As I mentioned a few months ago, I am in a paid partnership with Home Depot as part of their influencer tool review program. As part of this quarter’s surprise tool sample package, I received a 4-pack of Husky tie-down straps.
They’re 1″ x 12′ ratcheting tie-down straps with 500 lb working load rating and 1500 lb breaking strength.
I have a few S-hook tie-downs like this, but I prefer continuous webbing straps. Hooked straps work better when securing loads to anchor points. I don’t have a pickup truck, and don’t recall the last time I needed hooks instead of continuous webbing.
My tie-down experience has mostly involved securing around two items using ratcheting straps, such as lashing equipment to a hand truck, and other configurations of that nature.
In other words, I received the tie-downs and wondered what the heck I was going to do with them.
Last week, I donated a lot of tools, old tool samples, and misc equipment to the local high school. One of the things that I wanted to bring was a plastic job box, but it wouldn’t fit in the back of my SUV. I had different options available to me, and decided to put it on top of the car.
So I dug around, pulled out these Husky tie-down straps, and used two of them to secure the job box to the roof rack. I’ll spare you the details.
Most of my experiences with cheap tie-down straps aren’t very remarkable. Small and light duty straps are somewhat slower to get started, slower to adjust, slower to loosen. They work fine, but small ratcheting straps can be a little clunky.
I expected the same from these.
However, to my surprised and delight, these Husky tie-down straps didn’t feel clunky, but they didn’t WOW me either. They simply secured the load I needed to have strapped down and immobile, and without undue delay or fiddling.
In that respect, they’re good. They didn’t get in the way of the task, they simply facilitated it without annoyance, frustration, or curse words.
At the store, I would have ignored these, not giving them a second glance, as I don’t find as much need for S-hook tie-downs. I like one-piece straps.
But I made them work.
I’ll likely test these straps a bit more, as something tells me they’ll come in handy over the next few months.
To sum up my experience and first impression: I don’t normally use tie-down straps, let alone S-hook styles but these came in, I had a use for them, and I liked their great ease of use. They were quick to set up, and quick to take down. I found these ratcheting straps to be easier to disengage for removal than others I’ve used in the past. They are a little larger, though, but I think it’s mainly due to the design of the handle.
You probably can’t beat the price, either – $10 for a 4-pack. A quick Google search shows that comparable ratcheting strap 4-packs sell for ~$12-$20 on average.
Price: $10
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
If you try them out, I’d be curious to hear about how well they hold up for you over time.
Thank you to Husky and Home Depot for the review sample!