Kinetic recovery rope

One of the things we used to do was place a jacket or something over the winch line to catch it in case it broke. There is a more modern way to do the same thing now. https://a.co/d/e9hKnYB

I would use that on a tow strap or a kinetic rope as well. I would also recommend making sure you are outside the “triangle of death”.

Last but not Least we used to raise the hood on the vehicle beginning winched if the driver was inside. Just in case something tried to come thru the windshield.

JoergH

One of the things we used to do was place a jacket or something over the winch line to catch it in case it broke. There is a more modern way to do the same thing now. https://a.co/d/e9hKnYB

I would use that on a tow strap or a kinetic rope as with. I would also recommend making sure you are outside the “triangle of death”.

Last but not Least we used to raise the hood on the vehicle beginning winched if the driver was inside. Just in case something tried to come thru the windshield.

Dampers are a good idea, or even jackets, but you want 5-7lbs of weight.

The hood is also a good idea.

The triangle of death is also not a static shape if you are dealing with winching.

bassist

Kinetic rope is worse due to the stretch - remember, the stretch increases the potential energy, and that potential energy becomes kinetic energy.

When a chain, winch line, or tow strap breaks, the energy released is less than the kinetic rope - and if a part breaks off as well, it could potentially go farther due to the rope stretching towards the end of its travel.

I wasn't speaking from a physics point of view but from an "equally potentially deadly" point of view. All three of those options need to be considered equally dangerous with the appropriate safety precautions, and, in my mind, after other, safer options have been tried. Do these recoveries happen safely all the time? Yes. But many variables make these far riskier, some of which aren't always within our control.

timhood

I wasn't speaking from a physics point of view but from an "equally potentially deadly" point of view. All three of those options need to be considered equally dangerous with the appropriate safety precautions, and, in my mind, after other, safer options have been tried. Do these recoveries happen safely all the time? Yes. But many variables make these far riskier, some of which aren't always within our control.

I’ll always put kinetic recovery in its own tier above other recovery methods because if something happens, it’s probably equally deadly, but the increase of potential energy in the system is going to make the probability of failure higher.

The absolute worst though is a kinetic recovery using gear that isn’t kinetic recovery gear!

At least kinetic rope can store energy through stretching. A standard tow strap or chain has nowhere to store the energy, and the result is that you will soon find the weakest point in the system.