Off road industry charges a premium. I bought a good quality part from a industry supplier. Bought the same quality stuff from a oil field rigging store for less than half the price. I had all my stuff stolen recently in a break in and thought of this video when i replaced all my stuff. Big smile on my face with the savings. Thanks for posting this.
I agree! I'm glad there's someone else who think $400 for an aluminum hook is bull shit. And the Factor 55 guys are so damn smug and arrogant. I talked to them at their booth at the Moab Easter Jeep Safari this year, and they were totally trash talking every other maker of synthetic rope even though many of them are exactly the same as their's. Then when someone in the crowd asked if it was true that Warn bought them out, they kind of all got quiet and looked down at the ground.😄
Hahaha that’s funny I did hear one good use for there ultra hook, I guess our local search and rescue uses them on there helicopter winch lines cause it’s one of the few hooks out there that is so lightweight and is rated with 2 connection points, one for the rescuer and one for the rescuee, and in a situation like that it wouldent see much abuse and get inspected regularly. But for most anything els I don’t see much of a point to them.
Love your video! I'm pretty new to off-roading and witching but I'm a crane operator so I totally agree with everything you say. People that have more money than brains buy all the overpriced gear they can get their hands on so they can look cool doing it.
Factor 55 is so expensive because the number 1 rule in business is. Never use your own money. Warn went to wall street and borrowed the money to finance the purchase of factor 55. That big money has to be paid back. It comes from you.
Could you reccomend an online source where I could look for the heavier duty (1/2" or bigger) Self Locking CLevis'/Hooks as the ones I have found were almost $200???
Yea that’s the going rate for quality rigging gear. If ya search around you can find good prices on rigging gear on e bay but there is also a lot of Chinese crap on e bay. Personally I would stick with a name brand rigging company and avoid the China stuff
Factor 55 is stupid. I own a towing company and we use the standard equipment without all the ridiculous re-engineered nonsense and it works just fine.
I recently picked up a Warn winch for my Tacoma and started investigating Factor 55 products. While researching recovery gear such as soft and steel shackles, Google recommended I watch this video. Based on what I saw, I ditched my plan to buy most Factor 55 stuff, removed the Warn hook and bought two Crosby steel shackles and a Crosby closed hook like the ones you demonstrated. Thank you!
Probably one of the funniest truck related videos I've watched all year. As soon as the packing says something is made exclusively for a specific sport or activity the price is double what the generic equivalent is. If you are building a color-matched recovery kit to polish and park at a mall or a SEMA show, open your wallet. If you prefer a thicker wallet, then pick and choose and know there are other options to build up a solid kit. Dude is right on so many levels.
So unfortunately for the first time in over 40 years of four wheeling, I’ve gone to synthetic line which I don’t like and this year I did purchase a factor 55 and mainly was so I could protect the UV rays from hitting the wrap of the line where it connects, if you read the fine print on the package of the synthetic line Warn recommends replacing the line every year because of the UV rays which I doubt people do but I’m trying to give it as much longevity as possible, Other than that I would’ve just stayed old-school I was trying to keep the front of my vehicle a little bit lighter with synthetic line but I definitely prefer steel line, I go off roading somewhere every couple weeks towing a modified off road teardrop trailer and I spend all my time deep in the back country and about as hard-core as I can get towing a trailer I’ve used the factor 55 this year to remove a lot of fallen timber from the fires we’ve had that are falling over blocking my trails, but I agree with you in regards to probably a lot of hype I like the old-school steal stuff, and I didn’t realize the factor 55 cost so much money because at the time I ordered a lot of stuff and just had it all delivered at once I probably wouldn’t have purchased if I realized it cost that much money and I agree with you on the sharp edge aluminum if you run a steel Dee-ring which I do it will probably tear up the aluminum, go old-school folks!!!!👍🇺🇸
So I’m just yanking people out of ditches. I stumbled onto their 2 inch hitch link. What would you buy instead? I’m not recovering heavy equipment, just family in snowy ditches.
There hitch would be fine for that so long as your gentle with it and inspect it regularly, obviously aluminum isn't very durable. But it's lightweight and fine for small stuff
So it may be a stupid question, but is the 5/16 grade 80 stout enough for a 12k winch? Obviously the wll is 4500, but in a personal recovery situation is different than overhead lifting. The 3/8 is only 7500wll, so even that should be too small for a 12k winch, but 3/8 crap chinese hooks are what come on most winches ive been around
Not a stupid question at all. I asked the rigging shop where I bought that hook the same question. But your right for a horizontal winch situation it's fine, obviously it's not suitable for overhead and because it has been overloaded i would never reuse that hook for any rigging situation. But it's been serving me well for years now on my winch.
I cannot agree more, this is pure quality, I love how tech that is ment for true industry is looked over and everyone goes crazy with something “new” and “better” and “safer” even though heavy industry has had it figured out way longer and better! Agreed, factor 55 false claims with their claim about “inventing the closed loop recovery system “ love the truth told about Jeep people!!!
Every industry has stupid marketing crap sucking in the overpaid zombies who cant be bothered researching gear properly before buying... or are just wanting to show off their blingy Mall Crawlers!😂 Appreciate the honest, no bullcrap video mate.👍🤠🇦🇺
Hi, Would you be able to comment on crane related stuff? Hooks, winches, Crane DAF, etc. anything crane related... especially for truck-cranes? Thanks!
i do not own a aluminum hook the only aluminum is the fairlead shackles are steel not soft shackles and my hooks are steel some regular old hooks like the ones on my 1966 Holmes 500 wrecker which still uses the hooks that came with it and work great. have one of the newer hooks with a lock on it none of the new gimmicks
Good for you. When aluminum is spec'd out at 6xxx or 7xxx series aluminum, that means that it can handle certain stresses and loads under specific conditions. "Mil-Std - Type x" anodizing means that there is a certain amount of anodizing that gets into and above the surface of the material and has a hardness rated in Vickers. All of these things help to determine longevity and proper application. It's like tempering for steel.
