Kinetic Recovery Ropes & Shackles - Field testing & cutting.
Check out our shop: www.sandycats....
(A year after this video we decided to produce our own recovery ropes and shackles that are cost effective with ALL the needed features!)
Instagram: / sandycats_
Testing of kinetic recovery ropes and shackles. Including heavy pulls (we broke 2 tow hooks!). We thoroughly examined the inside and out of all the tested ropes to determine which one is best. Included in the test was Bubba Ropes, Yankum Ropes, DitchPig Rope, Vulcan Rope, and three ropes purchased directly from China (we purchased 6 ropes from 6 different factories in China but three were exactly the same). We are not sponsored by anyone. All the ropes were purchased for the same price any consumer can purchase them. We did not have the budget to purchase additional top-quality brands such as Factor 55, Voodoo, or ASR.
Пікірлер: 120
Interesting history of the double braided rope.1956 Samson Rope Company took out a patent and started manufacturing the rope of both polyester and nylon. The difference between, polyester has a 2% stretch factor, nylon rope depending on who who is claiming the stretch factor between 22 and 30% the general consensus 22%. Polyester rope with being used or situations in which you do not want the rope to stretch such as in high lining, mountain climbing tree arbours cranes. The nylon having been used primarily in the Marine Industry as tow ropes and as mooring lines. Which is the application that I have used them in primarily in my near seventy years of life. And I have been spicing since age 16 I think it was. When I was in the United States Coast Guard they were our primary tow ropes for vessels. United States Navy uses Samson Double Braided Nylon Rope for moring lines 600 feet 12' eyes each end 10" diameter. Around 30lbs per foot; takes 10 health strong people to move a 50' section of the rope across the deck of a ship. And I say this from experience as a deep-sea merchant sailor now retired. There are a couple of American companies which manufacture this rope including the patent holder which had been license to manufacture the rope and wish you can buy pre-cut selections 50, 100, 150, 300, 600, 1,000 lengths, off of Amazon. As well as splicing fids of 1/4" to 1" of aluminum manufactured by Samson, as well as Samson's splicing Manual. Should you decide to make your own recovery ropes like I can. I commend you for your extensive testing, and creating this video. I have seen videos by other youtubers of tours Yankum Ropes factory. Sidenote both Yankum Ropes and Factor 55 are both idaho-based corporations. Bubba Ropes is also a U.S. manufacturer primarily a heavy equipment recovery rope manufactor, in the last few years dipping into smaller diameter ropes. In my younger years I would make my kinetic energy tow ropes 3/4" three-strand nylon with a eye splice in each end. 55% stress fracture before it breaks but when it breaks it's like a whip extremely dangerous I seen people cut in half. I have some videos on spicing and not trying on my channel that you might be interested in watching.
@SandyCats
Жыл бұрын
Very grateful for that information! And thank you for your service! Since you seem extremely knowledgeable I was hoping to ask you a question. Most companies (including some big US made) do not braid the strands (internal). Bubba uses a box style braiding pattern (which is much more time consuming to create). We use a spiral style pattern. I noticed from my rudimentary testing that the more complex the braiding; the more stretch is produced. Did you ever play with various braiding patterns and have some insight?
One of the very best, detailed videos on any subject that I have seen on KZread. Great job
wow....soft shackle thru the hitch like that :) Impressive that it held with those hard pulls.
Nice. Victorville valley hi! I grew up and lived in Hesperia but now am traveling for work. Currently in Santa Fe New Mexico.
Great job on the video. I would love to see how voodoo ropes do against yankum, bubba, and rhino. Thanks for making the video.
Awesome video and brave for cutting up hundreds of dollars in ropes. Nice Ranger recovering that Jeep!!
Thank you! New subscriber; mainly because your very detailed in your tests & provide real world test ed information on everything! Looking forward to more!👍
Awesome video just what I needed to see. Test more ropes to failure please
Where the eye comes together into itself it’s called a splice if you don’t use the smaller thread where the splice starts it creates friction look into the work new England ropes do for big ships
I say an epasode of Matt's off road they cut one apart that had 417 pulls on still looked good
thanks for the vid it was obviously not cheap to make and im sure took a considerable amount of time. and some ris to yourself and your equipment. all of which is appreciated. subscribed
@SandyCats
2 жыл бұрын
Truly appreciate it!
It's called ”whipping” or a ”whip stitch” the thread on the eye splice. It takes some of the load and slows some of the friction on the splice.
@joshrob316
2 жыл бұрын
But it's primarily there to keep the splice secure.
