My soft shackle failure experience 🤕 -- The Off-Road Recovery That Almost Killed Me

[popo_patty]

"In this video, I take a deep dive into the incident from a personal, story perspective. Then we zoom out and look back using hind sight 20/20 and a birds eye view. I include various clips, pics and physical evidence. Please watch the WHOLE story and do not skip, you will get a false idea based on partial facts if you do. Use this as a tool to educate and encourage safety when recovering. Share to your hearts content!"



Oof that looked like it hurt.
Since the incident I’ve been talking directly with some of the recovery industry greats such as Factor 55, Madmatts4wd and local recovery group leaders. I’ve learned a TON of stuff from them that admittedly just isn’t talked about much in the kinetic rope world and they as well as I now want to bring up more and help spread conversation on.

The common consensus from all of them so far is that the soft shackle failed at the Clevis. In fact it was at the loop around its own knot and not the Clevis. The other takeaway is that the soft shackle quality was poor (I have found 3 different ratings now for its strength). It was probably degraded more from the first forward pull.
Another item was the strength of the pull being too hard for the conditions I was in.
Me rushing was also huge as I didn’t get out and assess and see that my passenger side was now buried vs how it had been before. In that situation a winch line and digging would have been better.
Another thought was a winch blanket, they all agreed that the blanket would have just been tossed off and was not heavy enough to make a difference.
Another big point was that the kinetic rope I had was “rated” for use on any vehicle up to 11,000 lbs. Looking-back though, they said a 1” rope is too thick and a 7/8th would actually be better and allow for more stretch. From now on I am only using, high end, quality gear regardless of rating from cheaper companies. I am also going to slow myself down despite any rush I may be in.
I’m also going to rethink how often I use my winch and break that out more.
I still believe soft shackles are safer and will continue to use them. I am also going to make more use of a bridle now as well to distribute the load better.
I interviewed with Madmatt4WD from Australia and he brought up a TON of good advice. I’ll link that interview here when it posts.

One last point that Matt brought up was the mindset. In the US we see recoveries typically as the driving not having the skill to get through something and now we have to recover them. It’s an obstacle and a chore for us that we try to get out of the way ASAP so we can get back to wheeling. This mindset is dangerous. In Australia they see recoveries as part of the process and it’s not looked down on or rushed. It’s a methodical, slow and mostly safe process every time. For them it’s part of the process.

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[indio22]

Watched the video earlier this morning, dang the energy in a recovery line, not to be trifled with. Good breakdown of the incident to learn from, glad driver is ok.

 

[PWillette]

Dam, that's as close as it gets. Recoveries ain't no joke. Glad Popo was OK in the end and able to share this experience.

 

[ferbm]

It's really important to see the damage that can occur with ROPE! I'm very new to the sport, but assumed that kinetic rope is safer than chain. Maybe it is, but rope is a serious threat too!

I would like to get some proper training of how to set up my vehicle and how to safely use the equipment!!!!

 

[SubmarineNuke]

as someone who served in the Navy, ropes under tension always deserve respect. Doesn't matter where it is, or what it's used for, respect the rope.

 

[userdude]

Why don't zebras play poker? Too many cheetahs.
What's an astronaut's favorite key? The space bar.
When does a joke become a dad joke? When it's apparent.

Be glad, and we're glad, you're still around to groan at those jokes with us @popo_patty! Thanks for making the video for us. I also thought ropes were basically safe, but these kinetic ropes are probably not to be trifled with.

 

[broadicustomworks]

Oof that looked like it hurt.
Since the incident I’ve been talking directly with some of the recovery industry greats such as Factor 55, Madmatts4wd and local recovery group leaders. I’ve learned a TON of stuff from them that admittedly just isn’t talked about much in the kinetic rope world and they as well as I now want to bring up more and help spread conversation on.

