New hookless winch rope!? Thought?

[wnorton]

Hmm. Why not just replace the hook with a soft shackle?

{slapping forehead}… why didn’t I think of that. Brilliant.

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[jaymz]

Simply switching to synthetic rope eliminates most of the danger from flying objects. Using your brain eliminates the rest. I'd consider purchasing if it was the same price as a regular synthetic rope. I wouldn't pay a premium for a knot and some loops that I could do for free. I'd also likely use tree savers & soft shackles to eliminate wear on the winch line.

And for those of you that use metal shackle - Never back off the pin.

 

[Odyssey USA]

Hmm. Why not just replace the hook with a soft shackle?

Is there a reason to not just remove the typically pre-installed steel loop and just connect the looped rope end with a soft shackle?

Anyone?

Edit: I’ve learned the an acceptable way is to attach the soft shackles via a cow hitch. You do lose 15% strength in the line. One could offset by going to larger line which I’ll do the next time I replace my winch line. Very Easy knot btw. I’m going with just the cow hitch on the factory 3/8 line for now.

 

[Floriduramax3.0]

Uh... The use of soft shackles, including soft shackles integrated into your winch rope, to eliminate metal shackles has been around for a while. Using soft shackles and converting your winching system to synthetic rope as extensively as possible, instead of any metal in your winching system, (no heavy projectiles flying around in the inevitable event of a line or connector break) is your best bet for improving safety.

A lot of us here in North America have been going in this direction for quite a while. Even Factor 55 seems to be on the bandwagon, although perhaps a little reluctantly since so much of their product line is metal. Factor 55's aluminum pulleys (https://factor55.com/product/rrp-standard-duty-soft-shackle-combo/) are a great way to eliminate heavy, dangerous, snatch blocks and get to a lighter, simpler, safer system.

Only the Aussies, who generally really know their offroad stuff, seem to still be hesitant, probably only due to a culturally driven excess of testosterone. But, they're smart; they'll get over it.

So do many folks here use this versus the old school steel pulley? Is it worth buying and replacing the steel pulley in my bag?

 

[Odyssey USA]

Bump. I’m getting answers on Facebook that the answer to my question advice is that it’s ok to use the line 1/1 at 90° and it’ll maintain 90% of normal line strength. Also, it may be a good idea to trim 12” and re-loop with a FID once a year to prevent further weakening.

Edit: see update in my previous post for solution.

 

[J0E]

Is there a reason to not just remove the typically pre-installed steel loop and just connect the looped rope end with a soft shackle?

Anyone?

I did that but on hard pulls it was pinching the line. The steel loop is very light so I put it back in.

Hmm. Why not just replace the hook with a soft shackle?

I think a bunch of us did that long ago. My rope behind the hawse fairlead and therefore protected from rocks.

 

[Odyssey USA]

See post 18 for an easy solution in using the factory loop end after removing the steel from it. (Mine wasn’t difficult to remove without damaging the line or undoing the loop.

 

[1996cc]

I did this a couple months ago, just stumbled on this post. I was tired of dropping the line in powdery snow and having it sink into oblivion and the extra weight is just another potential missile if something does fail. (Yes I know synthetic isn’t supposed to store energy, etc.) I figure I’ll replace the soft shackle more than I normally would, but that’s a cost I’m willing to absorb.

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