What To Look For In A Recovery Kit
By Sean P. Holman
One of the most essential pieces of gear you can bring on any off-roading trip is a recovery kit. Whether you hit the trail solo, or with a group, having the right tools to recover a stuck vehicle can mean the difference between a good day and potentially a very bad, and expensive, one. A recovery kit is affordable insurance that ensures you can enjoy the trail and get off safely.
Recovery kits are available from many manufacturers at many price points and with so many options on the market, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the choices. So, what should you be looking for when choosing a recovery kit? Recovery kits typically come in three different levels that include a basic entry-level kit for day trips, a more advanced medium-duty kit that might include products for vehicle-to-vehicle recovery, as well as simple winch-assisted self-recovery, and comprehensive extreme kits that allows for advance vehicle recovery techniques, whether vehicle-to-vehicle or winch-based.
To illustrate, we will use the premium, made-in-USA manufacturer Factor 55’s robust recovery kit lineup to show what a quality recovery kit should look like at each level.
Basic Recovery Kit
A good basic recovery kit, such as the Factor55 Owyhee, offers essential components needed to recover a stuck vehicle with another vehicle. These kits, at minimum, include a tow strap, shackles, and are meant for basic recoveries between two vehicles. These entry level kits often come with some sort of carrying bag to keep everything secure and organized and are the perfect starting point for vehicles not equipped with a winch.
In the case of the Owyhee recovery kit, Factory 55 includes the following:
(1) Crosby ¾-in Shackle
(1) Standard Duty Soft Shackle
(1) Standard Duty Tow Strap
(1) HitchLink 2.0
(1) Strap Wrap
(1) Factor 55 Recovery Gear Bag - Small
Medium Recovery Kit
The step-up from a basic recovery kit includes the right items for more advanced recovery techniques and gives you additional tools for self-recovering with a winch. These medium-duty kits are the sweet spot of recovery gear for most off-roaders. In addition to any components included in a basic kit, they generally add more shackle options (both traditional and soft) for increased versatility to attach recovery straps or ropes between vehicles, along with a tree saver strap when using a tree as a winching anchor point. Some companies even include a snatch block for increasing the winch’s pulling potential when using an anchor point for self-recovery. Factor 55 goes the extra step of including the company’s Fast Fid synthetic rope repair tool and the RRP (Rope Retention Pulley), which is a lightweight replacement for a snatch block when using synthetic rope and soft shackles.
Here is the complete list of gear that Factor 55 includes in the mid-level Sawtooth recovery kit.
(2) Crosby ¾-in Shackle
(1) Extreme Duty Soft Shackle 10”
(1) Standard Duty Soft Shackle 10”
(1) Shorty Strap II
(1) Tree Saver
(1) HitchLink 2.0
(1) Standard Duty Tow Strap
(1) RRP (Rope Retention Pulley)
(1) Fast Fid
(1) Basic Guide to Winching
(1) Strap Wraps (individual)
(1) Factor 55 Recovery Gear Bag - Medium
Extreme Recovery Kit
Extreme recovery kits are designed for the expert user and come with just about everything you need to complete a vehicle-to-vehicle recovery or enhance a winch-based self-recovery. These kits typically come with more heavy-duty components that have higher load ratings, as well as different types of recovery ropes, such as a tow strap and a dynamic (or kinetic) rope for use in different situations. In addition to more choices with straps, and heavier duty components, with higher load ratings, Factor 55 also adds their LDP (Load Distribution Plate) for rigging and distributing multiple loads coming into one point.
Here is the complete inventory of the comprehensive Factor 55 Borah recovery kit.
(2) Crosby Shackles 3/4 RED
(1) Extreme Duty Soft Shackle 10”
(1) Standard Duty Soft Shackle 10”
(1) Extreme Duty Soft Shackle 20”
(1) Shorty Strap II
(1) Tree Saver
(1) Shorty Strap III
(1) HitchLink 2.0
(1) Extreme Duty Tow Strap
(1) Kinetic Rope
(1) LDP (Load Distribution Plate)
(1) RRP (Rope Retention Pulley)
(1) Fast Fid
(1) Basic Guide to Winching
(5) Strap Wraps (individual)
(1) Factor 55 Recovery Gear Bag - Large
What Else Do I Need?
Other options include building your own recovery kit or adding to a pre-assembled offering. For example, not all recovery kits come with gloves, and this is probably the most important item not included in the Factor 55 recovery kits. Other items we recommend adding to any pre-made kit is a flashlight and tire plug or patch kit. Recovery boards should also be considered and are a more affordable way to self-recover when a winch point is not available.
One last item to address is hitch pins. Some recovery techniques involve putting the loop of a recovery strap into the hitch of a vehicle without a tow hook and securing it with a hitch pin. In this situation we recommended the additional safety that is provided by Factor 55’s HitchLink and we suggest pairing that with a forged hitch pin, such as the one Factor 55 offers. Not all hitch pins are created equal and, in this case, a subpar hitch pin could potentially fail and result in damage or injury.
Before you head out, make sure your vehicle is properly equipped with quality recovery equipment. Sometimes being prepared for yourself means being able to help someone else along the way.
