Soft shackles

[threedogs]

I mentioned this at TJM this morning and they have never heard of them, go figure.
I explained it was common in the boating industry, They are a bit pricey ATM.
IMO these will save lives, make no mistake about that. If enough 4x4ers start using these "soft shackles" the
price is bound to come down. They are time intensive to make thus the price being so high
compared to a rated steel shackle. I think everyone should ask there local 4x4 shop to stock them.
I'd propose a big push and get rid of steel shackles. price now is about double that of a steel rated shackle.
What price do you put on safety. I'll be seeing as many ppl as I can to stock these "Soft shackles"
and maybe ,just maybe we can avoid an injury like what happened recently in NSW to a 17yo Kid, through
no fault of his own,
This is a piece of recovery equipment so I dont suggest you try and make your own.

[Clunk]

I'd like to see these in action first to be honest.

[threedogs]

True,,,,,,, just trying to get a debate going sort of, If they have been around for ages
how come no one uses them. Id never heard of them until here the other day.
Not worried about price, just need to know how good or not they'll be

[Stropp]

I'd like to see these in action first to be honest.

You will as I bought 3 from the UK

[the evil twin]

Soft Shackles have been around for years.
They are popular in the yachting world so you don't have stainless steel/alloy shackles belting the crap out of your deck or rigging.
Most yachties make their own and there are almost as many versions as there are rigging suppliers

They have become more popular since the advent of Spectra/Dyneema/Amsteel etc because you can get high working loads that pass thru small attachement points that previously meant it was a metal shackle or splicing as a soft shackle was too thick.
Now that the synthetics are stronger than the metal alternative it is a choice of what suits best and soft ones are no longer only suitable for low loads.

Word of warning about ratings and loads.
Soft shackles are only as good as the stopper knot which is the weakest point in the device.
Homemade or factory made doesn't matter as you will still get a wide variation in failure load due to which knot is used and how tight the human got the knot
There is no Standard for their testing or manuf.
Most "rated" commercial soft shackles have a B.S. rating of a % of the line load or an estimated B.S. by a design factor of 2 or more
What does that mean?
It means some manuf have tested a few to get a mean breaking strain and applied a design factor and others have estimated the % reduction in BS due to the knot and construction IE pretty much plucked a number out of their butt.
That is why you will see a wide range of "rated loads" quoted for a soft shackle of the same dia of synthetic rope depending on manuf.

Having said that tho, most manuf seem to use a design factor of at least 2 IE rated at 1/2 the load they break at on average if you can believe their sales pitch.

Properly tied and correctly snugged up they are goddam strong, balls up the stopper knot and then not so much.

They are expensive because they are hand made, it takes a fair while to tie them, tightening the knot and getting the lengths even to share the load is a PIA and they take a fair amount of rope or cordage which is a bummer if you are using expensive synthetics

Softies have another big advantage which is that they are totally flexible so they will go around odd shapes or attachement points that a metal shackle won't or if it did won't sit at a suitable angle.

When all other options are exhausted and it is time for a kinetic recovery I use a Snatch Strap that has anti-recoil straps as safeties in case of failure.
If needs be I use rated steel shackles on the Strap and softies on the anti-recoil as best suits.

I've never had to join straps but would confidently use a 10mm or bigger soft shackle to do so

When rigging for static loads I'll happily use softies of the same size or bigger than the winch cable dia anywhere in the rig or smaller ones when rigged to advantage

I would not use one for lifting.

[mudnut]

The block which fits
into the towbar has
sharp edges so would
not suit a soft shackle.
Also true with the after
market recovery points
on the front of my Q.

[jack]

Yeap these have been around for many years as ET said, I have seen these on ocean racing and touring yachts many years ago but didn't know what they were called. (had a look at the link to see a picture).
These things are super strong as the stress and buffeting they take in ocean racing is amazing. I'd happily use them on a recovery if I had them.
mudnut, you could possibly overcome the sharp edges on the recovery points by using a metal rope eyelet.

[happygu]

You will as I bought 3 from the UK

Clunk never gets stuck though ....

[threedogs]

So they are OK for there chosen job, shame it looks like its back to the drawing board.
I'm not convinced they would handle a heavy snatch recovery if you're relying on one knot to hold up
They seem more suited to the luffing buffeting sail movement.
Worth a try I suppose, steel shackles it is, bummer