You may want to throw away your tie-down straps

[isobars]

I have amassed literally scores of tie-down straps over many decades with dirt bikes, snowmobiles, kayaks, windsurfers, skis, coolers, cargo boxes, roof racks, trailers, open-bed 4X4s, SUVs, vans, and more. Now that I found Rollercams, I'm doing two things:
1) selectively replacing my ordinary* straps with Rollercam straps, and
2) kicking myself in the ass for not discovering Rollercams sooner.

* "Ordinary", as in a PITA. As in high to very high friction. As in hard to release, hard to rethread when (not IF) the free end slips free, impossible to use as a pulley, hard to brake when releasing against tension (think dirt bikes) ... just hard to work with altogether compared to anything besides a frigging ROPE. The first time I tugged on a Rollercam strap, my face lit up in a big smile. It lifts as well as a smooth pulley AND it brakes/holds like ... well ... like a smooth brake. In tight spots where I used to have to lift a load by hand, hold it with my other hand, and then fight separately to tighten the strap with my third hand, I now just tug on the free end to raise the load AND tighten the strap all in one smooth, FAR easier motion. Not effort, mind you; just motion.

The Rollercam is hands down superior to anything else on the market (including scrounged military straps), and that's even before they added a spring gate to their hooks. In many applications that keeper gate is absolutely mandatory.

I can't wait 'til Rollercam introduces a heftier strap for SERIOUS loads. These are rated at 350 pound working loads (1,050 break strength), but I want three times that separating a stack of three boards from me when I roll my Outback. (I use 10,000 pound military straps to keep 6 boards behind me in my motor home.)

Note: Heaven forbid you use ratchet straps on anything more fragile than a tree trunk. I've seen kayaks and WS boards crushed by them, and a Thule/Yakima roof box wouldn't stand a chance against them. Besides, ratchets are a PITA.

[paxtonleiny]

Even before they included a spring gate in its hooks, the Rollercam was already miles ahead of the competition, which included salvaged military straps. gorilla tag