Like I've said before. Just a matter of time before I can pick up some of that factor 55 gear at a pawn shop for a fraction of the price. The brothers will steal anything. I swing by once a month just to see what has shown up. Picked up 2 sets of ramps last year. 1/3 the price new.
That Factor 55 splicer thimble is just a knockoff of the safety thimble that I got from viking offroad somewhere around 2010. Claiming that they invented closed system winching is BS.
I’m just commenting to say it looks like I’m two years late to the party but this was awesome! No matter the few misspoken or incorrect statements…. The unfiltered truth bombs hit their targets as seen from a few other comments here. So much of what I see dangling off of folks rigs, bolted on, etc., is just fan boy cock measuring by way of opening up that wallet. I browsed F55’s products recently and it’s rapidly getting dated. So many people are moving away from anything metal in their line that about everything they sling is prone to be obsolete soon. That and Amazon has outright copies of everything they sell for 1/2 or less the price with the same “aircraft” grade materials. Tough business to be in these days. Made in America only goes so far with folks when the groceries and gas are high but you still want to wheel.
I looked at some of the steel rigging hooks, etc like you show in this video but the working load limit is a lot less than a lot of the recovery products the companies like factor 55 sell.
Most rigging stuff the working load limit is at least 3:1 sometimes 5:1 so a hook with a 5,000 lb working limit will break between 15,000 and 25,000 depending on how they are rated. I have no idea what design limit factor 55 puts on there's but that would be something you would need to compare as well to get the full picture. Plus rigging stuff you can get in huge sizes with a safe working load limit of 100,000 lb if you wanted. I actually need to make another video about what your talking about with the working load limit and such. Just the other day we put some massive forces on rigging hardware and I was extremely impressed how well it all held up.
This gives me AVE vibes and i love it. I have a F55 prolink i got for free and while I like it enough, it's more of a status symbol and it gets annoying trying to feed soft shackles through it, so then I have to use a bow shackle. They nake a quality product ill admit, but tons of people have the mentality that if its not F55 it's crap. Probably going to splice my own brummell loop and grab a yankum fairlead to get rid of all unnecessary metal. Ill just throw a soft shackle or bow shackle ghrough it.
The point of F55 is weight and synthetic rope. (and $$). I frankly don't think you can fault them other than prices. (and selling out to warn). Their products are bling, are made in usa and perform as advertised. Check out their destructive testing vids. Btw is that American syn or chyneema?
O that’s interesting I did not know they sold out to warn. My rope is USA. Yea I’ve seen there videos of testing there hooks to failure. My gripe with it is that I always see them use new hooks when testing. I’d like to see them test a hook that has actually been used and has wear on it. I’d bet the slightest amount of damage to the hook would weaken it and be a spot for a crack to form. I’d like to test them myself out of curiosity but I’m not curious enough to go buy one. Mind you if it’s used just for looks on the front of a rig then it dose it’s job just fine.
@@tdm8817 in order to rig a 5:1. I need to connect the cable 3 times at the item being winched. This requires a distribution block for attaching 3 clevises. Pewag makes some.
@@cascaderetriever7618 well more than one way to skin a cat You can also get a double snatch block and that alone cuts ya down to 2 connections, or get real fancy and get a 3 shive bock and do a 6 line pull with one connection. I just hate how factor 55 tires to reinvent the wheel and say you “need” there product to do whatever it is there selling at the moment. Not saying there product dosent do what they say it dose but I feel like it’s a answer to a question no one was asking. Outside of the polished up jeep community. For them it’s the perfect thing
@@tdm8817I think what it is is the old ways are gone. New blood is getting into the 4wheeling and has no one to show them the way so F55 steps in with fancy gadgets and guides they folks to buy. These gadgets in the name of safe recovery
You’re missing soooo much in regards to factor 55….. Your hooks you love so much shift to one side of the metal shackles and create single sheer points that can fail. Factor 55 distributes pressure evenly. Hate all you want. They’ve lightened the weight of crap flying back at you as well as load in your rig as you’re wheeling. And made rigging much safer over all. Not all their stuff is best, but they’ve revolutionized the recovery world. And I’ve never owned a damn steel hook that’s EVER not had the retaining flap or spring break on it. A rating is a rating, steel or aluminum, doesn’t matter what it is. Their working load limit and breaking strength exceeds your old school steel hooks that are equivalent.
Yes I know the hooks with the little sheet metal latch are bull shit, I said that in the video and that's why I don't use them. Yes the hooks I use can side to one end of the pin on a shackle. But I have never seen a quality 3/4 shackle like Crosby, columbus mckinnon or skookum fail or even stretch when used with pickup sized rigs. If you use a 3/4 shackle on a rotator yea Shure you can damage it there but I've never seen it on a pickup. In the video description I link to another video of mine where I follow up on this topic.
At this point in time. Factor 55s non hook version, just a closed circle is $160. The Yoke 5/16 locking hook is $115. Their hook and closed loop is $280
The really funny thing i find is that realistically, all you need at the end of your synthetic winch line is a proper loop splice, and then a soft shackle or a bow shackle........ and that's it. The reduction in strength is minimal if you use a 3/4 bow shackle (you get a 2:1 D/d using 3/8" line) which in Amsteel is their minimum. Yes, if you go bare loop to a soft shackle, you will cut the strength, but then use either a $10 solid thimble in the eye loop, or a recovery ring that can be slipped in or out, and boom, back up to 100% strength and at a mere fraction of the price. I have a Factor 55 "bridle" that cost a small fortune, and was impressed coming from a background in rock climbing and then rope rescue specialty in the FD, and then quickly realized that i spend about $200 too much, and have never really used it beyond what i would have gotten from a $10 thimble or $40 recovery ring. I will add, to me, the most alarming issue is no name, no rating synthetic line. If you use Amsteel Blue as the standard, and just as an example here, 1/4 Amsteel is rated at around 8000 lbs, I've seen no name Chinese made 1/4" synthetic line with a claim of 10000 lbs. that's scary, because who knows what it's really rated at. I did not know about Warn buying F55, not surprised though. But brings up a good point, who knows what Warn is using for their synth line either, they certainly don't tell you. They say "Spydura" but that is their own name branding, and tells us nothing of what or where it's made.
