If you’ve ever used a Strapinno retractable ratchet strap, you probably already appreciate the obvious part — the strap retracts when you’re finished with it, so there’s no loose webbing to wind up and no tangled mess to deal with.
But there’s another little feature that may be easy to overlook.
These things lock.
Strapinno’s retractable ratchet straps use a locking position that keeps the webbing from pulling back out once you’ve set the strap to the desired length. From there, the ratchet handle can be cranked back and forth to tighten the load.
And yes, that sounds like something you would expect from a ratchet strap. But seeing the mechanism in action makes the design a little more interesting.
For Strapinno’s Dual Lock transom straps, the system is designed specifically for securing boats and personal watercraft on trailers. The stainless-steel version uses a 1 7/8-inch-wide, 4-foot polyester webbing strap with a 550-pound Working Load Limit and 1,650-pound breaking strength per strap. The straps also retract back into their housings when released, keeping everything contained when they’re not being used.
The basic operation is straightforward. Pull the webbing out while the handle is in the release position, attach the hook to the desired anchor point, move the handle into the locked position, and then ratchet the strap tight. When it’s time to unload, return the handle to the release position and the webbing retracts back into the housing.
It’s not exactly the sort of feature that demands a 20-minute tutorial.
But sometimes it’s the little details that make a piece of equipment easier to live with.
And apparently, even after looking at these things for a while, there are still features worth discovering.