The common consensus from all of them so far is that the soft shackle failed at the loop around its own knot and not the Clevis. The other takeaway is that the soft shackle quality was poor (I have found 3 different ratings now for its strength). It was probably degraded more from the first forward pull.
Another item was the strength of the pull being too hard for the conditions I was in.
Me rushing was also huge as I didn’t get out and assess and see that my passenger side was now buried vs how it had been before. In that situation a winch line and digging would have been better.
Another thought was a winch blanket, they all agreed that the blanket would have just been tossed off and was not heavy enough to make a difference.
Another big point was that the kinetic rope I had was “rated” for use on any vehicle up to 11,000 lbs. Looking-back though, they said a 1” rope is too thick and a 7/8th would actually be better and allow for more stretch. From now on I am only using, high end, quality gear regardless of rating from cheaper companies. I am also going to slow myself down despite any rush I may be in.
I’m also going to rethink how often I use my winch and break that out more.
I still believe soft shackles are safer and will continue to use them. I am also going to make more use of a bridle now as well to distribute the load better.
I interviewed with Madmatt4WD from Australia and he brought up a TON of good advice. I’ll link that interview here when it posts.

One last point that Matt brought up was the mindset. In the US we see recoveries typically as the driving not having the skill to get through something and now we have to recover them. It’s an obstacle and a chore for us that we try to get out of the way ASAP so we can get back to wheeling. This mindset is dangerous. In Australia they see recoveries as part of the process and it’s not looked down on or rushed. It’s a methodical, slow and mostly safe process every time. For them it’s part of the process.

Outside of the context of the video, what brand are your US made soft shackles?
And glad to hear you are ok, for the most part.
A little different trajectory and it could very well be a different topic we are discussing.
Scary stuff.

 

[cr117]

"In this video, I take a deep dive into the incident from a personal, story perspective. Then we zoom out and look back using hind sight 20/20 and a birds eye view. I include various clips, pics and physical evidence. Please watch the WHOLE story and do not skip, you will get a false idea based on partial facts if you do. Use this as a tool to educate and encourage safety when recovering. Share to your hearts content!"



Oof that looked like it hurt.
Since the incident I’ve been talking directly with some of the recovery industry greats such as Factor 55, Madmatts4wd and local recovery group leaders. I’ve learned a TON of stuff from them that admittedly just isn’t talked about much in the kinetic rope world and they as well as I now want to bring up more and help spread conversation on.

The common consensus from all of them so far is that the soft shackle failed at the Clevis. In fact it was at the loop around its own knot and not the Clevis. The other takeaway is that the soft shackle quality was poor (I have found 3 different ratings now for its strength). It was probably degraded more from the first forward pull.
Another item was the strength of the pull being too hard for the conditions I was in.
Me rushing was also huge as I didn’t get out and assess and see that my passenger side was now buried vs how it had been before. In that situation a winch line and digging would have been better.
Another thought was a winch blanket, they all agreed that the blanket would have just been tossed off and was not heavy enough to make a difference.
Another big point was that the kinetic rope I had was “rated” for use on any vehicle up to 11,000 lbs. Looking-back though, they said a 1” rope is too thick and a 7/8th would actually be better and allow for more stretch. From now on I am only using, high end, quality gear regardless of rating from cheaper companies. I am also going to slow myself down despite any rush I may be in.
I’m also going to rethink how often I use my winch and break that out more.
I still believe soft shackles are safer and will continue to use them. I am also going to make more use of a bridle now as well to distribute the load better.
I interviewed with Madmatt4WD from Australia and he brought up a TON of good advice. I’ll link that interview here when it posts.

One last point that Matt brought up was the mindset. In the US we see recoveries typically as the driving not having the skill to get through something and now we have to recover them. It’s an obstacle and a chore for us that we try to get out of the way ASAP so we can get back to wheeling. This mindset is dangerous. In Australia they see recoveries as part of the process and it’s not looked down on or rushed. It’s a methodical, slow and mostly safe process every time. For them it’s part of the process.

Watched your video this morning. The main takeaway I'd stress is, when you find yourself in these situations, you need to slow down. Taking the time to assess the circumstances that are preventing the vehicle from moving is critical. My belief is you should always be doing everything to get out under your vehicle's own power first, like digging or trying traction boards. When you introduce winches and tow straps, you're inviting all kinds of risks to the situation that are much harder to predict. If the digging or traction boards don't work, at least you've done the prep work already for a safe pull.