No hate mail but a question. And I’m likely splitting hairs here. Who manufactures those shackles and hooks? I ask because I like that Factor manufactures everything here.
To my knowledge all the rigging companies manufacture things in house. Gunnebo is out of Sweden and pewag is somewhere in Europe to my knowledge. But everything I've seen from Crosby is usa made. I do like how factor 55 at least use to be usa made. I dunno if that was effected when warn bought them tho.
I usually just "borrow" straps and shackles from my job sites. I'm not a professional off-roader and only had to do a couple recoveries but they work great.
Yeah because every one wants a 17 piece cluster of steel links and hooks rattling around like a damn rattle snake while driving 🤣 The rubber keeps the hook from coming loose and falling while driving Match the f55 hook with the rope guard Protects it from abrasion when wheeling and in my area where the sun is 9 thousand degrees protects the winch line from UV rays The open loop winch lines are stupid for most applications And jiggling metal clanking on the bumper is also stupid But hey you do you boo boo
You make some good points man. Marketing B.S. is frankly immoral... Factor 55 does make some cool products like their UV protected splice on winch attachments etc... Are those 1 piece rope thimbles available at rigging shops? Most of the ones that come with winches are just bend single piece and can flex and cut the rope.
O shit I dint know about there uv rope splice. I'll have to look into that. Ya the one piece thimble I got at my local rigging shop, and yes the stamped sheet metal ones suck, at least for synthetic rope. They work just fine for wire rope
Agreed, faptor $$ is way too $$$$. But one group that is willing to dumpwallet are the ones obsessed with lightweight everything. Also, lots of winchers that decide to convert to rope don’t fully understand that you can’t treat it as carelessly as they did their cable. If it contacts a 90 degree metal edge when under load, life is shortened. The fibers are almost microscopic so if you put it away muddy, it’s got built in abrasive the next time it’s used. I’ve been collecting (making) the tools for splicing and learning several most common splices and I noticed your eye splice buried tail, although it’s nice and long, appears to have no taper and jumps down in diameter suddenly. The expert how-to guys claim that jump imparts life shortening stress under load. Yeah, I know I sound like I’m pickin’ the fly shit out of the pepper, but the stuff is expensive, might as well try to make it last. 👊😎
The synthetic rope definitely is a bit more sensitive to damage but it seems to me like it’s often talked about to be down right delicate. But that hasn’t been my experience, the last rope I had on my pickup was about 10 year old, I never washed it, always put it away dirty it was outside exposed to UV all day and in the winter time around here they spread volcanic cinders on the road for traction. Mind you the rope was old and frayed when I replaced it, but I sold it to a buddy and he’s still using it. As far as the splice goes it may not look tapered in the video but it’s easy to tell that it is in person. Maybe not tapered as smoothly as some would like.
@@tdm8817 Thanks man, I’m always glad to update the mental reference library with input from first person experience. I’ll bet that old rope you refer to is Amsteel. Today there appears to be a bunch from China that probably doesn’t have the protective coating dip. Thanks for sharing real world experience. 👊😎
@@ridermak4111 well funny thing about that is the old rope I had was actually 2 ropes spliced together I had 100 ft of amsteel and 100 ft of another rope on the end with the hook. I don’t know what brand it was but it was uncoated and about a gray,white color. So 100 feet of blue and 100 feet of gray. It was actually kinda nice cause it made for a quick easy visual reference of how much rope I had out.
Glad someone else thinks their BS. Only thing i really like about them is the "extreme duty strap" because its got a kevlar shield along the entire strap but im thinkin a 3/4 cable choker is better because its cable obviously.
Only problem with cable is it damages soft things like trees, I use rigging straps myself. I’ll have to look into there strap, haven’t heard of that yet
@@tdm8817 Yep thats true my dad used cable when i was a youngin and thankfully its just for firewood so damage isnt really an issue. We use tow straps too yank out stumps and stuff with our 98 Ford Explorer too and it works quite well. The link too the Factor 55 Extreme Tow Strap is factor55.com/product/standard-and-extreme-duty-tow-straps/ there
@@tdm8817 Let me know what you think of the "extreme duty" version cause i cant decide between that and a 3/4 x 12' loggin cable choker. Like i said its more too pullin and yankin logs similar too a skidder
I buy all my stuff from a tow truck supply company zip’s I think it is they have all your recovery gear you might need. No endorsement just a good company.
Just to play devils advocate, this is like the wheels on your vehicle. A lot of people like plain steel, but there are a lot of pretty aluminum wheels on the road. As a professional rigger, there are the tools I use daily and the tools that almost never get used but have a visual presence on my vehicle (right next to the shiny aluminum wheels). The point is, the purpose of products like Factor 55 is to be light weight, look fancy and work well on rare occasions when needed.
And that's really the same point that I'm getting at too, if ya want something to hold up over time and be useful, to me rigging hardware is the way to go. The factor 55 is just jewelry
You’re welcome to hate any company you want, but you made a lot of statements that were false. You said their hooks and closed systems have sharp edges. That is false. Most of the claims I heard you say that F55 makes were not anything I’ve ever seen them claim or talk about in any of their videos. Your underlying point is mostly correct. You can get les bling/less costly equipment that works very similarly to F55 gear. You failed to address one major benefit of theirs though. In all of your less expensive solutions, I didn’t see anywhere that you addressed side loading of components. This is a big deal for people doing recoveries because shackles can side load like a mother when attached to any of the hooks you displayed. The solutions you gave solve some of the closed system issues you can have with recovery gear, but if you’re doing serious winching on a horizontal plane where momentary slack and side loading is a constant issue, then F55 still takes the win. Yeah their stuff is expensive, but no one is forcing you to buy it.