Very impressive. Thanks for sharing this information!!!!🔥 Can’t wait for a new video.
Finally someone actually testing these ropes properly instead of just spinning one wheel down and pretending it's a recovery lol
@ninjaphlap
9 ай бұрын
@projectfarm did another test recently
A tigher braid has more leith of material in it and has a higher angle in the weave, this gives more stretch and can store more energy
This was super helpful, thanks for the in depth breakdown.
Great job! You spent a lot of time and money on this video. It would be greatly appreciated by myself and many of the commentators if you would give some detail in the video notes on the best of the China equipment. I’m not an avid off roader, but I do have a crew cab long box 4x4 that gets called out to rescue a stuck friend from time to time. A good China rope would be a big upgrade from my flat tow strap Thanks 😊
@SandyCats
2 жыл бұрын
Appreciate the response. We did a ton of research and ordered a bunch of ropes from Alibaba. Unfortunately it's not like Amazon; you really need to get there catalogues and have a conversation with them to get specifically what you want. The $28 rope that was in the video was from Huakai Rope (best one). Their website is Huakai-rope.com
Surprised to see nobody commenting on how that soft shackle was routed through the tow hitch mount. I’m surprised all the soft shackles didn’t snap right there. There will be a sharp edge on the back of that and will cut the soft shackle. One of the key things to pay attention to is to not put any rope over an edge of diameter 5/8” or less. The smaller the radius the more sharp the edge will be and the force will physically deform and weaken the nylon until it breaks. Great video!
@SandyCats
9 ай бұрын
💯 agree with you. We ended up breaking all the points on my Jeep and had no other choice. This led to what you saw in hopes it worked. Since the video I’ve done a year of testing trying to make the general idea into a product. Check out the product on my website… SandyCats.com it’s called the hitch hero. Been trying to get it to break on an edge (sharp) for months with no luck 😂
Thanks for the hard work and expense and excellent video
If you even do another test like this, please include Factor-55. Great equipment...
@SandyCats
7 ай бұрын
Id love to…. But now that we started selling kinetic ropes, I feel like it’s a conflict of interest to do a similar video
You should try an xtractionoffroadrecovery rope and see how it holds up.
Thanks for the good information. Love the color of your friend's Tacoma.
This video needs to blow up so we can see Bubba vs Yankum vs deadman vs F55 vs voodoo vs ASR Edit: I’m also curious to hear/ see rhinoUSA and their ropes & soft shackle performance
@SandyCats
2 жыл бұрын
Was planning on doing a round 2 in a few months. Great ideas!
Great video. I'd like more info on the shackles you used too. Thanks.
@SandyCats
2 жыл бұрын
Wish I can give more info. I was planning on doing a separate video initially but quickly realized they all perform the same ($6 China shackle and $50 USA made shackle). The only real difference is the length, coating, and sleeve. The coating (IMO) is meaningless in real world applications as you're usually not dragging the shackles. The length and sleeves you can easily see in product photos to make a better decision on Amazon. The ONLY thing that's a bummer is the ideal shackle length to work in a tow hitch is 28." No one sells that length yet.
Excellent
Great video. Not really a place I think I should skimp on. I was going to buy your rope but with shipping to Hawaii, it cost the same as a Bubba rope. So I had to go with the Bubba.
@SandyCats
Жыл бұрын
Appreciate the thought! Hard for us to get the larger shipping discounts. Bubba definitely makes sense!
Very nice to see been thinking of getting a rope I have a 1ton diesel truck and been trying to figure the size I need. It's gonna be a yankum or bubba rope. My only concern is if I have to pull out a stuck car if a 1-1/2" rope would be to stiff.
@olegflaksman6591
2 жыл бұрын
Personally, I'd worry about your truck more than the other guy. Your 1/2" will still work on a smaller truck. If that truck is not too stuck, it will function more like a regular strap, and if it's heavily stuck, it will still have kinetic energy.
@Agent.K.
2 жыл бұрын
That’s true and it’s the reason I carry 2 ropes. Still though, It won’t be stiff like a static rope.
@geraldhenrickson7472
Жыл бұрын
When I yank a smaller vehicle with my 1 inch rope there really just isn’t enough useable kinetic stretch. Unless you are routinely rescuing a large SUV with another large SUV/truck I would go with three-quarter inch QUALITY constructed rope. Anything larger than 1 inch you better be working with very heavy vehicles Or it will get pretty violent if you’re trying to snap them out of mud and such. I’m interested to try the SandyCats ropes offered on this channel. I am thinking they probably are very good value.
