Injury from soft shackle failure

rjaym

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It’s long winded - I’d like to hear opinions…. ie - done differently/ equipment/ etc. - ….. besides buy a Jeep! -
 
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Failure @ 12:00 mark in the video:

 
Like @steelhd said, those kinetic ropes shouldn't be jerked like that, you take it easy. If it doesn't pull it out, I would use a controlled winch pull, but maybe I'm over-cautious.
 
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One problem with those sheaths is you can't see any damage underneath.
 
What caused the soft shackle failure? Was the soft shackle itself an inappropriate choice for vehicle recoveries, as in having too small of a diameter, or was it damaged before and waiting to snap?

And kinetic ropes are meant/designed to be used with some vehicle momentum, they're not tow ropes that have no elasticity.

A vehicle recovery will generally always find the weak point in the recovery equipment.
 
He did not use a bow ring shackle on the Jeep bumper. He looped the soft shackle directly through the ring mount point, which has sharp edges. My opinion is that this was not merely equipment failure, but poor hookup technique. I think they cut through the soft shackle, not that it simply broke.

How many times does he say he was in a hurry and rushed?
 
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He did not use a bow ring shackle on the Jeep bumper. He looped it directly through the ring mount point, which has sharp edges. My opinion is that this was not merely equipment failure, but poor hookup technique. I think they cut through the soft shackle, not that it simply broke.

How many times does he say he was in a hurry and rushed?

I haven’t watched it but the picture looks like it was against something sharp and not ideal.
 
What caused the soft shackle failure? Was the soft shackle itself an inappropriate choice for vehicle recoveries, as in having too small of a diameter, or was it damaged before and waiting to snap?

And kinetic ropes are meant/designed to be used with some vehicle momentum, they're not tow ropes that have no elasticity.

A vehicle recovery will generally always find the weak point in the recovery equipment.

Yes, kinetic ropes are to be used with ‘some’ momentum, but not the momentum he used. Even the guy in the Bronco admits when he saw how much momentum his buddy was gaining he said oh crap.

He also discussed how it bent his bumper and frame. Suck bumper and the shackle mount was bolted in rather than through welded. Anyway it was way too much momentum.

The main problem was he was driving a Bronco. 🤣
 
He said the problem was he bought the soft shackle on Amazon. The key is to not do that. 🤣

Yes, but also like you started to mention in your earlier post, if that hadn't been the failure point likely his bumper and d-rings would have sent an even larger projectile towards the Jeep instead.

A lot of things wrong here.

The main problem was he was driving a Bronco. 🤣

I beg to differ, the problem happened on the Jeep side. 🤣
 
Root cause is they used the wrong tools for the job in the wrong way and the Bronco owner never mentions any of that in the video. Having a broken this, a bent that, and an Amazon other is all just distracting noise because the pull was so hard and so violent that it bent the Bronco's frame horns and the Bronco never even moved. IMO they should have started with a shovel to reduce resistance. Then if they wanted to try a kinetic rope use a properly sized 7/8" (3/4" ?) rope instead of the 1" and use a bow shackle on the Jeep's sharp recovery point. Unless it was properly radiused it wasn't designed for soft shackles. Then pull a time or two with a lot less momentum. If that didn't work then its back to the shovel before another try or go to the winch.

Edit - as an aside who calls for a helicopter evacuation when the bleding has stopped, the victim is conscious/walking/talking/not in shock/with good vital signs? The whole episide is a cluster frick from the initial stuck all the way to the ER.
 
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Seeing a few suggestions for winching... what should he have winched to? I don't see a whole lot within reach.
 
Seeing a few suggestions for winching... what should he have winched to? I don't see a whole lot within reach.

I've never done it on snow, but I have on a gravel embankment. Turn the Jeep around and pull off to the right side of the road and pull him from the frame under the driver door. It's a very short pull, but it would at least get the Bronco up where he could was sufficiently back on the road (or in a better position for a final kinetic recovery). Another option (and what I would try first) is to try the same at a 45* angle from the shackle on the near side of the bumper. A third option is to get a distance down the road and start winching and see if he can turn and get the rig to pop back up on the road.
 
If he would have used a D-ring to attach to the jeep there be no need for a soft shackle as he could have attached the rope to the D-ring. Is my thing correct.

But this has me taking a second look at ALL of my recovery stuff
 
*Stop and think.
*Make sure everyone is on the same page.
*Get the shovel out and dig a ramp.
*Start pulling easy.
*Increase pulling in small increments.
People think “I’ve done this a million times.” But each situation is different and has the potential to injure or Kill someone.