Essential Off-Road Recovery Gear from Harbor Freight

[@josh26050]

A lot of people crap on HF..but I’ve been a fan for years. And those little shovels are a good buy… I’ve used mine a few times in the winter…my Jeep group goes out and rescues people stuck in the snow around town and it’s come in handy a few times…I wish they would make a Badlands max track!..that would be AWESOME

[@tibtb658]

My hf winch is awesome

[@spritemanplus4700]

Ngl that badlands shovel saved my life. We were way stuck in the middle of nowhere trying to get me out my buddy got stuck. I just started digging for hours and it got us out enough to turn back off the trail. It was below freezing and we woulda been screwed. I’m more prepared when I go out now but that shovel has never failed me. Very underrated

[@TrailTraveler]

A shovel is a critical piece of recovery gear. We started with a super cheap walmart folding shovel, to a nicer, sturdier shovel, to a Gerber folding shovel.

[@mosthated8190]

Yeah those shovels you can get them on sale . I have two of them , can’t go wrong with a back up foldaway shovel.

[@S.and.T.Adventure]

The Apache cases are a great buy for smaller items you want protected. Not quite as waterproof as pelican but budget friendly.

[@mmorgz6622]

matts offroad recovery have taken a liking to the badlands winches. im also with you on kinetic ropes>straps. used to break straps all the time, they were easily damaged and from a small nick in the strap, would break pretty soon after. however i am on the same rope for the last 3 or 4 years and its been amazing.

[@TrailTraveler]

He also gets paid to promote them

[@adamr8628]

A tow strap can ABSOLUTELY be used for recovery. Many times you don't have to jerk someone at all, but just apply some slow steady pressure.

[@TrailTraveler]

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. You are correct, but I always recommend against it because if it doesn't do the trick, the tendency is to just jerk harder.

[@adamr8628]

@TrailTraveler i'm talking about those situations when one vehicle may be on dry ground and you want to have lots of control very slowly. such as a situation that you don't need momentum. Those situations are very common, and I often don't want any stretch thats going to affect my control in adding the exact amount of tension that I want. i'm not talking about a running start.I'm talking about easing slowly ahead which is actually safer and is the way most recoveries were done in the past, when some of the modern kinetic ropes weren't even available. if you talk to people that do recovery all the time, a kinetic rope is not the first option in many cases. and according to your line of thinking, a winch would not even be possible, because it doesn't stretch. A tow strap can be used for the same reasons that a winch can be safely used if you know what you're doing. There's no reason to avoid a tow strap, when you're just putting slow pressure on. to think that a stretchy rope is always necessary is concerning to hear. it is not using all of the tools that a person has in their toolbox. A person that just jerks harder with the wrong tool shouldn't be the one driving. Those people should be educated because it doesn't matter what tool they use, they might do it unsafely.

[@TrailTraveler]

@@adamr8628 I am not saying a kinetic rope is always necessary, I am saying it is often a safer option for people less experienced. Yes, absolutely, education on your gear is super important, but that just isn't the case in many cases.

[@adamr8628]

@TrailTraveler I hear what you're saying, but it all comes down to education. And I heard what you said that you agree with education. So it's not really a solution to limit tools because somebody might misuse them. By the same token that we can't limit the use of carjacks, because somebody might get crushed by a car. Somebody could get injured using a chainsaw or property damage from trees falling. Or 1000s of other tools. Thats life. Every part of life includes training, including the operation of a motor vehicle. Tow straps used for recovery is not very complicated at all, compared to other types of things that require a lot more training. Pretty much anybody that can operate a vehicle can be trained to use a tow strap for recovery. And like I said if slow steady pressure isn't a good idea, then winches are out of the question also.

[@skyepilotte11]

Been a HF customer for many years and I have to say their quality has improved considerably.

[@VideosOffRoad]

I could not agree with you more on the jacks. I carry a bottle jack too.

[@Clawson_customs]

The best ratchet strap at hobo freight is the big black one . I get them in the big 4 pack

[@chrisgill7824]

I've got a mix of Badlands recovery gear and Factor 55. I went with the Warn Zeon 12-S for the winch, factor 55 hook for the winch line , a couple of soft shackles, a rope retention pulley, but I have some more Badlands soft shackles, d-rings, and the Badlands jack. Having a Gladiator means I have a lot of room for gear when I need it.

[@jagman2962]

Love the badland brand stuff. Not an off roader but I like to be ready for anything!👍

[@AStanton1966]

You did a very nice and concise video. I think HF should make you a spokesman.

[@michaelmiller4774]

I’m surprised you didn’t mention harbor freights high capacity 12 volt compressor. I purchased one a few years ago and it works great for flat tires and airing up.

[@TrailTraveler]

If you are referring to their Maddox 12v compressor, I would be hard pressed to recommend that. It only has 3.0cfm output vs an EZ Flate MOAB that does 10.5cfm. I’ll spend $100 more to air up more than 3x faster.

[@DK-wm9dp]

Need a compact shovel.

[@Zombielunchbox]

Man I’ve been waiting to get my gear because of the price tag on a lot of stuff. I’m gonna head over soon and make a kit! I’d rather have something than nothing at all and I can replace stuff as I go. 85% of my tools are HF Icon and I can’t say enough good things about them. I don’t know why I didn’t think to look at the recovery gear! Thank you very much!

[@gilbertfagley7837]

the magnet on that flash light is real good. I was working on my truck in the afternoon and had stuck the light on my lower A-arm. later that night on my way to work (I work 3rd shift), the guy in front of me ran up to my truck (at the light) telling me that there is a light under my truck. come to find out that I forgot to put my light away when I got done and it was still stuck to my A-arm under the truck. So I'll saw that those Magnet lights are good.

[@spencermorrow2899]

Hands down that HF must of been a Walgreens at one point

[@VideosOffRoad]

2:26 Some manufacturers specify "max breaking strength" as a way to make their gear seem stronger than it is. MINIMUM breaking strength is to what you want to pay attention. Maximum breaking strength is worthless and ridiculous. This soft shackle, even worse and possibly even more misleading, just says "breaking strength." So be careful. Having a soft shackle fail, especially during a kinetic rope recovery or a high tension steel winch rope recovery, can be fatal.

[@TrailTraveler]

Couldn't agree more. I wish they had more information on those products.

[@VideosOffRoad]

@@TrailTraveler Me too.

[@Colorado4x4]

You can build a Mars Rover at Harbor Freight

[@RobSchlegel]

I went with higher end for recovery gear. I have a hard time trusting HF stuff for that, especially when it could be a safety issue. Definitely better than not having it though. My local HF didn’t have near the selection of Badlands stuff shown here either. I did get all the tools to make a spare tool kit there.

[@afraz1er]

Exactly. HF is good for those that think a dirt road is off-road.

[@michaelhoglen5121]

I shouldn’t watch these videos because it makes me fill up my HF cart for purchases.

[@rayjeep]

Quality? Meh. Look at the manuals for the winches. The duty cycle specified by the manufacturer is 5 percent. 45 seconds of use followed by 14 minutes and 15 seconds of cool down. Warn and Smittybilt are near 100 percent duty cycle. You can use them almost constantly. If you really need to depend on a winch to save your butt, 3 minutes an hour at 45 seconds of use every 15 minutes really sucks. The good news is you can go back to the store when they fail and get you a new one. They do look purty on mall crawlers, too.