@georgecarousos6735
Жыл бұрын
@@geraldhenrickson7472 Bingo...too many people use too thick of a rope which equates to less stretch and way more shock load to both vehicle recovery points. If 20,000 lbs of energy does not get a 1 ton truck or smaller vehicle free, you've got to look at the recovery situation and implement additional recovery techniques. The reality is kinetic energy recoveries rarely see more than 10k lbs of energy at the recovery point. This has been verified with load cells in Australia.
Badass video!
refreshingly helpful video. subscribed.
Great video overall. I like to know the make and model of your knife you are using to cut the ropes?. Seems interesting. Thanks .
Great info! Thanks!
You could be lucky you did not damage your vehicles when you tested the ropes with the tree!
How do you split a 30' to 15' ? is it safe to pull from the center of rope, considering there is a sheath there?
@SandyCats
11 ай бұрын
yes, just as safe to pull from the middle.
Just so you have the information, the thread wrapping (as was mentioned) is there not for strength, but to make the eye splice lock when it doesn't have a load on it. The way these eye splices work, much like an end to end splice, the rope acts like a Chinese finger trap on the loop, but if you don't have pressure trying to pulling it apart, it can slip apart, that's what the whipping is for, however, it's interesting to note, from what i saw, none of these were actually done correctly, they all should have been "lock stitched". The whipping works pretty good, but can loosen up over time, that's why lock stitching should be done. The kinetic ropes are created with what is called, specifically, a "nylon dual braid eye splice", they are actually very involved to create, and there is a science behind their construction, it's worth watching a video on forming them, you will better understand how they work and get their strength. Also, keep in mind that nylon (and polyester, etc) are considered class 1 ropes, dyneema, Amsteel, plasma, uhmwpe , the stuff soft shackles and synthetic winch lines are made from, are all classified as a type 2 rope. There is a methodology to how they are made, and made incorrectly, can lead to failure. There really is a lot of science behind this stuff.
@SandyCats
2 жыл бұрын
Appreciate the detailed comment!! Will look up that info. Fairly limited detailed information on this stuff online… difficult to do research. Thanks for pointing in the right direction.
Great vid for newbies
Very good content, only suggestion I would have is to ask for a link,especially the 28$ China that didn’t break, and the 2 Nd Chinese with wraps and threads protecting rope and deep splice for eye, I have a couple ropes, but you are the first guy who cut, yanked and actually tested,that’s why I subbed, just found you today, I have smitty rope, and I just got another rope Chinese not remember the name,but I got it because it was a special with 2 soft schackel, I have a hard time justifying 200 to 300 for a rope that is not any better than a cheaper one , but really interesting to find the 28$ one for evtruck I own, have a bag for recovery when out playing in mud/ snow, again great vido
@SandyCats
2 жыл бұрын
Appreciate the response. We did a ton of research and ordered a bunch of ropes from Alibaba. Unfortunately it's not like Amazon; you really need to get there catalogues and have a conversation with them to get specifically what you want. The $28 rope that was in the video was from Huakai Rope. Their website is Huakai-rope.com
Good for increasing your wheelbase
The cheep China rope did not do so bad at all?
Info on the "China #1" please....
@SandyCats
2 жыл бұрын
It's from a company in China. I believe "offroading gear" on Amazon is selling ropes from this factory (based on appearance and his description of the source). I haven't seen anyone else selling these ropes in the US.
@garyedgar9962
2 жыл бұрын
looking for the link for china 1 and china 2 can you help i would like to order
@chicanopatriot4322
2 жыл бұрын
Buy American pendejos!
Would you post a link to the soft straps you say you'll be ordering more of? I believe the 1 was between tree saver & rope, other was long enough to go thru Toyota receiver hitch. Awesome reviews, very detailed. Thanks.
@SandyCats
Жыл бұрын
I've reached out to a few companies to see if they were interested in developing a soft shackle to work with the hitch. They didn't respond so I have been developing my own for the last 6 months. I should have a fully developed version that will be better than the one in the vid available for sale in about 30 - 45 days. But if you contact me on IG @SandyCatsLLC I can get you a pre-production version if you need something faster as we have a bunch left over from testing. They will be longer than the one in the video for easier hitch use and as strong.
Nice video, lots of good information but I feel it could be presented in a more concise manner, for example when you mention a type of problem and are holding a rope that doesn't have that particular problem. The kinetic energy is from the speed and weight of the recovery vehicle but you say that certain ropes have more kinetic energy and that's confusing.
