X-BULL Recovery Ring Soft Shackle Kit Snatch Block Pulley Rope Snatch Ring 4WD

A steel D-shackle is a lump of metal on the end of a loaded line, and if a recovery point tears out, that lump goes somewhere. A soft shackle is rope: it weighs almost nothing, it floats, and it has no pin to work loose or seize with rust after a season in the tray.

UHMWPE rope and a diamond knot

The shackle body is UHMWPE, the same fibre family used in synthetic winch line, closed with a diamond knot that pulls tighter under load rather than working undone. X-BULL heat-shrinks over the knot to stop it deforming in storage, and a nylon sleeve covers the working section where the rope bears against a hook or a recovery point. Abrasion at that contact patch is what kills soft shackles, not the pull itself. The vermilion colour is practical too: dropped in mud or long grass, it is findable.

The ring has no moving parts, and that is the point

An aluminium recovery ring redirects a winch line around an anchor without the sheave, bearing and side plates of a snatch block. Nothing packs with mud, nothing seizes, and there is nothing to service. The ring is machined with a generous bend radius so the rope curves rather than kinks over a sharp edge, and a deep flanged groove keeps the line centred instead of walking off under side load. An e-coated finish handles salt and grit. Note that this listing is titled as a snatch block and pulley, but the supplier describes a solid ring with no moving parts.

Key features

• UHMWPE soft shackle: rope in place of a steel body and pin at the connection point.
• Nylon abrasion sleeve: protects the section that bears against a hook or recovery point.
• Heat-shrink over the knot: keeps the diamond knot in shape between uses.
• Solid aluminium ring: no bearing or sheave to pack with mud or seize.
• Deep flanged groove and large bend radius: centres the line and avoids a hard kink over an edge.
• Storage bag included: keeps both pieces together in the recovery kit.

Specifications

• Brand: X-BULL
• Rope material: UHMWPE
• Rope length: 55 cm
• Diameter: 30 mm. The supplier's spec sheet runs two fields together here, so it is not clear whether this is the rope diameter or a ring dimension. Treat it as unconfirmed.
• Sleeve material: nylon
• Ring material: aluminium. The supplier writes "grade aluminium" without naming a grade.
• Ring finish: e-coating
• Load figure: 25,000 lb, listed by X-BULL as "tongue weight capacity". No basis is given — breaking or working, per item or for the pair — and the supplier does not say whether it applies to the shackle, the ring or both. Do not treat it as a working load limit.

What's in the box

• 1 x soft shackle with heat shrink and protective sleeve
• 1 x aluminium winch ring
• 1 x storage bag

Before every recovery

• Inspect both pieces every time. Retire the shackle if the rope is cut, badly fuzzed, glazed or the knot has slipped, and retire the ring if the groove is gouged or the flange is bent.
• Lay a dampener over any loaded line, including one running through the ring.
• Keep bystanders well clear of the line and of the arc it would sweep on a failure. A redirected pull has two arcs, not one.
• Everything must be rigged to rated recovery points. Never a tow ball, tow bar tongue, bumper bar or unrated bracket.
• Never join two straps with a shackle, soft or steel.
• Because the supplier's load figure has no stated basis, work to the lowest-rated item you have rigged and check that the anchor you redirect around is rated for the doubled load a redirect creates.

A sensible pairing for a winch kit if you already understand redirected pulls. Ask us if you want the rating basis clarified with the supplier before you rely on it.