With the increase in recreational vehicle use come the increase in the need to strap these toys securely to their trailers. Stryder Ratchet Systems offers a way to strap things down securely with relative ease.
Unlike the standard tie-down strap that depends and a hard tug and a little rebound of the suspension system, a ratchet system allows you to crank down on the strap so it’s much less apt to come undone.
The editors of Dirt Toys Magazine recently tested three Stryder ratchet models to see which ones deliver on their promises.
Stryder SX 300—Working load of 300 Pounds with break strength at 900 pounds. 10-feet long straps.
It is slick if you are a ratchet strap user. But if you’re not, they can be intimidating and sort of a pain. They are a lot more cumbersome that a tie-down. There are a bunch of moving parts so you have to know how to hook them up and how to “release” them. They don’t come with instructions so if you’ve never used a ratchet system, you’re just trying to guess if you’re doing things right.
Common mistake—thinking that you can “ratchet” all extra strap so you have a nice clean look. You can’t. The spool isn’t large enough. The beauty of the ratchet system is that you can simply pull all the slack at the beginning and just ratchet a little bit. To release, you have to pull two things at the same time to release the catching mechanism, unlike a standard tie-down where you just push the lever down.
The ratchet system does allow you to strap down a little tighter than a tie-down … but you end up with a lot of strap flapping in the wind. The 10-foot strap is handy when you need the length. But it’s a lot of extra strap when you don’t.
Stryder RX 300—Working load of 300 Pounds with break strength at 900 pounds. 10-feet long straps.
This was a little more complicated than the SX 300 without a perceived benefit other than the self contained storage feature … which we proceeded to break in the first five minutes because of lack of instructions.
With the self-contained storage, you cannot extend the strap the full length without creating an issue when it comes time to release the tension on the strap. In our product test, we just happened to need all 10-feet of the strap to reach across the ATV and that caused the strap from the spool to be all the way extended. Then when we were done with the ratchet and wanted to release it, the access to the release mechanism was blocked by the strap headed into the spool. Just the process of trying to get access to the release caused the plastic piece that holds the strap in the spool to break. Thus, the spool would no longer retract the strap.
Also, on the RX 300, it was a little harder to cinch up the ratchet because the plastic spool would flex. On the retractable storage, the main issue, when it works, is that it takes time and effort to retract the strap. Most people want something quick and easy. This was neither.
Stryder UX 500—Working load of 500 Pounds with break strength at 1,500 pounds. 12-feet long straps.
This is somewhat similar to the RX 300 but better constructed and much more durable. And by now we understood the key on the retractable spool is that you can’t get to the end of your strap without risking breaking it.
This ratchet is also a little sturdier when it comes to ratcheting things down. So it was a little easier to use.
The UX 500 is also designed so not only can you retract the strap when complete, you can also tuck away the hooks for storage. That’s nice … but takes a little thought and effort, more so that what most people want to offer.
www.stryderstraps.com
