"Why is this the first thing people jump to?" Because it works.

I do carry a shovel and do use it so dont get me wrong here, but a bit of road building without the shovel normally gets most jobs done.

A bit of a hand over a obstacle with the use of a snatch strap is safe and quick, often doing not much more than moving the vehicle a couple of meters and we are on the move again.

There are many ways out of the same situation, so a bit of shovel work is right there amongst them and may be your only real way out.

In my case I hate reversing down a rutted track to have another go, if I think its too much for me, we do some road building, as above, and if that is not going to work I reach for the snatch strap first.

My choice that I am comfortable with, and for my piece of mind thats all that matters.