Yes I misspoke several times. One being the sharp edges I should have said alot of there stuff is very squared off, yes they bevel them a bit but there often a much smaller bend radius than I would like to see. On the other hand I do very much like there haws fairlead. Much larger bend radius than a standard fairlead. I would actually like to get a few of those for myself. I'm confused where your getting at with the side loading. Yes side loading a hook can be a massive problem and should never be done but shackles can and will take a huge amount of sideload. And the amount of sideload is determined by the angle at which your pulling not the hook your using. Unless I'm missing something there Rigging stuff is designed for periods of momentary slack/shock load and again unless I'm missing something here no hook is designed for side loads. Foundry hooks can be tip loaded and generally abused more than other types of hooks tho. And no of course there not forcing me to buy anything. I just hate the marketing wank and how they talk like there gods gift to the off-road community.
@@tdm8817 all of F55’s closed system rigging has better angles to prevent fraying than any other product on the market I’ve seen. I am kind of shocked you’d say it’s squared off. That’s simply not true. Also, 100% of F55’s closed system rigging solves virtually all side loading issues. It’s one of the biggest advantages. Sure other rigging can take it up to a point, but people like reducing dangerous variables when in the backwoods and F55 does that. I understand it’s determined by the angle you’re pulling. With F55 closed systems you can pull from ANY angle and have zero side loading. It sounds like you have never held one of their products or even watched their dozens of informational videos. They give some excellent examples of how side loading is avoided with their gear.
@@gcookz86 what I mean with the squared off hook is how the hook throat has a flat surface instead of a rounded one. I believe what your talking about with side loading is how a standard hook will fall to one side or the other of the shackle pin. Wile it is true a standard hook will do that and that the ultra hook is wide enough to fill pin on a 3/4 shackle, I have never seen any harm come from a standard hood being offset on a shackle pin. I was talking that side loading a hook is not good, if the hook got bound up so pull sideways on a hook that no hook is rated for that. However pulling from the side of the bow on a shackle is no worries for a normal situation. Wile I've never used any of there gear I have handled there ultra hook and fat link I think it's called. My local rigging shop sells factor 55 and there products. I would imagine that most people if they had the opportunity to hold a factor 55 hook in one hand and a rigging hook in the other, especially given the cost difference would go with the rigging hook over factor 55. There just simply a answer to a question no one is asking outside of the bling cool kid circle.
I've been an ADVOCATE of steel products for years, the idea of blingy sparkley anodized aluminium being worthy of recovery is appalling to me. Being in Canada the fancy shit is $$pendy and not sure of the value. However I am just gathering some gear to convert my 17,500 Smitty Built X20 to synthetic line soon. It will have an open loop on the end ready to do on a screw pin bow shackle or soft shackle as needed. Fancy bling doesn't do well if u want to keep it shiney
The 7.3L International engine ford used was a great engine used in a lot of equipment. The new 7.3L engine is junk in comparison as is the rest of the shit Ford produces. Their trucks are crap and you can't hard 4 wheel a bronco without it falling apart. Junk.
You're putting a video out knocking a company and you don't even know what materials they use, OR the products you're using yourself?? Don't quote me on that?? Yeah more of a hating video than informative 🙄
I only run factor 55 on all my rigs. We have done numerous recoveries with out failure of our equipment. I would rather spend the extra money and know I will not have an equipment failure .
You pay for them to have new flat bill hats and arm sleeves with all that money you toss at them. Good job! Purely marketing and if it’s not already, soon to be outsourced to squeeze a few more bucks out of each sale to the uninformed.
A wise man said people who use profanity profusely usually are using those words because they have nothing intelligent to say try to clean it up and you message might go a bit further , you seem like your mad at them for a reason other than you think there product is inferior and overpriced
You may know what your talking about but I turned you off for your language withe the F bomb and GD added in. Maybe you just have a limited vocabulary and can't help it.
You sound extremely angry. Who cares what they cost if you are not interest in one? By closed they mean not a hook, rather a solid piece of metal that is stronger. Whether you need the strength is a different story. . You can simply run a d-ring straight to the winch line to get… which you literally just showed. 🤣 … a closed system for dirt cheap. . You sound desperate for views trying to use click bait and some weird Ave knock off brand personality. Where is your anti iPhone rant because your 17yo Nokia can make calls just fine?
too swear every other word makes you think your getting your point across any better . And you tube wants to put me in you tub jail for some of my disagreement comments . I'm sure it has more to do with politics. Wow
I picked up 2- 3/4 inch shackles. And 2-7/8 inch shackles. Got rid of the hook that came with my new winch on day 1. Bought a badland 🪝hook. Harbor freight.
That f55 shit is stupid expensive. Yes if in your in a mall parking lot and your groceries are melting you need the best. By all means get Factor 55 and definitely get a big ass Lifted Jeep with lockers.
Off road industry charges a premium. I bought a good quality part from a industry supplier. Bought the same quality stuff from a oil field rigging store for less than half the price. I had all my stuff stolen recently in a break in and thought of this video when i replaced all my stuff. Big smile on my face with the savings. Thanks for posting this.
This guy is totally on point. Everything he said comes from experience and lack of being gullible to corporate advertising.
I agree! I'm glad there's someone else who think $400 for an aluminum hook is bull shit.
And the Factor 55 guys are so damn smug and arrogant. I talked to them at their booth at the Moab Easter Jeep Safari this year, and they were totally trash talking every other maker of synthetic rope even though many of them are exactly the same as their's.
Then when someone in the crowd asked if it was true that Warn bought them out, they kind of all got quiet and looked down at the ground.😄
Hahaha that’s funny
I did hear one good use for there ultra hook, I guess our local search and rescue uses them on there helicopter winch lines cause it’s one of the few hooks out there that is so lightweight and is rated with 2 connection points, one for the rescuer and one for the rescuee, and in a situation like that it wouldent see much abuse and get inspected regularly. But for most anything els I don’t see much of a point to them.
Love your video! I'm pretty new to off-roading and witching but I'm a crane operator so I totally agree with everything you say. People that have more money than brains buy all the overpriced gear they can get their hands on so they can look cool doing it.
Factor 55 is so expensive because the number 1 rule in business is. Never use your own money. Warn went to wall street and borrowed the money to finance the purchase of factor 55. That big money has to be paid back. It comes from you.
