them", and they survived, means I wont have to worry about dishing out another $300 after one bad use. I worry about these Maxsa's breaking, but luckily I have never had them in a situation where i stressed them more than a relatively straight roll right over. We all know, these traction boards work with minor differences in "get me unstuck" performance, but I now know that the extra money being spent DOES give me a longer lasting product.
Ronny has done a use case comparison video before a couple years ago or so between Maxtrax and Treds. They did the whole "get it bogged and see how the boards do with getting unstuck" so you can't really be complaining about him not doing that again, even if it's with different boards. As someone else posted a video of others doing comparison tests, there are plenty other videos to watch about it.
But one thing I never really saw anyone do until Ronny's last video was see how much abuse the boards can really take. Yes, we all can agree that a $75 pair of XBulls will probably get you unstuck as well as a $400 pair of Maxtrax, or even Tred Pros. But that's just once, maybe twice. What happens after the 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc? How about after they've been sitting on your roof for a year? Two years? What happens when you're in something really soft and the board is wrapped around your tire? Will it hold up to that?
His video, despite not showing actual recoveries with the boards, showed the difference in durability between the different price points. That was the whole point of it. Even the original Treds didn't do great, and they knew that would happen since they've broken them easily in the past. Truthfully I was kind of surprised at how the Tred Pros did. I know they're priced similar to standard Maxtrax but I wasn't sure how durable they really were. Now I know.
But seeing how the Xbulls and whatever that first couple of garbage sets were ended up cracking fairly easily you can appreciate just why they are so cheap compared to Maxtrax and Tred Pros. It made me glad that I spent the extra money on a pair of Maxtrax last year. I was starting to wonder if I should have just gone the cheaper route and gotten Xbulls since so many are extolling their virtues these days, but now I know I made the right decision. Yes, I know not everyone can afford Maxtrax, and that's fine. But for me I would rather spend the extra money and be done rather than go with a cheaper option that I have to replace again and again.
My rig is an example of that. The Hummer H3's do not take kindly to cheap aftermarket parts, they trash them in very short order. It's true OEM parts or very high quality aftermarket parts only. Yeah, it's a bummer because OEM is not cheap. But it's a solid rig when correct parts are used so it is worth it. I'd rather spend the extra money up front rather than be stuck on the side of a trail 10k miles later because of cheap parts, or have to replace something 4 times over instead of just once.
Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk
But one thing I never really saw anyone do until Ronny's last video was see how much abuse the boards can really take. Yes, we all can agree that a $75 pair of XBulls will probably get you unstuck as well as a $400 pair of Maxtrax, or even Tred Pros. But that's just once, maybe twice. What happens after the 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc? How about after they've been sitting on your roof for a year? Two years? What happens when you're in something really soft and the board is wrapped around your tire? Will it hold up to that?
His video, despite not showing actual recoveries with the boards, showed the difference in durability between the different price points. That was the whole point of it. Even the original Treds didn't do great, and they knew that would happen since they've broken them easily in the past. Truthfully I was kind of surprised at how the Tred Pros did. I know they're priced similar to standard Maxtrax but I wasn't sure how durable they really were. Now I know.
But seeing how the Xbulls and whatever that first couple of garbage sets were ended up cracking fairly easily you can appreciate just why they are so cheap compared to Maxtrax and Tred Pros. It made me glad that I spent the extra money on a pair of Maxtrax last year. I was starting to wonder if I should have just gone the cheaper route and gotten Xbulls since so many are extolling their virtues these days, but now I know I made the right decision. Yes, I know not everyone can afford Maxtrax, and that's fine. But for me I would rather spend the extra money and be done rather than go with a cheaper option that I have to replace again and again.
My rig is an example of that. The Hummer H3's do not take kindly to cheap aftermarket parts, they trash them in very short order. It's true OEM parts or very high quality aftermarket parts only. Yeah, it's a bummer because OEM is not cheap. But it's a solid rig when correct parts are used so it is worth it. I'd rather spend the extra money up front rather than be stuck on the side of a trail 10k miles later because of cheap parts, or have to replace something 4 times over instead of just once.
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rnArmy
Adventurer
I totally enjoyed the video. Talk about testing them to the limits! You've got to admit, the MaxTrax seem to be the gold standard when it comes to these recovery boards. If I were going to be overlanding for months on end, those are the ones I'd get. As it is, in reality I'm more of a weekend to week-or-two long overlander at best.
Anyways, I kinda bought my X-Bulls on a lark (and after doing a little research) after seeing a video where they used traction boards (MaxTrax actually) to get unstuck from snow quickly vs. using a winch. So I signed-on to the concept, but couldn't bring myself to spending $600 for two sets of Maxtrax. Especially since in all my years of Jeeping I've never been in a position to where they would have come in handy that I can remember (usually when I was stuck, I needed a tug or pull my winch cable). So about $150 later I had two sets of X-Bulls. I have used them twice (once for me, and once to help someone else). They held up well so far. And they didn't do too bad in the video. I've got four, so we'll see if down the road if I end up breaking any of them. I have to pick-and-chose what I go high-end on, and what I don't. I do have a name-brand winches (Warn on one Jeep, Ramsey on the other).
Anyways, I kinda bought my X-Bulls on a lark (and after doing a little research) after seeing a video where they used traction boards (MaxTrax actually) to get unstuck from snow quickly vs. using a winch. So I signed-on to the concept, but couldn't bring myself to spending $600 for two sets of Maxtrax. Especially since in all my years of Jeeping I've never been in a position to where they would have come in handy that I can remember (usually when I was stuck, I needed a tug or pull my winch cable). So about $150 later I had two sets of X-Bulls. I have used them twice (once for me, and once to help someone else). They held up well so far. And they didn't do too bad in the video. I've got four, so we'll see if down the road if I end up breaking any of them. I have to pick-and-chose what I go high-end on, and what I don't. I do have a name-brand winches (Warn on one Jeep, Ramsey on the other).
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