In the world of four-wheel driving, most people are familiar with winches and starter straps. They are very different in many ways (including price), but will achieve very similar results. A Snatch Strap is basically a long strap with some give, allowing the strap to stretch up to 20% of its length. The idea behind this is simple: when a four-wheel drive vehicle gets stuck, you connect the strap to rated recovery points on both vehicles and one vehicle pulls the other out. The advantage of a stretchable belt is that you can accelerate and when the belt stretches, it stretches and the energy is slowly applied to the stuck vehicle. If I did it with a rope that didn’t stretch, it would either break or give both vehicles a hard hit.
Snatch leashes are great for recovering in sand, mud, snow, and even rocks. In many cases, you only need a little tug anyway, so no stretching is necessary. However, in some cases you need to be able to get a little extra boost. These start at around $40 and are well worth having in your vehicle. However, the only drawback is that you need two cars to use them!
Winches, on the other hand, are a bit more versatile. They can be attached to another vehicle or tree, meaning you can usually get out even when no other vehicle is nearby. If there are no trees, you can bury a spare tire and winch it out. Winches have a number of advantages over pull straps, but the main one is that they are slower and more controlled. Instead of having to build up a considerable amount of kinetic energy, you can slowly take out a vehicle. This is very advantageous when four-wheel driving over rocks. If you suddenly yank a vehicle over rocks, you are likely to cause damage or make the situation worse.
Obviously winches are much more expensive (and you can only pull forward unless you have a rear winch!), but they are very common on four wheel drives these days. The biggest complaint I have with both winches and jumper straps is the risk that they can be applied to both people and four wheel drive vehicles. If either breaks, serious damage can occur. Many people have died using them, and they are very dangerous if used correctly.
My preference then (for everything except rocks) is Maxtrax. These are engineering grade nylon boards that you simply place under your vehicle’s tires. From there you can drive up to them and you’ll be out in seconds. There’s no need to put excessive force on the vehicle (and you can do it without needing another car), there’s no risk of anything breaking and flying through the air, and they’re considerably faster and easier to use. You’ll get a four-wheel drive that’s stuck on the beach in half the time it takes to put together a starter strap or winch (no risk too!)
