Snatch Block

[AMT]

I know there are a lot of different opinions on the Harbor Freight winches. I did tons of research and spoke with people with first hand experience and decided to get one and have been very happy with it.

However, I could not find many opinions or feedback for their Apex Snatch Block. (https://www.harborfreight.com/apex-forged-snatch-block-58175.html) Can anyone share their experience with them? It seems some of their lines, i.e. Badlands Apex, are better quality than what one would typically associate with the HF brand.

Thank you,

Adam

Sponsored

 

[GATORB8]

Well, if anyone has had one fail, I think you'd be able to find something on it. That would be a bad day.

Note, With the forged you lose the standard overload indication (stretch of tabs). Also, you'll need to make sure your shackles are large enough since the tabs aren't flat like a standard snatch block.

 

[brewski]

I know there are a lot of different opinions on the Harbor Freight winches. I did tons of research and spoke with people with first hand experience and decided to get one and have been very happy with it.

However, I could not find many opinions or feedback for their Apex Snatch Block. (https://www.harborfreight.com/apex-forged-snatch-block-58175.html) Can anyone share their experience with them? It seems some of their lines, i.e. Badlands Apex, are better quality than what one would typically associate with the HF brand.

Thank you,

Adam

Don't know anything specific on that snatch block, but frankly all recovery gear comes down to a couple things.
- Is it WLL rated, and actually tested for that rating. Working Load Limit is usually 1/6 the average failure point?
- Key item here, do you regularly check over your gear to make sure it is in good working order?
- Do you know how to use it properly?


I've seen a lot of stories where something off amazon isn't actually tested for its rating. I don't think Harbor Freight pulls that junk since they would be much more vulnerable for lawsuit than some fly by night company selling on Amazon. I'm not a fan of Harbor Freight recovery gear, but I would trust it much more than something off Amazon. For me I've come to trust certain brands in the recovery market and know I can rely on them, and therefore use those brands. But that doesn't mean that the HF snatch block couldn't be a good item, snatch blocks are pretty simple pieces of equipment.

 

[JocoRubicon]

I've been adding to and updating my recovery gear recently. Reading here and other places, Gear America seems to be a pretty good group for things so I found their store on Amazon. These just arrived and they sure seem beefy. I've not put them to the test but with a 25k WLL stated, that should cover (hopefully) most anything I will get into with the jeep. As mentioned there's not a lot of technology to a snatch block but I liked that these have greese fittings for maintenance.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XLN685D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

[AMT]

Thanks for the info, guys. Might have to give the Gear American a try. Have also heard/read good things

 

[brewski]

I've been adding to and updating my recovery gear recently. Reading here and other places, Gear America seems to be a pretty good group for things so I found their store on Amazon. These just arrived and they sure seem beefy. I've not put them to the test but with a 25k WLL stated, that should cover (hopefully) most anything I will get into with the jeep. As mentioned there's not a lot of technology to a snatch block but I liked that these have greese fittings for maintenance.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XLN685D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

beefy is probably because it is a low grade metal. They have to use a lot more meat to make it stand up to the force. Gear America is based in FL and the guy does it out of his garage. It is just rebranded equipment from a Chinese company Thinkwell. People probably rave about them because they are cheap. I'm sure they work just fine, but I would put them below Harbor Freight.
Labor is cheap in china and you can get metals cheaper there, but certified materials are about the same price for raw stock. The hard part with China is knowing what you're getting, there are some excellent quality products produced there and at my company I've seen some amazing machine work that a lot of US machine shops cannot do (top shops can do even better, but cost a lot more). If a company is getting parts from China and doesn't have tight control on material and post processing callouts they will have varying results with their products. In products like recovery gear, those material properties are put to the test and if a product was built with a weaker grade of say 6061 aluminum then they may be producing something inferior to what they initially tested.

In the recovery world its ropes and metal parts. Its not like any of this stuff is made of magic materials. How they make it, design aspects like radius of an edge the rope will push against, and their finishing are all important factors which lead to the prices products are. I know machining, molding and sheet metal quite well. I'm very limited in my knowledge in the rope world. If you buy good recovery gear, it will last you a life time if you care for it. Things like ropes won't, but hardgoods will.

 

[brewski]

In case you don't believe me.
check this out: https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...l?spm=a2700.shop_plgr.41413.28.2c232fb0jACfWQ

 

[smokeythecat]

In my next round of recovery gear purchases I think I'm going with the rope pulley and soft shackle approach. Something like this from Factor 55.

Sponsored