09/23/2026
Mike Burnett
July 11, 2024
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Lets talk.....are you using a 'winch line damper'? Well, STOP IT! Do they work? Sometimes. Maybe. But where do you put it? Will you have to walk into the danger zone to reposition it mid-recovery? Maybe more than once? There are lots of videos on YouTube demonstrating their use and ineffectiveness (for a whole host of reasons).
Enter the Safe-Xtract Safety Lanyard. Specifically designed to connect to any metal gear or synthetic line in your rigging, for the purpose of arresting its flight should something fail. Synthetic winch line is dangerous when it fails, but the line itself isnt really your biggest threat.. its whatever metal gear might be attached to it. I've personally witnessed two different line failures that sent metal gear flying, and to say it was scary is an understatement. In fact, there are widely known incidents where serious injuries and deaths have occurred. This is the exact reason why I now always use Safety Lanyards when I rig. Where a 'winch damper' is likely more of a feel-good measure that MIGHT work if you get it in just the right spot, a Safety Lanyard is a much more sure bet at ensuring you can keep any of your rigging from doing damage if something fails.
**Neither Safety Lanyards nor winch dampers should be considered a substitute for excluding everyone from a safety zone around the rigging!!!
About a year ago I planned to do a video demonstrating a line failure and how effective Safety Lanyards are when used properly. I came up with some rigging that allowed me to pull with my winch from a right angle to the failure and any flying metal gear, and I ordered some Chinese made 3/8" synthetic line from Amazon, specifically to fail while pulling on it with a 4:1 Spanish Burton. I wanted to use the 3/8" line as my failure because I feel like it accurately represents a real world, relatively high load, failure to really test the Safety Lanyard!
Below is a series of three videos... the first explains the rigging and how I set up the failure point and the Safety Lanyards, the second shows the line failure happening and the metal gear being arrested by the Safety Lanyard, and the third video has some wrap up thoughts. There are comments included with each video.
Backroad 4WD Training also recently posted a really good video demonstrating the use of Safety Lanyards in comparison to winch dampers. Be sure to go check that out at:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=778159891100208&rdid=OqU3DN04rvdFcouc
p.s. No, the ActionTrax boards arent there just because I'm a traction board nerd, they were to help keep my pulley blocks out of the dirt as I was setting up the rigging.
