A winch is probably the most effective off-road recovery tool a 4×4 can have fitted to it, but you can make yours even more capable with a simple piece of recovery gear: a snatch block.

WHAT IS A SNATCH BLOCK?

A snatch block is a pulley that’s covered by a clever metal case. Snatch blocks are used as a pulley point in vehicle-based winch recoveries to redirect the course of a winch line or to lessen the load placed on the winch during the recovery.

Snatch blocks are designed and manufactured with high working load limits to ensure they can effectively handle the extreme loads that winch recoveries can place on your recovery gear.

WHEN SHOULD YOU USE A SNATCH BLOCK?

Put simply, a snatch block should be used in winch recoveries where a standard straight-line pull won’t be enough to recover a stuck vehicle or overcome an obstacle. The most common examples of this include:

1. When your anchor point is offset to the side to such a degree that you need to redirect the winch line to access it. Winches are incredibly powerful in straight lines, and so by using a snatch block we can still access this power. Winch line redirects can be used in a huge assortment of winch situations, including tactical track management and obstacle avoidance.
2. When the power of your winch has the potential to fall short of the power needed to recover the stuck vehicle. A classic example of this is a vehicle stuck in deep mud where you need to overcome powerful suction from the terrain to extract the vehicle – in this situation, we would want to consider using a more advanced recovery technique, such as a double-line pull or triple-line pull, to increase our chances of a safe and successful recovery.

SNATCH BLOCKS AND WINCH CAPACITYDouble-line pulls and triple-line pulls use snatch blocks to gain a mechanical advantage that dramatically reduces the load your winch experiences during these types of recoveries. For example: in a double line pull, you run the winch line out to a snatch block that’s attached to your anchor, and then run the winch line back to a rated recovery point on your vehicle.

DO I NEED A SNATCH BLOCK IN MY RECOVERY KIT?

The physics behind how a snatch block works is so interesting because it can be applied in a real-world situation when you’re off-road, but how likely are you to need one?

The answer to this question is not cut and dried, but we can frame the question on your own terms to help you decide for yourself. At its core, vehicle recovery is not a sign of a trip gone wrong – in fact, the potential to get stuck is possible in most kinds of terrain, whether that’s sand, mud, rock or otherwise. So, by having the ability to get unstuck, you can travel to more places with the confidence you’ll make it home on time and in one piece.