Drink up and enjoy

Rover Gear and a Beer Soft Shackle - YouTube

 

There really should be some product warnings.
Because of the nature of how they need to/can be rigged the actual load rating of the rope needs to be reduced by a very significant amount. People might assume if the plasma rope is rated at 80,000lb then the shackle is rated the same. That's not the case.

There was a discussion about them on DWeb.

 

They are ratted for 18k working load. stamped on every one. I am surprised that you do not like these and feel they are unsafe.

 

Funny episode. Would have liked to seen more tech. When/where to use/not to use? Will they fit through a standard 3/4" recovery point? What about fraying?

 

Well, I haven't seen anything authoritative on the material or rope diameter, so it's difficult to really say if that's an accurate WLL. Based on what I've seen that WLL is very suspect since it looks to be based on the rope material/diameter in a straight pull, not how it's used in this application.

 

The soft shackle is more than just a hunk of rope. There is actually a little bit of science behind what appears to be a simple loop. The shackle is first made by splicing the rope and stitching it so the eye can only open far enough to allow the ball end through. Then it is stretched on a tensile tester to the Working Load Limit. This will set the knot end and prevent it from becoming untied. For added protection the shackle is then re-dipped in a polyurethane coating and a piece of nylon chafe guarding is added.
The 9mm ones that Lucky8 sells have been tested on a 50,000lb tensile tester. This machine is calibrated by a third party every year, in part because the manufacturer must keep its test equipment up to date to comply with their military contracts.

The 9mm soft shackle is rated for a Working Load Limit of 18,000lbs. Today I had a brand new soft shackle tested and it broke at 26,088lbs. That is like hanging more than another Land Rover off the shackle past its Working Load Limit.

One thing to keep in mind with these shackles or any synthetic winch line is that they do have a shelf life. The manufacturer did a simulated long-term test of the shackle and these were the results:
First it was cycled 200 times from 14,000lbs - 20,000lbs. No damage. This should be close to the maximum pulling power of a 9k winch connected to a ****** block.
Then they upped the pulling power and kept on going. It took 73 cycles in the 20,000lb - 25,000lb range for the shackle to finally break at 25,182lbs. Keep in mind that the shackle was not allowed to cool down after each test as it was cycled continuously to test its durability in being loaded and unloaded repeatedly.

Here is some quick math:
If you were to go out twice a month and use the shackle at its maximum rating twice each outing, it would take you just shy of 6 years to mimic our testing. Not bad for a $25 shackle.

video of todays test.
Soft shackle test - YouTube

Todays test


I hope this helps put to rest some of the concerns that some people have had.

 

I'd be shocked if the DoD would accept a design factor significantly less that 2:1 for shackles. I would be surprised if a 5:1 design factor isn't specified. Since you're involved in military acquisition I expect it would be easy for you to look up.

All rigging scenarios should have risk management performed before proceeding.

 

Not really, since I can buy 19,000lb WLL steel shackle with 5:1 factor for about $30. Or the 5 ton ones I use, 5/8" with a 5:1 factor and a 45,000lb ultimate load for $18. Quite competitive to the soft shackle price.
By your logic my 5/8" shackle would cost $36,000. But you're right, it's completely irrelevant to the discussion.

It has nothing to do with whether or not I trust them. It has only to do with people having the information needed to make an informed decision.

Another irrelevancy. I haven't seen anyone suggest soft shackles should be banned.

 

Next time you need to recover a 45,000 lb load…. PLEASE UPLOAD THAT VIDEO! It would be awesome to see.

 

Only an idiot (or someone who doesn't understand design factors) would use a shackle with a 45,000lb ultimate strength to attempt a recovery of a 45,000lb vehicle.
But then, having observed a few recoveries....