The shiny grey rope from China looks exactly like Rhino USA's recovery rope.
@wyesolsirius4947
Жыл бұрын
Rhino is a US company though it’s products are made in China
Damn good review, thank you.
😲😲😲
Not picking on the terminology, but wondering how you measured the “kinetic energy” of each rope, and how they are rated as far as KE.
@SandyCats
Жыл бұрын
Ratings are listed; most list about 30%. Very subjective… based on video review (after the fact) and feel in the vehicle. When you rig feels like it’s on a tow strap vs kinetic… starts getting easy to tell the difference.
@johnarcher9480
Жыл бұрын
Pardon my ignorance, just trying to learn more about this. I don’t understand 30% KE rating. Is that how much it will stretch before becoming a dynamic rope? Again, it’s just the terminology that’s throwing me off. In my small world view. If it stops the truck, isn’t that 100% of the energy? Thanks!
@SandyCats
Жыл бұрын
@@johnarcher9480 your right about the terminology. It really should be static vs. dynamic. The kinetic ropes stretch (or are supposed to stretch) about 30% of their length. The stretching action does two things: 1. Softens the impact on both vehicles and 2. Provide kinetic energy (above the energy of your truck pulling) when the rope attempts to return to its original length.
I’m looking for a kinetic rope for all the speeders in Vermont from my home state that speed up to the ski mountain. So what length and my conditions will be road salt and snow and muddy conditions. I have shackles and soft shackles. Thank you
@SandyCats
Жыл бұрын
www.sandycats.com/product-page/sandy-cats-recovery-rope
Great video as I have been looking into building a recovery kit with kenetic. As you say some American companies ropes are built in china. What is the chance that the red china rope you liked was from California cordage?
@SandyCats
Жыл бұрын
It’s not. A few months after we made this video we ended up working with that company (Chinese)… made some modifications based on these tests…. And now sell the rope.
What length kinetic rope would you recommend for my Jeep JL 2 door? Thanks in advance for your reply!
@SandyCats
2 жыл бұрын
Length isn't really related to your vehicle type... more of what you do. If you do rocks more and don't have a strap as well, get a 20ft. If you do more mud or sand, get a 30'.
@roberthodge6711
2 жыл бұрын
@@SandyCats Thank you!
Thank you
I love the video! Why do you like the Yankum rope more than the bubba? I am torn between the two of them.
@SandyCats
2 жыл бұрын
In my eyes they are basically equal in quality. However, he Bubba has extra layers of coating that makes it stiffer. I doubt most of us need that coating and it's easier to work with and store a less stiff rope.
No links to these products????????
have you tested rhino?
@SandyCats
Жыл бұрын
I have not. But it’s very very similar to the first few China ropes in video.
Who / what was the soft shackle from China that you liked?
@SandyCats
2 жыл бұрын
It was from a company called jiangsu haiki ropes. They won’t sell one piece only. I ended up ordering 100 custom pieces. They will be 4” longer than what was in the video (basically longest soft shackle on market) so will work awesome with hitch receiver. I should get them in about 2 months. Will post on my IG.
Did you test a Rhino Rope or have experience with them in the field? How did they do?
@SandyCats
Жыл бұрын
I did not test them (they were not out yet during testing). However, I have played with them and would personally put them in the lower China category.
@nate2807
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for the reply and for the video. Very well done! This sort of info really isn't out there like it should be and is dwarfed by marketing hype (most companies care about your money, not your life), so your video is even more valuable. After watching the you tube video about the tragic recovery attempt that lead to a fatality, and as we in MN head into winter, I've been reassessing my recovery kit and getting a couple things for better reliability and safety. Thanks again!
Can you tell everyone how you purchased these rope direct from China at the prices you stated? Do you have links you could provide sor at least some more details?
@SandyCats
2 жыл бұрын
No links. They were all purchased on Alibaba. You need to reach out to companies and get catalogs.
@sky-riders
2 жыл бұрын
Ok thank you
@garyedgar9962
2 жыл бұрын
@@sky-riders HEY DID YOU FIND OUT HOW TO ORDER THE CHINA ROPES
what was the favored soft shackle??
@SandyCats
Жыл бұрын
Honestly… I basically learned that a $15 Amazon shackle is the same strength as a $50 one.
