Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

I have a problem with raising the bonnet for a snatch recovery. I want to be able to see where I am going. A whole vehicle is a far more potent weapon than a snatch strap or a shackle.

Personally my preferred safety measure in a snatch recovery is a lanyard on each end ( for those that don't know, this is a shortish strap tied to the end of the snatch rope, the other end of the strap is attached to a second (or third) recovery point on the vehicle).
In my opininion, as long as the speed is kept reasonable, a lanyard should be able to prevent almost 100% of accidents, but if anyone knows this assumption to be incorrect I would be glad to hear the reason.

The only one I can think of is if the rope/strap breaks in the middle, but at least there would be no metal bits flying about. Having said that, i have seen a strap knock a dent in a Patrol's rear door (Michael's, while towing Dirk in Botswana).

I have a very decent pull strap that's helped a few stuck folk become unstuck in its life, but I do not own a snatch strap for all the reasons mentioned before.

If someone is so badly stuck that they require a snatch recovery (and by that I mean they've progressed through tow strap, tow strap & digging, and finally winching after digging a LOT more), I tend to just walk away.

Yes I'm a sissy, but I was there that day when an innocent bystander's knee got wrecked for life at a Rust de Winter Jamboree due to an over-eager recovery. And lots of blood, broken bones, etc. tend to stay with you much longer than all the perfect snatch recoveries.

One other thing I want to add:

Watching the professionals (Matt and Casey), they tend to do lots of fairly mild yanks, rather than trying to get the job done with one almighty one.
I suspect, if your rope can handle that, it is a very good policy.
But it is my understanding that this is not the correct approach with a strap (as opposed to a rope) as the straps need time to "recover" after stretching.
I am not sure whether this is true or false though? Anybody know (and know why they should be different)?

Yea Peter, remember this topic being discussed ad nauseum on Community4x4 a few years ago. See Ronny's vid near the end.
I normally try one easy pull first with the snatch. Don't think it's an exact science.

JohnBoyZA wrote: ↑01 Aug 2022 12:06 Agreed Ian, however in AD or any other environment with soft sand where you have little traction it's sometimes the 'only' option.

Came across this pic to explain the setting I was talking about. Actually only needed a light pull/snatch...