Husky retractable ratchet strap review

Have you ever seen someone driving down the highway at 80 mph carrying a dresser that was about ready to fly out of the back of their truck because they were to lazy to tie it down? If so, it may have been me, as I really hate fumbling around with ratcheting straps. For some reason, I always seem to get frustrated easy while with working the damn things to the point I give up and toss them aside.

The first, and biggest issue I have with these straps is that I can never remember which way the strap goes into the ratchet device. If you don't insert the strap correctly, you won't be able to tighten the load securely. The other issue that I have is I always over tighten, which results in me having one hell of a time trying to loosen them with the little pull latch on the side.

Husky was able to take these issues and some up with an all around better tie down for us to use. The first thing the did was make their new 6' strap retractable.

Instead of having to insert the strap through the slot to tighten, they used a Velcro attachment that keeps the end of the strap attached to the ratchet. Now you will never need to fight with a frayed end going through the slot again

The other issue they solved was the hard to use release mechanism, as the replaces the pull latch with a button that is located right on the handle. To release the strap, all you need to do is push the big red button, and your done.

Now with that being said, there is one downside to the new features that this tie down has to offer. Because it uses Velcro instead of inserting the strap through the slot, the straps are only 6' long. You can pull the extra materiel away from the ratchet, so you are limited to how long it can be.

An easy way to overcome this issue is to use two straps (one hooked to the other to add length), but it's still an issue.

Other than the tie down is a bit shorter than I would like, it is built well and easy to use. I can definitely tie down my items much faster than before, and I don't struggle stall when taking them off.

As for price, a set of two will run you around $20.00. That is a but steep for a couple 6' long 1" wide straps, but they will hold 500lbs each, and are much easier to use than the standard straps on the market.

In the end, I give these straps a 4 star for convenience of use, but took one away for length of the strap.