damper vs a 'tether' on snatch straps

[danielbeek]

Trying to understand why dampers seem to be commonly advertised and mentioned in recovery articles, but never see mention of simply having a tether tied to the vehicle and the end of the snatch strap (for each end)?
Wouldn't a tether with a couple meters slack stop any shackles etc buggering off with the snatch strap at high speed to the other vehicle's rear windscreen? I'd have thought some spectra line of a couple of tons WLL would be ample to halt a shackle and misc attached car hardware, once the strap has contracted and lost it's energy? Less distance the gear can fly the less chance of harm surely?

Clearly I'm a novice, so go easy on me!

[wjw]

Trying to understand why dampers seem to be commonly advertised and mentioned in recovery articles, but never see mention of simply having a tether tied to the vehicle and the end of the snatch strap (for each end)?
Wouldn't a tether with a couple meters slack stop any shackles etc buggering off with the snatch strap at high speed to the other vehicle's rear windscreen? I'd have thought some spectra line of a couple of tons WLL would be ample to halt a shackle and misc attached car hardware, once the strap has contracted and lost it's energy? Less distance the gear can fly the less chance of harm surely?

Clearly I'm a novice, so go easy on me!

Personally I avoid using shackles on snatch straps, sometimes there is not choice, but proper hooks at both ends is the best way.

I would say its far quicker to throw a damper over, than add tethers at both ends.

[Smurf]

Snatch recoveries are usually done with pace and a bit of force. So if your snatch strap breaks, the recovery vehicle shoots forward under speed, your tether rope now goes tight and also snaps, You now have two ropes acting like projectiles and heading towards vehicles/people etc. with a shackle in the mix potentially.
A damper hopefully stays with the rope and makes it drop to the ground out of harms way.
Always use the least amount of hardware possible in a recovery. Use joining sticks to join ropes/straps together instead of shackles, always use a proper rated hook where possible instead of a shackle.
That said if a rope that is shackled to a vehicle breaks then the shackle should stay attached to the vehicle as it will be attached through a substantial solid piece of steel that will not let go. So again a damper over the rope makes the snapped rope fall to the ground.