X-BULL Winch Recovery Kit Snatch Strap Off Road 4WD with Recovery Tracks Boards Gen 2.0

Sand gets soft about fifty metres before you notice, and by then the diffs are sitting on it. What decides how the next hour goes is whether the gear to dig out is in the ute or at home in the shed. This kit puts the whole recovery set in one bag.

Traction first, winch line second

Two Gen 2.0 recovery tracks do the simple work: lay them under the driven wheels and the vehicle climbs out on its own. X-BULL states 10 tonnes load capacity on flat ground for the tracks, and gives no basis for that figure, so read it as an indication rather than a limit to work to. Where the ground offers no purchase at all, the 9 m tow strap, the pair of 4.75 tonne forged steel shackles and the 8-ton snatch block take over. The snatch block also redirects a winch line around an angle instead of forcing a straight pull.

The small stuff that ends up mattering

A folding shovel clears the sand banked up in front of a tyre so the track has somewhere flat to sit. The tyre deflator drops pressures for flotation and does it with a reading rather than a guess. A recovery damper lies over the strap or winch line to absorb energy and drag it down if something lets go. Two leashes stop the tracks vanishing under the vehicle once the wheels bite. A shackle hitch receiver and a trailer hitch lock cover the towing side, and the lot packs back into the carry bag.

Key features

• Twelve items, one bag: tracks, strap, shackles, snatch block, damper, shovel, deflator, hitch hardware and leashes travel together.
• Gen 2.0 track profile: the shorter, lighter of the two X-BULL boards, aimed at everyday beach, mud and snow work.
• Forged steel shackles: two 4.75 tonne shackles as the connection between strap and a rated recovery point.
• 8-ton snatch block: changes the direction of a winch pull and splits the load across two runs of line.
• Track leashes included: the boards stay tethered instead of ending up buried behind the vehicle.
• Two colours: olive or blue.

Specifications

• Recovery tracks: 2 x X-BULL Gen 2.0
• Track load figure: 10 tonnes on flat ground (supplier stated; basis not specified)
• Tow strap: 9 m, supplied with D-ring shackles
• Shackles: 2 x 4.75 tonne, forged steel (supplier stated; basis not specified)
• Snatch block: 8 ton (supplier stated; basis not specified)
• Carton size: 920 x 320 x 125 mm
• Colours available: Olive, Blue

What's in the box

• 2 x Gen 2.0 recovery tracks
• 1 x 9 m tow strap
• 2 x 4.75 tonne shackles
• 1 x 8-ton snatch block
• 1 x recovery damper
• 1 x folding survival shovel
• 1 x shackle hitch receiver
• 1 x trailer hitch lock
• 1 x tyre deflator
• 2 x leashes
• 1 x carry bag

Recovery safety

• Inspect the strap, shackles and snatch block before every use. Retire anything cut, frayed, bent or deformed rather than trying one more pull.
• Lay the damper over the strap or winch line before any load comes on, and keep everyone well clear of the line and the arc it would sweep if it failed.
• Connect only to rated recovery points. A tow ball, tow bar tongue, bumper or any unrated bracket is not a recovery point. The shackle hitch receiver in this kit is towing hardware; whether your tow bar and its mounting are rated for recovery loads is a question for the vehicle or tow bar manufacturer.
• Never join two straps together with a shackle.
• No rating basis is given for the strap, shackles or block, so nothing here should be treated as a working load limit. Work to the lowest rated component in the system, including your vehicle's recovery points.
• The title calls the strap a snatch strap while the supplier's contents list calls it a tow strap. The two behave very differently under load and are not interchangeable, so check what actually arrives before using it for a snatch recovery.

Sold as a set, so there is no working out which shackle suits which strap. Choose olive or blue at checkout.