While I agree, it's important to not skimp out on cheap gear, you talked about how if that shackle didn't fail, the recovery point on your front bumper probably would have, likely causing significant damage to both vehicles. Again, I just want to stress the primary lesson learned here should be to slow down and evaluate the situation rather than this turning into a discussion about which brands to avoid.

You also mentioned how you want the weight rating of the shackles to be greater than the kinetic rope so the rope would fail first, likely in the middle. I'm curious if this inline with what you heard from the various companies you've spoken with. I always assumed that a kinetic rope, if it failed, would break at one of the loop ends first, since that's where a lot of the stress it being applied.

Thank you for sharing your experience. YouTube is filled with so many demos of how to use all this recovery equipment but very rarely to you find real world scenarios like this.

 

[Kmautah]

"In this video, I take a deep dive into the incident from a personal, story perspective. Then we zoom out and look back using hind sight 20/20 and a birds eye view. I include various clips, pics and physical evidence. Please watch the WHOLE story and do not skip, you will get a false idea based on partial facts if you do. Use this as a tool to educate and encourage safety when recovering. Share to your hearts content!"



Oof that looked like it hurt.
Since the incident I’ve been talking directly with some of the recovery industry greats such as Factor 55, Madmatts4wd and local recovery group leaders. I’ve learned a TON of stuff from them that admittedly just isn’t talked about much in the kinetic rope world and they as well as I now want to bring up more and help spread conversation on.

The common consensus from all of them so far is that the soft shackle failed at the Clevis. In fact it was at the loop around its own knot and not the Clevis. The other takeaway is that the soft shackle quality was poor (I have found 3 different ratings now for its strength). It was probably degraded more from the first forward pull.
Another item was the strength of the pull being too hard for the conditions I was in.
Me rushing was also huge as I didn’t get out and assess and see that my passenger side was now buried vs how it had been before. In that situation a winch line and digging would have been better.
Another thought was a winch blanket, they all agreed that the blanket would have just been tossed off and was not heavy enough to make a difference.
Another big point was that the kinetic rope I had was “rated” for use on any vehicle up to 11,000 lbs. Looking-back though, they said a 1” rope is too thick and a 7/8th would actually be better and allow for more stretch. From now on I am only using, high end, quality gear regardless of rating from cheaper companies. I am also going to slow myself down despite any rush I may be in.
I’m also going to rethink how often I use my winch and break that out more.
I still believe soft shackles are safer and will continue to use them. I am also going to make more use of a bridle now as well to distribute the load better.
I interviewed with Madmatt4WD from Australia and he brought up a TON of good advice. I’ll link that interview here when it posts.

One last point that Matt brought up was the mindset. In the US we see recoveries typically as the driving not having the skill to get through something and now we have to recover them. It’s an obstacle and a chore for us that we try to get out of the way ASAP so we can get back to wheeling. This mindset is dangerous. In Australia they see recoveries as part of the process and it’s not looked down on or rushed. It’s a methodical, slow and mostly safe process every time. For them it’s part of the process.

Thanks for sharing @popo_patty , I watched the full video. Some of the YT comments were that soft shackles are not meant for dynamic pulls, that you should still be using a D ring with a soft shackle, which is the opposite of what I understood/have read (or what the kinetic rope/soft shackle companies say). A D ring would go in the circular hole in the recovery point (with sharper edges), and from what I understand a soft shackle would use the larger gap, which has softer edges. I bought soft shackles so that i didn't need the D rings in a recovery (although, prob. not a bad idea to have 1 or 2 D rings in the recovery kit as backups).

 

[MadMan4BamaNATL]

"In this video, I take a deep dive into the incident from a personal, story perspective. Then we zoom out and look back using hind sight 20/20 and a birds eye view. I include various clips, pics and physical evidence. Please watch the WHOLE story and do not skip, you will get a false idea based on partial facts if you do. Use this as a tool to educate and encourage safety when recovering. Share to your hearts content!"



Oof that looked like it hurt.
Since the incident I’ve been talking directly with some of the recovery industry greats such as Factor 55, Madmatts4wd and local recovery group leaders. I’ve learned a TON of stuff from them that admittedly just isn’t talked about much in the kinetic rope world and they as well as I now want to bring up more and help spread conversation on.