That was awesome. I enjoy a bit of no bullshit straight shooting. You have satisfied my needs for quite some time. 😂
Could you reccomend an online source where I could look for the heavier duty (1/2" or bigger) Self Locking CLevis'/Hooks as the ones I have found were almost $200???
Yea that’s the going rate for quality rigging gear. If ya search around you can find good prices on rigging gear on e bay but there is also a lot of Chinese crap on e bay. Personally I would stick with a name brand rigging company and avoid the China stuff
Factor 55 is stupid. I own a towing company and we use the standard equipment without all the ridiculous re-engineered nonsense and it works just fine.
😂😂😂😂 please do more reviews like this. Thanks for your honest opinion.
I recently picked up a Warn winch for my Tacoma and started investigating Factor 55 products. While researching recovery gear such as soft and steel shackles, Google recommended I watch this video. Based on what I saw, I ditched my plan to buy most Factor 55 stuff, removed the Warn hook and bought two Crosby steel shackles and a Crosby closed hook like the ones you demonstrated. Thank you!
Haha nice.
I totally dig your video. I wished I had seen it before I spent the money to get a winch tingy for my rig. SMH...
35 years on a crane most of the off road industries is full of bs
As soon as I saw how dirty this man’s hands were I knew he knew his stuff.
Probably one of the funniest truck related videos I've watched all year. As soon as the packing says something is made exclusively for a specific sport or activity the price is double what the generic equivalent is. If you are building a color-matched recovery kit to polish and park at a mall or a SEMA show, open your wallet. If you prefer a thicker wallet, then pick and choose and know there are other options to build up a solid kit. Dude is right on so many levels.
Finally a real man and talking real things, most others are bunch of adult kids that like to hide themselves behind their toys. 👏
So unfortunately for the first time in over 40 years of four wheeling, I’ve gone to synthetic line which I don’t like and this year I did purchase a factor 55 and mainly was so I could protect the UV rays from hitting the wrap of the line where it connects, if you read the fine print on the package of the synthetic line Warn recommends replacing the line every year because of the UV rays which I doubt people do but I’m trying to give it as much longevity as possible, Other than that I would’ve just stayed old-school I was trying to keep the front of my vehicle a little bit lighter with synthetic line but I definitely prefer steel line, I go off roading somewhere every couple weeks towing a modified off road teardrop trailer and I spend all my time deep in the back country and about as hard-core as I can get towing a trailer I’ve used the factor 55 this year to remove a lot of fallen timber from the fires we’ve had that are falling over blocking my trails, but I agree with you in regards to probably a lot of hype I like the old-school steal stuff, and I didn’t realize the factor 55 cost so much money because at the time I ordered a lot of stuff and just had it all delivered at once I probably wouldn’t have purchased if I realized it cost that much money and I agree with you on the sharp edge aluminum if you run a steel Dee-ring which I do it will probably tear up the aluminum, go old-school folks!!!!👍🇺🇸
So I’m just yanking people out of ditches. I stumbled onto their 2 inch hitch link. What would you buy instead? I’m not recovering heavy equipment, just family in snowy ditches.
There hitch would be fine for that so long as your gentle with it and inspect it regularly, obviously aluminum isn't very durable. But it's lightweight and fine for small stuff
safe xtract hitch reciever
So it may be a stupid question, but is the 5/16 grade 80 stout enough for a 12k winch? Obviously the wll is 4500, but in a personal recovery situation is different than overhead lifting. The 3/8 is only 7500wll, so even that should be too small for a 12k winch, but 3/8 crap chinese hooks are what come on most winches ive been around
Not a stupid question at all. I asked the rigging shop where I bought that hook the same question. But your right for a horizontal winch situation it's fine, obviously it's not suitable for overhead and because it has been overloaded i would never reuse that hook for any rigging situation. But it's been serving me well for years now on my winch.
@tdm8817 thanks for the reply!
I cannot agree more, this is pure quality, I love how tech that is ment for true industry is looked over and everyone goes crazy with something “new” and “better” and “safer” even though heavy industry has had it figured out way longer and better! Agreed, factor 55 false claims with their claim about “inventing the closed loop recovery system “ love the truth told about Jeep people!!!
Every industry has stupid marketing crap sucking in the overpaid zombies who cant be bothered researching gear properly before buying... or are just wanting to show off their blingy Mall Crawlers!😂
Appreciate the honest, no bullcrap video mate.👍🤠🇦🇺
Hi, Would you be able to comment on crane related stuff? Hooks, winches, Crane DAF, etc. anything crane related... especially for truck-cranes? Thanks!
What do ya wana see,
The rigging?
i do not own a aluminum hook the only aluminum is the fairlead shackles are steel not soft shackles and my hooks are steel some regular old hooks like the ones on my 1966 Holmes 500 wrecker which still uses the hooks that came with it and work great. have one of the newer hooks with a lock on it none of the new gimmicks
Good for you.
When aluminum is spec'd out at 6xxx or 7xxx series aluminum, that means that it can handle certain stresses and loads under specific conditions. "Mil-Std - Type x" anodizing means that there is a certain amount of anodizing that gets into and above the surface of the material and has a hardness rated in Vickers. All of these things help to determine longevity and proper application. It's like tempering for steel.
Like I've said before. Just a matter of time before I can pick up some of that factor 55 gear at a pawn shop for a fraction of the price. The brothers will steal anything. I swing by once a month just to see what has shown up. Picked up 2 sets of ramps last year. 1/3 the price new.
That Factor 55 splicer thimble is just a knockoff of the safety thimble that I got from viking offroad somewhere around 2010. Claiming that they invented closed system winching is BS.
I’m just commenting to say it looks like I’m two years late to the party but this was awesome! No matter the few misspoken or incorrect statements…. The unfiltered truth bombs hit their targets as seen from a few other comments here. So much of what I see dangling off of folks rigs, bolted on, etc., is just fan boy cock measuring by way of opening up that wallet.
I browsed F55’s products recently and it’s rapidly getting dated. So many people are moving away from anything metal in their line that about everything they sling is prone to be obsolete soon. That and Amazon has outright copies of everything they sell for 1/2 or less the price with the same “aircraft” grade materials. Tough business to be in these days. Made in America only goes so far with folks when the groceries and gas are high but you still want to wheel.
