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Buyers Guide: Best 4WD Recovery Kit
Best 4WD recovery kit essentials: The Saber Offroad gear you need for a safer recovery
Before you leave the bitumen and head offroad, it's important to make sure you have the 4WD recovery kit to get you home.
Taking the wrong gear with you on any 4WD trip can turn your leisurely drive into a potentially dangerous situation. Selecting the right kit for you, your vehicle and your adventure will help ensure you have peace of mind.
Recovery kits range in size and complexity. In this guide, we aim to outline what will work best in your kit and what to look out for when buying your gear.
Do I need a 4WD recovery kit?
The short answer is, yes. Regardless of if you are a beginner or a seasoned pro, if you go offroad, then it's imperative you always travel with recovery gear when heading out on your adventures.
How much gear you take is very much dependent on where you are going, what you plan to do and how proficient you are with your equipment.
A 4WD recovery kit can range from outdated snatch straps and metal shackles through to complete kits with modern kinetic ropes, shackles, recovery boards and more.
What do you need in your offroad recovery kit?
The safest 4X4 recovery kit is one that contains quality equipment that is matched to the weight of your vehicle.
However, what you need in your offroad recovery kit also depends on:
- The particular vehicle you have and how loaded it is
- Your skill level (beginner or seasoned professional)
- The type of terrain you are expecting to encounter, and
- Other vehicles you may be recovering if travelling in a group
Every recovery situation is different. What you use in an easy recovery may vary greatly to that of a more difficult one. It's best to prepare for the worst and carry gear you are comfortable using in any scenario.
Winch versus no winch
As mentioned, what you carry in your 4WD recovery kit will depend on your vehicle. The most common, and most impactful variation, is a winch.
Recovery Kit for Winch-Equipped Vehicle
While a winch is an effective piece of offroad recovery equipment, to create a safe winch recovery scenario you will need a number of good quality components that have been designed to work together.
If a winch is part of your recovery kit, you will need these essentials:
Bare minimum:
- Utility rope
- Recovery ring
- 2x soft shackles
- Recovery damper
We would also highly recommend:
- Winch extension rope
- Additional soft shackles
- Bridle
- Kinetic recovery rope (sometimes you don't need to winch)
Other items to consider:
- Rear recovery hitch
- Additional utility ropes
- Additional rigging hardware such as multiple recovery rings, winch extension ropes, soft anchor points, winch dampers, and so on
- Rope repair tools
- Gloves
- Even more soft shackles (seriously, you can never have enough!)
Vehicle with no Winch
Not all situations call for a winch and a vehicle may not have a winch. While a winch can be handy, they may not always be suitable for the recovery situation.
Recovery using kinetic rope is one of the most dangerous forms of recovery and it is important that you and your vehicle are ready for that scenario. To prepare, you should always ensure that your vehicle has rated recovery points and that you have knowledge on how to use a kinetic rope.
If your vehicle doesn't have a winch, you will need to carry:
Recommended minimum:
- Kinetic rope
- 4x soft shackles
- Utility rope / bridle
- Recovery damper
Other items to consider:
- Rear recovery hitch
- Additional utility rope
- Gloves
- Extra soft shackles!
However, even a complete kit may still need some extra gear, such as:
- Recovery boards (Maxtrax or TRED)
- Rated recovery points
- A shovel
- A cup of tea (sometimes you have to stop and assess the situation!)
What you should look for in a recovery kit
While many off-road drivers build up their kits over time, purchasing a complete 4WD recovery kit with all the items you need will ensure you have the gear for any recovery situation.
However, bigger is not always better. When it comes to kinetic energy ropes and when selecting the right kit, you should look for a rope that has a minimum breaking strength of 2-3x the weight of your loaded vehicle. When it comes to shackles, extension ropes, utility ropes and the like, it is always best to look for breaking strengths higher than that of your kinetic rope or winch.
Offroad recovery kits vary in size and complexity allowing you to choose a solution that is best suited to your 4WD.
- Versatility – Every recovery situation is different, which is why it is important to carry a range of gear to help you when you need it most.
- Quality – Make sure you choose high-quality gear from a trusted manufacturer. At Saber Offroad, we design and engineer products in-house and batch-test every product to destruction at NATA-approved labs in Australia. We are also the only Australian offroad company that is a member of The Cordage Institute, an international trade association that creates technical standards for the safe use of rope.
- Usability – Choose recovery gear that is easy to use and know how to use each piece of kit so you always perform a safe recovery.
- Weight – Keeping your 4×4 recovery kit lightweight and reducing weight wherever possible will not only make your recoveries safer, but will also reduce the overall weight of your vehicle. With just a few changes, we were able to drop almost 30kg out of a vehicle without losing functionality. You can read more about weights here.
Saber Offroad 4WD Recovery Kits
The Saber Offroad 4WD recovery kits have been created to ensure you have everything you need to perform your next recovery safely. We offer three main types of recovery kits in a range of weight solutions including:
Saber Offroad Kinetic Recovery Kits
Our Kinetic Recovery Kits include kinetic rope and soft shackles to ensure you are able to connect a kinetic rope to both vehicles as long as they have suitable rated recovery points.
Kinetic Recovery Kits
Saber Offroad Ultimate Recovery Kits
The Saber Offroad Ultimate Recovery Kits are a full winching and kinetic recovery kit for almost any situation. The Ultimate Recovery Kits include kinetic recovery rope, soft shackles and soft shackles with sheaths, winch extension rope, recovery ring, utility rope, winch damper and gloves.
Update Your Recovery Gear to the Latest Technology
Upgrade your 4WD recovery kit to the latest technology from Saber Offroad. Depending on the weight requirements of your 4WD, there is a Saber Offroad 4×4 recovery kit to suit your needs. See our full range of recovery kits.
