I don't need a strap for recovery, by recovery i mean out in the middle of a ditch or in the backwoods, i just need to pull someone down the street now and then in the winter time when the plows haven't been out yet. Or pull a disabled car down the road to the shop, etc.
The only thing i don't like about the snatch straps is the bungie cord like action that they provide. I used to own one back when i lived out on a farm cause i thought it would be a better thing to have in the truck for all those idiots that drive the backroads after a good snowfall, cost me a small fortune and was the highest rating you could buy, the bad thing about it? First time i used it i started to pull the guy out of the end of this field approach that he tried to use to turn around when the road got too bad and the strap loaded up, when it finally did its sling shot routine i had to hammer the gas so the guy didn't smash into my bumper because the momentum he got when he came out of the snow and hit the compacted snow on the road, literally sling shot him into the back of me.
With a regular strap i can feather the throttle and slowly pull them out until they get traction and can move under their own power. I have been using regular tow straps for 20 years and haven't had a break or problem yet. But then mine has a latched hook on it, so on my vehicle that gets hooked into a shackle and on the vehicle i am towing it gets wrapped around the frame or axle and hooked to itself. On the van we used to have i took the ball out of the mount on the hitch and put a shackle through the hole when i needed to use the tow strap. I plan on getting a hitch shackle like the Warn or Reese one for the KJ now that i have that.
