X-BULL Recovery tracks kit Boards 4WD strap mounting 4x4 Sand Snow Car qrange GEN3.0 6pcs blue

Traction boards only help if they are to hand when the wheels stop turning and findable once the vehicle has driven over them. This GEN3.0 set travels in its own tote with a pair of leashes, so the boards stay strapped together rather than rattling loose, and come back out of the mud on the end of a cord.

Rivets that find bite at any angle

The GEN3.0 rivets are laid out with different contact surfaces at different points along the board, rather than one uniform pattern end to end. The practical effect is that a tyre meeting the board off-square still finds something to grab, which matters because a bogged vehicle rarely lines up neatly. The U-shaped reinforced ribbing across the surface stiffens the panel against flexing under a loaded wheel, and at 1,060 mm each board is longer than the previous generation, giving the tyre more distance to build momentum before it runs off the end.

A blend chosen for give, not just hardness

The supplier specifies its own nylon mixture and describes it as tough, resistant to fatigue, corrosion and UV, thermally stable, and more flexible in this generation than in the last. Flexibility is a real advantage on uneven ground: a board with some give settles into a rut and spreads the load across its length, where a rigid panel bridges the hollow and concentrates everything on two points. Both ends are sloped, so the board can be driven at from either direction, and the shape works well enough as a scoop for clearing packed mud away from the tyre.

Key features

• Carry tote included: keeps a muddy pair together and off the boot carpet between trips.
• Two leashes: clip on before the recovery so a buried board can be hauled back out instead of hunted for.
• 1,060 mm boards: a longer run under the tyre than the shorter tracks in the range.
• Ergonomic handle: shaped for a gloved hand dragging a board out from under a loaded vehicle.
• Pin-compatible: works with X-BULL mounting pins for rack or bar mounting; the pins are not part of this pack.

Specifications

• Board size: 1,060 x 310 x 60 mm
• Material: reinforced nylon
• Load figure: 10 tonnes on flat ground, as quoted by the supplier; the basis is not given and it is not stated whether the figure applies per board or per pair
• Carton size: 110 x 36 x 13 cm
• Weight: not stated by the supplier

What's in the box

• 2 x recovery tracks
• 2 x leashes
• 1 x carry tote
• 1 x sticker

Before the wheels start turning

• Scoop the sand or mud away from the tyre and seat the board hard against the tread before anyone gets back behind the wheel.
• Keep the revs low. Wheelspin on a board tears and melts the surface lugs, and that damage comes from the technique rather than the product.
• Clear everyone from the front and rear of the vehicle. A board can be ejected from under a spinning tyre at speed.
• Fit the leashes before the attempt, not after the boards have disappeared under a wheel.
• Carry them outside the cabin or restrained behind a cargo barrier so they cannot fly forward in a crash.
• These restore grip only. Do not use a board as a jack base, a ramp or a support to work under a vehicle.

A sensible first recovery purchase for beach driving, wet clay tracks and snow, and everything needed to carry and retrieve them is already in the bag.