I looked at some of the steel rigging hooks, etc like you show in this video but the working load limit is a lot less than a lot of the recovery products the companies like factor 55 sell.
Most rigging stuff the working load limit is at least 3:1 sometimes 5:1 so a hook with a 5,000 lb working limit will break between 15,000 and 25,000 depending on how they are rated. I have no idea what design limit factor 55 puts on there's but that would be something you would need to compare as well to get the full picture. Plus rigging stuff you can get in huge sizes with a safe working load limit of 100,000 lb if you wanted. I actually need to make another video about what your talking about with the working load limit and such. Just the other day we put some massive forces on rigging hardware and I was extremely impressed how well it all held up.
This gives me AVE vibes and i love it.
I have a F55 prolink i got for free and while I like it enough, it's more of a status symbol and it gets annoying trying to feed soft shackles through it, so then I have to use a bow shackle.
They nake a quality product ill admit, but tons of people have the mentality that if its not F55 it's crap.
Probably going to splice my own brummell loop and grab a yankum fairlead to get rid of all unnecessary metal. Ill just throw a soft shackle or bow shackle ghrough it.
I was actually thinking it was him at one stage when he said “this goes here thusly”
i love it! I tried to look for the Yoke Hook online but couldn't find one that's just like yours. what should I punch in for search words?
Type "yoke connector link self locking hook" into Google and several links will come up
The point of F55 is weight and synthetic rope. (and $$). I frankly don't think you can fault them other than prices. (and selling out to warn). Their products are bling, are made in usa and perform as advertised. Check out their destructive testing vids.
Btw is that American syn or chyneema?
O that’s interesting I did not know they sold out to warn. My rope is USA.
Yea I’ve seen there videos of testing there hooks to failure. My gripe with it is that I always see them use new hooks when testing. I’d like to see them test a hook that has actually been used and has wear on it. I’d bet the slightest amount of damage to the hook would weaken it and be a spot for a crack to form. I’d like to test them myself out of curiosity but I’m not curious enough to go buy one. Mind you if it’s used just for looks on the front of a rig then it dose it’s job just fine.
Who makes a good load distribution block?
I don’t know what you mean by load distribution block. Is that a rigging component?
@@tdm8817 in order to rig a 5:1. I need to connect the cable 3 times at the item being winched. This requires a distribution block for attaching 3 clevises. Pewag makes some.
@@cascaderetriever7618 well more than one way to skin a cat
You can also get a double snatch block and that alone cuts ya down to 2 connections, or get real fancy and get a 3 shive bock and do a 6 line pull with one connection.
I just hate how factor 55 tires to reinvent the wheel and say you “need” there product to do whatever it is there selling at the moment.
Not saying there product dosent do what they say it dose but I feel like it’s a answer to a question no one was asking. Outside of the polished up jeep community. For them it’s the perfect thing
@@tdm8817I think what it is is the old ways are gone. New blood is getting into the 4wheeling and has no one to show them the way so F55 steps in with fancy gadgets and guides they folks to buy. These gadgets in the name of safe recovery
Respect your video, thank you.
You’re missing soooo much in regards to factor 55….. Your hooks you love so much shift to one side of the metal shackles and create single sheer points that can fail. Factor 55 distributes pressure evenly. Hate all you want. They’ve lightened the weight of crap flying back at you as well as load in your rig as you’re wheeling. And made rigging much safer over all. Not all their stuff is best, but they’ve revolutionized the recovery world. And I’ve never owned a damn steel hook that’s EVER not had the retaining flap or spring break on it. A rating is a rating, steel or aluminum, doesn’t matter what it is. Their working load limit and breaking strength exceeds your old school steel hooks that are equivalent.
Yes I know the hooks with the little sheet metal latch are bull shit, I said that in the video and that's why I don't use them.
Yes the hooks I use can side to one end of the pin on a shackle. But I have never seen a quality 3/4 shackle like Crosby, columbus mckinnon or skookum fail or even stretch when used with pickup sized rigs. If you use a 3/4 shackle on a rotator yea Shure you can damage it there but I've never seen it on a pickup.
In the video description I link to another video of mine where I follow up on this topic.
Great job. Most of my stuff comes from harbor freight.
At this point in time. Factor 55s non hook version, just a closed circle is $160. The Yoke 5/16 locking hook is $115. Their hook and closed loop is $280
Ya the prices definitely have come down in the last few years
Dosnt more sheer points just mean more possible points of failure? Then wouldn’t it matter how strong each sheer point actually is? 🤔🤔
In this case it’s not more points of failure but more points of redundancy. Both this hook and the factor 55 hook still only have 1 load bearing pin.
The really funny thing i find is that realistically, all you need at the end of your synthetic winch line is a proper loop splice, and then a soft shackle or a bow shackle........ and that's it. The reduction in strength is minimal if you use a 3/4 bow shackle (you get a 2:1 D/d using 3/8" line) which in Amsteel is their minimum. Yes, if you go bare loop to a soft shackle, you will cut the strength, but then use either a $10 solid thimble in the eye loop, or a recovery ring that can be slipped in or out, and boom, back up to 100% strength and at a mere fraction of the price.
I have a Factor 55 "bridle" that cost a small fortune, and was impressed coming from a background in rock climbing and then rope rescue specialty in the FD, and then quickly realized that i spend about $200 too much, and have never really used it beyond what i would have gotten from a $10 thimble or $40 recovery ring.
I will add, to me, the most alarming issue is no name, no rating synthetic line. If you use Amsteel Blue as the standard, and just as an example here, 1/4 Amsteel is rated at around 8000 lbs, I've seen no name Chinese made 1/4" synthetic line with a claim of 10000 lbs. that's scary, because who knows what it's really rated at.
I did not know about Warn buying F55, not surprised though. But brings up a good point, who knows what Warn is using for their synth line either, they certainly don't tell you. They say "Spydura" but that is their own name branding, and tells us nothing of what or where it's made.
