Australian Saber Offroad and Factor 55 from the USA are both market leaders in the recovery gear market. We compare their best selling products so you can determine who makes the best gear for your needs.
Gone are the days of attaching a horse to a disabled vehicle and pulling it home … but believe it or not, this was when the concept of vehicle recovery was created, long before automotives were invented.
In the past, it was necessary to have another automobile helping you in your recovery, acting as the ‘horse,’ pulling your stuck vehicle out of its mess. However, in recent years, vehicle recovery has become quite sophisticated, to the point where you seldom require another vehicle to perform a rescue. All that is required is the right recovery gear for your vehicle/trailer setup and some form of stable entity such as a tree. Then you’re free to continue your trip without having to wait around for someone else/emergency services, and without forking out hundreds of dollars each time.
A247 Gear has an extensive range of recovery equipment to suit many different vehicles/applications. It’s no secret that Australia has some of the toughest terrain in the world — arid plains, deep river crossings and unforgiving bushland mean that you need to always be prepared for the worst. And before you think about all the other safety gear you may need on board your touring vehicle, you first and foremost need recovery gear, because when you’re with your partner, family or friends, not labouring over a bogged back end gives you all the more time to enjoy the outdoors with your loved ones.
Get the lowdown on some products from two powerhouse recovery gear manufacturers to help you decide which combination of recovery gear is most appropriate for your needs.
Saber Offroad
Preeminent off road recovery gear brand, Saber Offroad, is a 100 percent Australian-owned and operated company, bringing high-quality recovery gear to the Aussie market. Since 2017, Saber has been making heavy-duty high-quality gear that’s been real-world tested in Australia. It specialises in lightweight soft shackles, winch and kinetic rope and heavy-duty aluminium accessories that complement each other to offer a full recovery solution.
We spoke to Steve Handbury, Saber Offroad’s Director of Product Development, about how and why Saber came into existence. We discovered that due to a lack of good-quality, soft recovery gear that had been tested for Aussie conditions, Ben Bartlett created the Saber name. The vision of the company has always been ‘Safer, smarter, stronger,’ says Steve, with the constant aim of ‘pushing boundaries for innovation and providing a product that is safety tested second to none in the world.’
Now with more than 70 products and 135 dealers Australia wide, Saber is making strides in the touring industry. Learn about its best selling product a bit later.
Factor 55
Hailing from the US, Factor 55 has been around the block a while — since 2012 — creating a name for itself as one of the top manufacturers of closed system winching recovery gear, now operating in external markets worldwide, including Australia.
Like Saber, Factor 55 is dedicated to safety and the destructive testing of its products, setting them apart from competitors in the market. Located in Idaho, the company’s team has extensive experience in the aerospace, defence and semiconductor industry, using these skill sets to bring innovation to the offroading space.
All Factor 55 products are designed in-house using the latest 3D CAD software and optimised using Cosmos FEA (Finite Element Analysis). Each design withstands a destructive test with the assistance of a test facility equipped with test measurement and data recording equipment.
Best selling products
While both Saber and Factor 55 have a variety of specialist recovery gear products, there are someproducts that sell better than the rest. We at A247 like to think that people vote with their money,so we’ll give you a quick rundown of each company’s bestselling product — according to our data —so you can decide which is best for your recovery needs.
The incredible SaberPro HDX Technora Bound Soft Shackle from Saber Offroad is its market darlingproduct — a new approach to and replacing steel shackles and recovery hooks. This incredible high-performance recovery tool is designed to overcome the challenges posed by square-edged ratedrecovery points. The unparalleled strength of the SaberPro Soft Shackle is primarily in its uniqueSaberPro® fibre construction and cut-resistant Technora® binding. This soft shackle is incrediblyversatile across a range of applications, from of course, vehicle recovery, to marine and agriculture.While historically recovery shackles have been metal, the soft shackle is an innovative alternativewhich is safer, stronger, lighter and easier to use.
The coveted UltraHook from Factor 55 is its bestselling product. The Factor 55 UltraHook features anindustry-first closed system shackle mount hold machined into the body of the hook, safety latchretraction pocket resulting in a clear throat opening and integrated secondary safety latch lockingfeature among other properties.
It is the first winch hook that can be stored against your fairleadprotecting either your hawse or roller-style fairlead from metal-to-metal connection. Its superiorfinish and quality, with no sharp edges, finger grip feature and all the necessary information laseretched into the piece, make this a unique tool that ensures safe winch recovery. All these uniquefeatures and properties make the UltraHook one of the best winch hooks on the market.
What makes these two companies special?
The factor, no pun intended, that sets these two companies apart from their competitors is safety. When it comes to manufacturing recovery gear, safety should be the number one priority throughout each stage of the process, ensuring the highest standards and regulations have been met.
When we spoke to Steve from Saber Offroad, he noted the company’s dedication to safety and product testing, and how these are the cornerstones of their whole operation. The process of building Saber gear always starts with the drawing of a random sample and then destruction testing that sample to ensure it meets the stated MBS minimum breaking strength. Beyond this, multiple tests are carried out to see how the products perform in different environments and situations. In reference to the soft shackle mentioned above, Steve says, ‘These are tested fully wet to prove a misconception that soft shackles are weaker when wet.’
When Factor55 first entered the market, it brought the discipline of sound engineering to its manufacturing. An unlikely connection you might think, but this gives Factor 55 a unique approach to creating its recovery products — a testimony to the brand’s success. Factor 55 is the owner of an impressive number of patents, not just in the US but across China, Canada, Europe, the UAE and Australia too. Since inception, the company has continued to innovate, and we can’t wait to see what it does next.
The wrap
While both companies have a reputation for their high-quality and innovative products, the recovery gear that best suits you will come down to your personal circumstances and the requirements of your rig. They each have slightly different specialities and whether these meet your needs will largely depend on varying factors. So, we’ll leave it up to you to decide “who makes the best gear.”
