Ultimate Recovery Tool - Webinar

I really enjoyed this webinar. Many more please. We now have to have a special one for stuff that doesn’t work as a boat anchor too.
On the subject of the Hi-Lift and it’s part in the construction of Stonehenge, I am with Robert. We camped near SH a few weeks back and there are definite signs of red paint in the ground😀👍

I was very surprised to see the rope lose to the strap. Maybe it's just down to some people only use it once, or twice, so they are WAY under their 10 hits you get with the strap, so they don't see why you would pay twice/thrice as much for the rope? Vs the people who use the rope 20 times a month, so rather than using 10% of the uses of the rope, they would need to buy 2 straps which now means you are starting to hit price parity?

Hmmmmmm. I would not have picked any listed. In over 50 percent of the poor souls I find stuck in the backcountry, I pull out what I feel is the ultimate 4x4 recovery tool - my simple air down tool (and perhaps a shovel). Remember, you probably have MANY beginners watching; hence my choice.

Compressor represents the concept of adjusting tyre pressure rather then a physical compressor.

"PSI" with a down arrow would have been a better representation of using air pressure as a recovery tool, but would likely have produced the same final three. You guys were just focussing on the bit of hardware.

But, I also would have voted for the air jack because I don't have anywhere to attach a high lift. Very, very subjective - but fun to watch.

I think you all also said at one point "with enough time" to justify your choice... well, with enough time, someone would come and solve my problem for me.

Being in the recovery and breakdown industry I would not have chosen Compressor But I understand the logic I guess none of you guys have had multiple punctures out on the trail Where you can patch it plug it and then re inflate

Assuming no access to 4x4 buddy this is my list:

#1 Rope bag containing 100yards of 11mm Amsteel rope, 5 double sheave pulleys, 5 steel carabiners. Rope can be cut to any length for all manner of anchor slings, mid line adjustable prusik loops, sliding progress capture, emergency snatch straps, improvised capstan style wheel winch (or bogout), rim straps for jack, general mechanical advantage and redirects, etc.
#2 chainsaw
#3 lightweight racing floor jack

Everything else is luxury. Yes, including the shovel because you can make one in the field with the right tools. But without some version of these 3 you cannot get: mechanical pull, mechanical lift, trail clearing, and utilizing available resources such as wood. And, #4 would be chains if you’re dealing with snow/ice

Shovel: can be made entirely with chainsaw or just a handle + something flat or just dig with a stick - it’s surprisingly effective. Also, I don’t care what shovel you have, you aren’t digging through solid rock, tree roots, or even clay or frozen ground. And snow/sand don’t necessarily need shovels. Plenty of things already act like shovels like max tracks, crow bars and digging bars, axes, etc.

Max tracks: also can be made entirely by chainsaw where I live. But, most people literally place flat rocks down or gravel. Of all the listed items this one is the most easily improvised. Kyle is dead wrong about these tracks being number 1. They are nothing more than just a very handy luxury if you know what you are doing!

High lift jack: almost makes my list because of rocks and winching backwards capability but ultimately it’s a compromise of being both worse than a bottle or floor jack and less effective than a winch as well as extremely time consuming if used in this way. They are almost unusable with pulley mechanical advantage because of how slow they are. If you absolutely need to winch backwards you can 90% of the time turn your back wheels into a Capstan winch like MadMatt pointed out and bury an object as an anchor. Firemen and rescue teams in the states literally use 3 metal stakes in the ground as ground anchors, which are good up to at very least 8,000lbs in grade 2 soil. Also, electric winch under the chassis is the oldest trick in the book, it’s just a matter of padding the sharp edges. Again chainsaw helps here for cutting wood to fit but they also sell chainsaw attachments that act as portable winches around 1,000lbs without use of pulleys.

Snatch strap and KEER: rated nylon rope Is just as good but the rope can be any length, it goes through any pulley shapes and can be manipulated much, much more. Rope can also be doubled up if the load is very heavy and you can splice and knot it very easily.

Do you have a recommended brand of tirfor winch?

Thank god for closed caption subtitles.

Should have replaced the air compressor with a “bog out”, and the waffle board with a “Bush winch”.