I viewed your video and mostly agree with your findings. The one overall thing that doesn't sit well with me is that your review is done by doing the one thing you do not use a kinetic recovery rope for. If you find the stationary vehicle (or tree) does not move AT ALL when a moderate amount of pull is applied, a kinetic rope (of any brand) is the wrong equipment. This is where a winch should be used, otherwise, broken equipment will likely result. A recovery rope is used where a vehicle is stuck in mud, snow, sand etc., where it is possible kinetic energy can overcome to remove the vehicle.
@SandyCats
Жыл бұрын
I felt that using a stationary object for the test would be a better worst case scenario (heavy abuse scenario) to test the limits of the ropes. Also, I believe it would be the best way to see maximum kinetic stretch in the field. I do agree that in general this is not how these ropes should be used, however I have been in scenarios when we needed to pull in a similar way to maximum kinetic energy (one shot pull with vehicle over the side where a winch speed would have had the vehicle go further over the side). I would say my biggest surprise is that airbags didn’t go off and crossmember remained straight (where we pulled off receiver)… showing that kinetic energy is a real thing.
Did you try factor 55
@SandyCats
2 жыл бұрын
I did not. Wish I had the budget to try more but was limited to how many brands I could try.
tell me you hate rhino without saying it.
@gringohulk
Жыл бұрын
I agree they should be hated, and I appreciate him calling them out... pretty damn misleading to name the company Rhino "USA" when all your shit is made in China. I honestly don't have an issue with Chinese stuff, but I do have a big issue with POS companies that mislead people.
Whenever possible TRY NOT TO BY ANYTHING MADE IN china,,,,regardless of brand names,, for recover gear,, definitely spent the couple extra bucks for MADE IN USA stuff,, and have watched others with made in china crap suffer breakages long before the made in USA stuff fails,,,,the soft shackles either fails or the knot pops thru cause loop too big with ropes or straps commonly breaking at loop and/or splice pulling apart
So none of them broke, the tow hooks broke off?
@SandyCats
2 жыл бұрын
Yup
@growlith6969
2 жыл бұрын
@@SandyCats I bought a $90 amazon rope, seems to have decent characteristics from what you've shown here. Hoping to never need it, but as long as it doesn't break the one time I do, I will be happy. Those soft shackles are pretty tough eh?
@SandyCats
2 жыл бұрын
@@growlith6969 I was honestly surprised to the strength of the soft shackles. I'd trust them anytime.
What are the 2 Chinese rope brand names?
@SandyCats
2 жыл бұрын
They are unbranded. Ordered directly from factories in China.
@Legitreview-uz6we
2 жыл бұрын
@@SandyCats do you have a link so i can see if i can buy one? Thanks for answering
@SandyCats
2 жыл бұрын
Monster4WD, Jinli Rope, Huakai Rope, and HyRopes
@raf1800
2 жыл бұрын
@@SandyCats what would be the brand of the cheapest one?
@SandyCats
2 жыл бұрын
@@raf1800 Monster and Jinli same price (cheapest)
Im a lil disappointed, that you called them china ropes. Instead of using their actual Brand names. That way we could know which ones to steer away from. Or if we were curious about pricing and what have you. We could have looked, i was really curious to know. What Brand the Chinese one was that you actually liked. I kind of think i know, because ive seen them reflective markers on a few brands on Amazon. But if you could lmk which one was the one you thought was decent from china. That'd be sweet! Otherwise it was a fairly good test! I do feel bad for your vehicles tho. Lol Definitely not good! I could see the flex in the frame/bed. Nothing horrible, but if its on a vehicle that u are making payments on. Not ideal! Lol Nonetheless Two Thumbs up!
@SandyCats
7 ай бұрын
Appreciate the detailed response. I didn’t mention the company names in the video (they are mentioned somewhere in the comments) because it would be the factory names. A lot of companies buy from these factories and put their logo on them… so the factory name wouldn’t represent the brand names on Amazon and other places. The “decent” rope from China a lot of people asked about when we made this video. We initially ordered a batch and resold to followers. We ended up redeveloping the rope to be stretchier and be better coated. Now we sell it 😂 on SandyCats.com. There is one other person in the US selling from the same factory but it’s the old version of the rope. We also have more vids with more aggressive pulls now on out instagram (@kineticX_ropes). All vehicles are paid off 😂…. No frames have been bent (yet)… not for lack of trying. My Cadillac suspension light has been on for months now though from our last tests 😭.
If ur goal is to see if tow ropes are indestructible there not lol buy a chain
I plan to buy a kinetic recovery rope for my truck, would you recommend Bubba or Factor 55? Thank you
@SandyCats
8 ай бұрын
Bubba is going to be the best. Would recommend them over factor 55