Winch extension strap for hand winch

I've just bought one to use with my hand winch. i don't think I'll overload it with the handwinch. If you were considering upgrading to an electric winch at some stage it might be worth getting the 6000kg one. I got a 20m x 4000kg ext strap for $62 delivered.

Scubaroo,
the 2500 kg is a vertical lift capacity. Hand winches were originally designed for the construction industry and were used to lift heavy items vertically. The horizontal pull rate is much more than that, probably closer to the electric winches, put a snatch block or two into the equation and the rate increases again. I won't quote the figures.

I've recovered a 3 tonne Landrover 110 out of the mud with my mere 2500 kg hand winch using direct pull (no snatch block). If it exceeding the winch capacity a the sheer pin would have gone.

I also carry a drag chain (5 metre) as well as two extension straps (8 and 20 metre), you never know how far your anchor point may be.

I also carry a 30 metre 4000kg winch ext strap with my Tirfor. Its stronger than you'd need using a hand winch. Its also a very useful piece of recovery gear - if you need to tow a vehicle out of a bog, it gives you plenty of length to get well away and as you say, you can easily double it up.

From my observations the 4000kg is the breaking strain of the strap not the safe working load. Double block a 2500kg tirfor & at full capacity it's going to bust.
Even run out single the working load is too close to the breaking strain leaving very little safety margin. I've chosen instead to carry a selection of cables which can be run through snatch blocks or dragged over rocks under strain with no fear of snapping. Most have breaking strains in excess of 15 tonne.
Cheers Craig........

Thanks.

Followup question - if you were to use a snatch block with a hand winch, would you need to anchor the hand winch off a recovery point on the vehicle being recovered (with a smallish strap in between, say an equaliser or another tree protector), run the wire around the snatch block mounted off a tree, and hook back up on a second recovery point on the vehicle? I can't see a simple way of doing this if the hand winch is attached to the tree - once you run the wire around the snatch block (if you've got the snatch block on the front of the vehicle), where do you hook it at the tree end? I always thought that hand winches should be anchored to something other than the vehicle being recovered.

I can picture how to use a snatch block with a hand winch when you want to change the pull direction (e.g. pulling a fallen tree), and with a vehicle mounted electric winch for mechanical advantage, but not with a hand winch for mechanical advantage - unless the hand winch is anchored to the vehicle being recovered...