No hate mail but a question. And I’m likely splitting hairs here. Who manufactures those shackles and hooks? I ask because I like that Factor manufactures everything here.
To my knowledge all the rigging companies manufacture things in house. Gunnebo is out of Sweden and pewag is somewhere in Europe to my knowledge. But everything I've seen from Crosby is usa made. I do like how factor 55 at least use to be usa made. I dunno if that was effected when warn bought them tho.
If I had to guess your eyelet might be ampco
I usually just "borrow" straps and shackles from my job sites. I'm not a professional off-roader and only had to do a couple recoveries but they work great.
Well you saved me some money
Im just pissed about the price!
Yeah because every one wants a 17 piece cluster of steel links and hooks rattling around like a damn rattle snake while driving 🤣
The rubber keeps the hook from coming loose and falling while driving
Match the f55 hook with the rope guard
Protects it from abrasion when wheeling and in my area where the sun is 9 thousand degrees protects the winch line from UV rays
The open loop winch lines are stupid for most applications
And jiggling metal clanking on the bumper is also stupid
But hey you do you boo boo
You make some good points man. Marketing B.S. is frankly immoral... Factor 55 does make some cool products like their UV protected splice on winch attachments etc... Are those 1 piece rope thimbles available at rigging shops? Most of the ones that come with winches are just bend single piece and can flex and cut the rope.
O shit I dint know about there uv rope splice. I'll have to look into that.
Ya the one piece thimble I got at my local rigging shop, and yes the stamped sheet metal ones suck, at least for synthetic rope. They work just fine for wire rope
Agreed, faptor $$ is way too $$$$. But one group that is willing to dumpwallet are the ones obsessed with lightweight everything. Also, lots of winchers that decide to convert to rope don’t fully understand that you can’t treat it as carelessly as they did their cable. If it contacts a 90 degree metal edge when under load, life is shortened. The fibers are almost microscopic so if you put it away muddy, it’s got built in abrasive the next time it’s used. I’ve been collecting (making) the tools for splicing and learning several most common splices and I noticed your eye splice buried tail, although it’s nice and long, appears to have no taper and jumps down in diameter suddenly. The expert how-to guys claim that jump imparts life shortening stress under load. Yeah, I know I sound like I’m pickin’ the fly shit out of the pepper, but the stuff is expensive, might as well try to make it last. 👊😎
The synthetic rope definitely is a bit more sensitive to damage but it seems to me like it’s often talked about to be down right delicate. But that hasn’t been my experience, the last rope I had on my pickup was about 10 year old, I never washed it, always put it away dirty it was outside exposed to UV all day and in the winter time around here they spread volcanic cinders on the road for traction. Mind you the rope was old and frayed when I replaced it, but I sold it to a buddy and he’s still using it. As far as the splice goes it may not look tapered in the video but it’s easy to tell that it is in person. Maybe not tapered as smoothly as some would like.
@@tdm8817
Thanks man, I’m always glad to update the mental reference library with input from first person experience. I’ll bet that old rope you refer to is Amsteel. Today there appears to be a bunch from China that probably doesn’t have the protective coating dip. Thanks for sharing real world experience. 👊😎
@@ridermak4111 well funny thing about that is the old rope I had was actually 2 ropes spliced together I had 100 ft of amsteel and 100 ft of another rope on the end with the hook. I don’t know what brand it was but it was uncoated and about a gray,white color. So 100 feet of blue and 100 feet of gray. It was actually kinda nice cause it made for a quick easy visual reference of how much rope I had out.
Butthurt assassin
SOFT SHACKLE
enough said
Except that a soft shackle would not be good if ya gotta go over a sharp edge.
Glad someone else thinks their BS. Only thing i really like about them is the "extreme duty strap" because its got a kevlar shield along the entire strap but im thinkin a 3/4 cable choker is better because its cable obviously.
Only problem with cable is it damages soft things like trees, I use rigging straps myself.
I’ll have to look into there strap, haven’t heard of that yet
@@tdm8817 Yep thats true my dad used cable when i was a youngin and thankfully its just for firewood so damage isnt really an issue. We use tow straps too yank out stumps and stuff with our 98 Ford Explorer too and it works quite well. The link too the Factor 55 Extreme Tow Strap is factor55.com/product/standard-and-extreme-duty-tow-straps/ there
@@whatittooye right on thanks for the link
@@tdm8817 Let me know what you think of the "extreme duty" version cause i cant decide between that and a 3/4 x 12' loggin cable choker. Like i said its more too pullin and yankin logs similar too a skidder
@@whatittooye I made a video about straps and shit, here’s the link ua-cam.com/video/X2wF0GjYGiE/v-deo.html
Where do i get a rope thimble?
@@Tonygarry78 online or a rigging shop
I buy all my stuff from a tow truck supply company zip’s I think it is they have all your recovery gear you might need. No endorsement just a good company.
Truth
You love Factor 55 ?
where the hell would you find a "local" rigging shop lol- I agree that factor 55 is pretty pricy - great info
I would define a local rigging shop as one that's close to where you live.
@@tdm8817 HAHAHA got it thanks- Yeah none around here in N.Utah- pretty much out in the sticks-
Just to play devils advocate, this is like the wheels on your vehicle. A lot of people like plain steel, but there are a lot of pretty aluminum wheels on the road.
As a professional rigger, there are the tools I use daily and the tools that almost never get used but have a visual presence on my vehicle (right next to the shiny aluminum wheels).
The point is, the purpose of products like Factor 55 is to be light weight, look fancy and work well on rare occasions when needed.
And that's really the same point that I'm getting at too, if ya want something to hold up over time and be useful, to me rigging hardware is the way to go. The factor 55 is just jewelry
No hook. Get a yankum rope fairlead and use soft shackles.
You’re welcome to hate any company you want, but you made a lot of statements that were false. You said their hooks and closed systems have sharp edges. That is false. Most of the claims I heard you say that F55 makes were not anything I’ve ever seen them claim or talk about in any of their videos.
Your underlying point is mostly correct. You can get les bling/less costly equipment that works very similarly to F55 gear. You failed to address one major benefit of theirs though.
