Wotcher all, I've been meaning to get a kinetic rope for a while, but I was after a particular type that I've not seen readily available, one that has an extra safety section spliced in on each end with an extra eye that you attach near the main pulling point. This second section hangs loose unless the main pulling fitting comes off, at which point the safety line slows down the recoiling rope, hopefully preventing the fitting from causing too much damage. Has anyone seen any decent ones like this?
Wouldn't touch one with a barge pole. Have seen a flying rear crossmember as a result of one used vigorously. Not my own.. some footage knocking around somewhere.
Shovels are cracking bits of kit. Hand winches are even better at teaching people to be more careful about getting stuck in future. I have had hours of fun winching our TEF 20 out of ruts.
I've seen them used gently and they're ace, but the flying metal (just in case) is what I want the rope plus spliced-in secondary eyes for, then if the main rope pulls something off the secondary point saps some of the energy.
If you have a peek at one of the videos in my youtube account you can see a 101FC gently coaxing a Volvo C303 out of a mud pie with a kinetic rope, the 101FC couldn't budge it until he took a gentle run-up and let the rope do its thing, then the C303 starts moving.
Basically there's no need to take a massive run up and go nuts with the KR ropes, a gentle tootle by the tow vehicle can work wonders.
Yeah but hand winches are last resorts, a decent kinetic used carefully is a good thing, although I'm not so sure I'd hand the business end of one to someone I don't know, at least not without having a good chat with the first, but then I tend to off-road with people I know well. Winches are damned dangerous too of course.
I wouldn't be without my Hi-Lift and chains now ... awkward but invaluable so long as you have a decent anchor point.
Mind, kinetics are brill when used right. As Ian says in his reply, they don't need someone going off full pelt, just enough to stretch the rope and allow it to do it's stuff. Very simple stuff and doesn't (shouldn't) take long when you know what you're doing. 'course, the towing vehicle needs a bit of mass to get enough momentum/kinetic energy into the rope to start with .... ;)
If you see this video, there's a pinz towing a volvo C303 out of a mudhole, and you can see the pinz driver (don't know who he is) using a normal rope to jerk the volvo rather hard. That's a bad thing to do as you can end up tearing the mounting points off, whereas in that situation a kinetic would have been better.
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Kinetics are certainly iffy things on marginal tow points though, I've seen a few tow points that I'd not use one on, but on military hitches with good fastenings they're fine. But to make doubly sure I want a rope with a safety line, hence my question.
Heh, interesting ... that's roughly how we got Bill out in Norfolk ... ;) Didn't have a proper kinetic, but it worked in the end.
I agree with you, the safety 'break-line' is a reasonable thing to want, but I can't recall seeing many people outside 'proper' recovery places using them. I wonder if they're specially made/commissioned, in which case most lifting/winching suppliers ought to be able to splice them in or recommend someone who can.
Mind, they do nothing if the rope parts in the middle ... ;)
Which is why my kinetic, and those of most of my mates, has a couple of 'flags' tied to them - in theory (not tested by me) they add enough air resistance to the flailing remains of a broken rope to keep it's speed down to safe(r) levels.
None at all? Really? So there's no play days for those in road-going trucks anywhere in the entire country? Seems doubtful.
A military hitch, which is what I'd mentioned, isn't a towball. NATO hitch at the rear and a pin plus jaw hitch at the front on mine, all firmly fixed to the chassis, in fact the front one is part of the chassis!
The pay and play sites will let a road going truck in, but the clubs are pretty inflexible about the recovery point issue, and also really good about helping new members fit said items.
I was being lazy and replying here to someone else's comment in the thread. I agree there's nowt wrong with a military hitch.
The risk is not a flying rope - although, obviously, it's preferable not to have that either - and that's the only real problem with a properly attached forged ball provided that the direction of pull is such as to keep the rope on the ball.
The real nasty is any flying metalwork be that the chassis or an inappropriately attached ball, NATO hook, in-line shackle etc.. It all comes down to the density of the material and steel is about eight times more dense than the nylon rope and hence has that much more energy when something lets go. The mass is also concentrated at one point and not spread out along the length of the rope. Bits of rag might slow a rope alone, even a wire winch rope to a small degree but forget any ideas that it'll slow a NATO hook. Many of you will have seen the well-touted photograph of the one that went in through the rear window of a Range Rover and exited through the front: keep it in mind.
I'm not against nylon ropes, in fact quite the opposite, but users must take responsibility for checking the security of the items to which you are attaching a nylon rope and if you don't like what you see, don't. Your end might be OK but the other end is the one that you need to worry about.
And as someone mentioned earlier you don't need to take a huge fast run-up. Use just enough to acheive the desired result - unless you're lucky enough to be surrounded by several inches of armour plate with the hatches closed.
Ian - why not make up your own rope if you can't find what you want? It's just a splicing exercise. And, of course, the attachment point(s) for your safety line(s) need to be equally well attached.
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