A snatch strap — or recovery strap as it’s otherwise known is my most used recovery device when I’m bogged.

By a mile.

I’ve used a lot of different straps, however to date I’ve only every owned two. Both ARB.

My first one — let’s call it old blue, I borrowed/stole from my father as I couldn’t afford one of my own. 15 years ago as an off-roader still learning, getting bogged was just part of the process and the snatch was never far out of reach. Old blue was only put into retirement as I won a shiny new ARB strap at an auction.

But still to this day it’s full of spring without a fray or stick out of place. I put it down to:

It being a bloody good strap.

With the punishment this thing has had, even with the best care, most straps would have given up years ago. From the get go (as with most ARB stuff) this had the goods.

Clean after every trip.

One thing I did do after every trip (where the strap was used) was to give it a good wash. I’d then hang if over the clothes line (much to my mothers disgust)  it to dry out. I never put it away dirtily and never put it away wet.

Used it the way it was supposed to be used.

I like to think that when someone uses their snatch as a tow rope another track gets closed. A snatch strap is a recovery device, a big rubber band that’s designed to yank you out of trouble. That’s it’s use, that’s it only use.

Then came snatchy snatch — a bright orange strap from ARB.

At an auction full of donated crap there was a beacon of light among the goodies. A new ARB strap was just waiting for an owner thus bid I did!

Looking over the strap and comparing it to old blue it was clear some things had changed — but not much. There was a protective / foamy cover at the ends — I assume to protect the strap from rubbing on bull bars and another nasties. The stitching seemed more pronounced, and it was thicker around the loops. But having a 10 year old strap without a stitch out of place didn’t seem necessary to me. Sticking with the same regiment as above I hope to hang on to this one for some time yet!

The ARB strap comes in three flavours (at the time of writing this) ARB 705, ARB 710 and ARB 715. There’s only three differences between them:

  • The 705 has an 8,000kg (17637 lbs) breaking strain, the 710 has an 11,000kg (24250 lbs) breaking strain, and the 715 has a 15,000kg 33069 lbs.).
  • The 705 is 60mm (2.36 inches) wide, 715 is 80mm (3.15 inches) wide and 715 wide 110mm (4.33 inches).
  • The price.

You basically need to pick the strap to suit your car.

The bigger the car the bigger strap you’ll need — it’s not rocket science. I have a 710 for my landcruiser. If you have a big pickup you might want to go the larger. One think to think about is not just the size of your car, but the size of cars you might be pulling out. If you can afford the extra $30 buy the bigger one.

We’ll cover how to use a snatch /recover strap in the future. But for now, you might want to watch this.

A snatch in the wrong hands can be lethal. So make sure you know what you are doing!

Expect to pay around $75-$150 for your strap regardless of your brand of choice, but with a snatch go reputable as it’s likely be your best friend in the bush, or sand, or snow…. I’m happy with my ARB, but others are as equally happy with others.