In all of your less expensive solutions, I didn’t see anywhere that you addressed side loading of components. This is a big deal for people doing recoveries because shackles can side load like a mother when attached to any of the hooks you displayed.
The solutions you gave solve some of the closed system issues you can have with recovery gear, but if you’re doing serious winching on a horizontal plane where momentary slack and side loading is a constant issue, then F55 still takes the win.
Yeah their stuff is expensive, but no one is forcing you to buy it.
Yes I misspoke several times. One being the sharp edges I should have said alot of there stuff is very squared off, yes they bevel them a bit but there often a much smaller bend radius than I would like to see. On the other hand I do very much like there haws fairlead. Much larger bend radius than a standard fairlead. I would actually like to get a few of those for myself.
I'm confused where your getting at with the side loading. Yes side loading a hook can be a massive problem and should never be done but shackles can and will take a huge amount of sideload. And the amount of sideload is determined by the angle at which your pulling not the hook your using. Unless I'm missing something there
Rigging stuff is designed for periods of momentary slack/shock load and again unless I'm missing something here no hook is designed for side loads. Foundry hooks can be tip loaded and generally abused more than other types of hooks tho.
And no of course there not forcing me to buy anything. I just hate the marketing wank and how they talk like there gods gift to the off-road community.
@@tdm8817 all of F55’s closed system rigging has better angles to prevent fraying than any other product on the market I’ve seen. I am kind of shocked you’d say it’s squared off. That’s simply not true.
Also, 100% of F55’s closed system rigging solves virtually all side loading issues. It’s one of the biggest advantages. Sure other rigging can take it up to a point, but people like reducing dangerous variables when in the backwoods and F55 does that.
I understand it’s determined by the angle you’re pulling. With F55 closed systems you can pull from ANY angle and have zero side loading.
It sounds like you have never held one of their products or even watched their dozens of informational videos. They give some excellent examples of how side loading is avoided with their gear.
@@gcookz86 what I mean with the squared off hook is how the hook throat has a flat surface instead of a rounded one.
I believe what your talking about with side loading is how a standard hook will fall to one side or the other of the shackle pin. Wile it is true a standard hook will do that and that the ultra hook is wide enough to fill pin on a 3/4 shackle, I have never seen any harm come from a standard hood being offset on a shackle pin.
I was talking that side loading a hook is not good, if the hook got bound up so pull sideways on a hook that no hook is rated for that. However pulling from the side of the bow on a shackle is no worries for a normal situation.
Wile I've never used any of there gear I have handled there ultra hook and fat link I think it's called. My local rigging shop sells factor 55 and there products. I would imagine that most people if they had the opportunity to hold a factor 55 hook in one hand and a rigging hook in the other, especially given the cost difference would go with the rigging hook over factor 55. There just simply a answer to a question no one is asking outside of the bling cool kid circle.
@@gcookz86 ua-cam.com/video/92gkbPrlKyY/v-deo.html
Can you speak without all the swear words?
No
I've been an ADVOCATE of steel products for years, the idea of blingy sparkley anodized aluminium being worthy of recovery is appalling to me.
Being in Canada the fancy shit is $$pendy and not sure of the value.
However I am just gathering some gear to convert my 17,500 Smitty Built X20 to synthetic line soon. It will have an open loop on the end ready to do on a screw pin bow shackle or soft shackle as needed.
Fancy bling doesn't do well if u want to keep it shiney
😅🤣😂🤑🤑🤑🤑
The 7.3L International engine ford used was a great engine used in a lot of equipment. The new 7.3L engine is junk in comparison as is the rest of the shit Ford produces. Their trucks are crap and you can't hard 4 wheel a bronco without it falling apart. Junk.
You're putting a video out knocking a company and you don't even know what materials they use, OR the products you're using yourself?? Don't quote me on that?? Yeah more of a hating video than informative 🙄
Granted ya I was fired up in that video but there is still good information in it even if the presentation leaves much to be desired.
He thinks Factor 55 is stupid because he broke and can’t afford quality so will buy Chinese shite but complain when it breaks hahaha
Chinese shit? No I'll stick with the usa made rigging hardware
Haters gonna hate
I only run factor 55 on all my rigs.
We have done numerous recoveries with out failure of our equipment.
I would rather spend the extra money and know I will not have an equipment failure .
Is that to imply that rigging components will fail?
Have you seen F 55 testing sheets? They fail under less load than industry standard for the same size.
You pay for them to have new flat bill hats and arm sleeves with all that money you toss at them. Good job! Purely marketing and if it’s not already, soon to be outsourced to squeeze a few more bucks out of each sale to the uninformed.
A wise man said people who use profanity profusely usually are using those words because they have nothing intelligent to say try to clean it up and you message might go a bit further , you seem like your mad at them for a reason other than you think there product is inferior and overpriced
You may know what your talking about but I turned you off for your language withe the F bomb and GD added in. Maybe you just have a limited vocabulary and can't help it.
Hahaha your right! I don't speak words good!
You sound extremely angry. Who cares what they cost if you are not interest in one? By closed they mean not a hook, rather a solid piece of metal that is stronger. Whether you need the strength is a different story.
.
You can simply run a d-ring straight to the winch line to get… which you literally just showed. 🤣 … a closed system for dirt cheap.
.
You sound desperate for views trying to use click bait and some weird Ave knock off brand personality. Where is your anti iPhone rant because your 17yo Nokia can make calls just fine?
Lol the I phone rant is a topic for another day
too swear every other word makes you think your getting your point across any better . And you tube wants to put me in you tub jail for some of my disagreement comments . I'm sure it has more to do with politics. Wow
I picked up 2- 3/4 inch shackles. And 2-7/8 inch shackles. Got rid of the hook that came with my new winch on day 1. Bought a badland 🪝hook. Harbor freight.
That f55 shit is stupid expensive.
Yes if in your in a mall parking lot and your groceries are melting you need the best.
By all means get Factor 55 and definitely get a big ass Lifted Jeep with lockers.
Hey give the rigging company my email