Let us show you through all of the components of the Hercules 11 piece Complete Recovery Kit from 4WD Supacentre, and how and when to use each item. This right here is the ultimate all-in-one 4WD recovery kit, that all 4WDers should be carrying – whether you’re a fisho heading up the beach, hitting the tracks with your mates on weekends or heading off on that dream big adventure! Good 4WDers are prepared for anything, and that means carrying the right 4WD recovery gear to get you out of any situation. Even if you don’t actively go out seeking the biggest hills and deepest bogholes, you never know when you’ll need your 4×4 recovery gear!

First up, we’ve got the white 8 tonne snatch strap. This is a vehicle to vehicle recovery strap that allows you to snatch a bogged vehicle free with a second vehicle, and it’s a must-have to keep in your 4WD recovery kit. Think of it like a giant rubber band – it’s designed in a way that allows it to stretch up to 20% longer at full tension, to smooth out or soften the forces involved in a snatch recovery. When the strap reaches that full stretch, it is designed to then recoil, providing extra energy to assist in dragging the stuck vehicle free. It should only ever be connected to proper rated recovery points on both vehicles using rated bow shackles where necessary, and should be rated between two and three times either vehicle’s GVM.

Next up we’ve got the purple 5 tonne, 10 metre long winch extension strap. In a winch recovery you can never guarantee that there’s an appropriate tree close enough for you to hook onto, so a winch extension strap is designed to wrap around a tree or connect to another vehicle and provide a sturdy anchor point closer to the bogged vehicle. Unlike the snatch strap it has no stretch factor built into it – it’s simply a good tough extension strap. This is another essential that should be in all good 4WD recovery kits – it’s essential 4WD recovery gear!

The short green strap is the 10,000kg, three metre long tree trunk protector. This you wrap around a tree and connect your winch hook through the eyelets, as opposed to wrapping the winch rope directly around the tree. This prevents the winch rope from being damaged by dragging against the tree, but more importantly spreads the load across a larger surface area of the tree, stopping it from being ring-barked and damaged. Along with a 12,000lb winch, the tree trunk protector is one of the most-used bits of 4×4 recovery gear.

This orange blanket is called a winch dampener, and its job is to sit on the winch rope or the snatch strap during operation, and act as an air brake should something let go during a recovery and fly through the air. Place it in the middle of the snatch strap or the winch rope, or if you’re winching up a hill, sit it over the winch hook to stop it sliding down the rope. Safety must always be the number one priority whenever using any 4WD recovery gear and this clever bit of recovery gear ensures that you’re being as safe as you possibly can during a 4WD recovery.

Dig a bit deeper into the compete 4WD recovery kit and you’ll find this red snatch block. When you run your winch rope out through it at the forward-facing anchor point then return the winch hook back to the vehicle, it adds a mechanical advantage that just about doubles your winch’s effective pulling power. No matter what winch you run, there will come a time when you reach the limits of its power. The worst thing you can do for your winch’s longevity is keep trying to winch in at a point where the vehicle isn’t moving any further forwards. When you do that, you’re directing all the current from your alternator and battery through to very specific contact points on the winch’s electric motor, and you run the real risk of burning the motor out. Instead, before you get to that point, add the snatch block into the equation to reduce the risk of that happening.

The kit also comes with a pair of 4.7t rated bow shackles for connecting vehicles and straps together. It’s important when you set a shackle up, that you add the strap eyelet to the black bow side of the shackle. This allows the strap to move freely as needed, instead of bunching up in these corners of the securing pin.

Add in one of the legendary Kwiky tyre deflators to easily, quickly and accurately deflate your tyres for increased traction, a clever folding shovel and a heavy-duty nylon recovery bag to store it all in, and you’ve got just about everything you’ll ever need for vehicle recoveries, short of a winch! You also get a set of tough recovery gloves – an essential safety item. It’s not hard to see why the Hercules 11 Piece Complete Recovery Kit from 4WD Supacentre is such incredible value.

And of course, all the key recovery components in the 4WD recovery gear kit are independently tested and rated to ensure they comply with the relevant safety standard here in Australia. That way you know you’re buying quality recovery gear designed to do the job!

And the best part is, the entire 11 piece Hercules Complete Recovery Kit is available for around the same price as some other 4WD shops charge for JUST a snatch strap. That makes the Hercules Complete Recovery Kit absolutely unbeatable value – especially when you see what it’s on sale for today.