The common consensus from all of them so far is that the soft shackle failed at the Clevis. In fact it was at the loop around its own knot and not the Clevis. The other takeaway is that the soft shackle quality was poor (I have found 3 different ratings now for its strength). It was probably degraded more from the first forward pull.
Another item was the strength of the pull being too hard for the conditions I was in.
Me rushing was also huge as I didn’t get out and assess and see that my passenger side was now buried vs how it had been before. In that situation a winch line and digging would have been better.
Another thought was a winch blanket, they all agreed that the blanket would have just been tossed off and was not heavy enough to make a difference.
Another big point was that the kinetic rope I had was “rated” for use on any vehicle up to 11,000 lbs. Looking-back though, they said a 1” rope is too thick and a 7/8th would actually be better and allow for more stretch. From now on I am only using, high end, quality gear regardless of rating from cheaper companies. I am also going to slow myself down despite any rush I may be in.
I’m also going to rethink how often I use my winch and break that out more.
I still believe soft shackles are safer and will continue to use them. I am also going to make more use of a bridle now as well to distribute the load better.
I interviewed with Madmatt4WD from Australia and he brought up a TON of good advice. I’ll link that interview here when it posts.

One last point that Matt brought up was the mindset. In the US we see recoveries typically as the driving not having the skill to get through something and now we have to recover them. It’s an obstacle and a chore for us that we try to get out of the way ASAP so we can get back to wheeling. This mindset is dangerous. In Australia they see recoveries as part of the process and it’s not looked down on or rushed. It’s a methodical, slow and mostly safe process every time. For them it’s part of the process.

Hey bud, saw you posted the video a few days ago, but hadn’t had a chance to watch yet; will today.

Glad you brought this up and the Aussie perspective because it’s true. So many of us here and on this forum want to save money on recovery gear and focus on wheels and cheap lifts and other BS.

Recovery gear is where I’ve invested a good bit because you mostly get what you pay for and diminishing returns doesn’t come in until the very top if ever.

Cheap straps or low rated Kenetic is just as you point out; dangerous. My Voodoo rope is rated at 20K I think since I have no idea who I’d be dragging out of where. Was expensive, but it’s quality rope.

Some guys balk at the cost of some Factor55, Warn, ARB, or MaxTrax gear, but you rarely see any issues with their stuff if properly used.

Thank you for being humble and sharing your experience so others will learn. Hope guys don’t come in here to debate you, but you know how people are…….

 

[V1Rotate]

All the recovery gear talk aside - the biggest thing that needed an upgrade was the doofus in the other vehicle. Can’t leave him entirely on the hook alone as it’s definitely a “crew” type of job that needs some conversation and planning but backing up and throwing a 10lb sledge at a 2lb problem caused most of the issue.
For me that’s 96% of the value of this educational experience (for which we’re thankful you’re here to talk about) - HOW to properly recover someone with a side of ”what to use”. Bad things happen slowly when you go slowly

 

[V1Rotate]

Some guys balk at the cost of some Factor55, Warn, ARB, or MaxTrax gear, but you rarely see any issues with their stuff if properly used.

Emphasized my favorite part of that sentence. Definitely the lesson we all need to take away from this whether you‘re new or seasoned

 

[sergk]

I haven't watched whole hour video, perhaps this was mentioned - was a dampener (bag or something) on the recovery line when the shackle snapped?

 

[Chrome_Pony]

Glad you're okay, and working through it.

Not saying this is the reason or contributing cause, but people REALLY need to think about which alphabet soup bullshit product brands from China they are willing to bet their lives on. There's a metric ton of cheap untested recovery gear from bumpers to winches, to ropes and shackles floating around Amazon. Here's a smattering of manufacturers from a random search on Amazon.

 

[sergk]

Another thought was a winch blanket, they all agreed that the blanket would have just been tossed off and was not heavy enough to make a difference.

Two (!) dampeners loaded with 10 lb each seem to be a good mitigating factor. Look at the test in this video:

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