Gear Armour has come out with new ratcheting tie downs that load from the side to provide quicker loading and unloading. The company says that this side-loading feature means 2X faster setup and breakdown compared to traditional ratcheting tie downs.
These tie downs were designed in New Zealand by a trucker, and who knows tie downs better than truckers?!
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There are three sizes and styles – 16′ with double J-hooks, 27′ with double J-hooks, and 27′ with flat hooks. The 16′ tie down has a load rating of 1,667 lbs and breaking strength of 5,000 lbs, while the 27′ tie downs have load ratings and breaking strengths of 3,333 lbs and 10,000 lbs respectively.
Each strap is built with UV-resistant webbing and a hand-friendly T-handle grip. All three straps exceed Dept. of Transportation standards.
Prices: $17-22, depending on size and style
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
More Info(via GearArmour)
Here are a couple of videos – one that shows how to use these ratcheting tie-downs, and another that compares the GearArmour tie-down to an ordinary ratcheting tie-down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_hOCk2sokM
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fycaCu0wys
First Thoughts
I’m struggling to see a downside to these ratcheting straps. They look to be user-friendly, and anything that helps speed up tie-down setup and breakdown is going to be appreciated by most users. We hope to get our hands on one soon for testing, but don’t think there’s anything that could take away from their appeal.
Jim
In my use case. I do not see the advantage. Sometimes when securing a load, my clamping handle is in an akward position, next to a bulkhead or weaved through a piece of equipment thus making it difficult to unhinge and thread the strap. The traditional straps work fine Securing the straps is hardly the most time consuming task.
Chad
I see the advantage right away. This solves the biggest problem I have with ratchet tie downs… fishing the strap through the ratchet. Bonus is you won’t have to find the end of the strap to fish it through. I will be buying a set soon. Great idea!
Ross
I honestly never understood the purpose of removing the strap from the ratchet when storing these. I just wrap the whole strap around the ratchet when I put them away. That way I don’t have to bother with reassembling them and/or trying to sort matching ratchets and straps.
Kent
That’s pretty expensive for a ratchet tie down, but they are 2″, rather than 1″.
I have a big collection of ratchet straps, and use them frequently. While I think this is cool, it’s a bit too expensive. The video is a little funny; if the guy didn’t have 20′ straps, he’d be done a lot sooner. Most of my truck straps are 8 or 10 feet, and I leave the strap in the spool.
KL
Hmm, I see the advantage, just not sure it’s much of an advantage. I’ll likely stick w the old style with $9.99 sale prices.
firefly
Found this post while looking for strap tensioner. As far as pricing, I think the pricing are competitive.
If you are tying taller item. It’s nicer to remove the strap because it’s better to drag the end with no hook around if you are pulling it across your item. The hook is heavy and can damage your item/got tangle in something. Again totally depend on your use case.
Personally I have found that 8-10ft tend to run a little short for me while tying taller item such as cabinet. I started out with 8-10ft straps. Now I have a mixture of straps from 6-30ft. I do like the retractable one the most where I can use them. But most of the retractable are usually on the short side (less than 10 ft).