Porche -

I was trying to be brief, but that's what I was referring to...and, I've seen pins bend that way....a fabric loop, regardless of its thickness, tends to concentrate the load on the center of the pin.

We have a ASTM test rig in the shop, and we do failure analysis on structural loads, etc...and the pins can hold fine if within the insert, but can fail when merely strapped directly.

Yes- they can take a good deal of load w/o failing, but, they are NOT as strong as the hitch...as in they break/bend BEFORE the hitch is damaged...every time.

I think the saving grace for the technique is that the vast majority of pulls are much lower loads than the winches or trucks are capable of, so you could theoretically use the technique your entire life, and never have a problem...or have it break the first time, all depending upon the exact circumstances.

I think a hook is the most convenient to throw a loop over, and that the D-shackle is the least convenient...as it requires you to unbolt it every time....which takes about 5 seconds, vs 0 sec to throw over the loop. (Yes, I keep the threads lubed...)

On longer pulls, the loop can pop off of the hook, it never comes off of the D of course....and for hairy winching on precipices, etc...I don't trust hooks to not get knocked off a winch hook...I like to get the winch hook locked onto a D-shackle if possible when the terrain/situ is gnarly and the truck's are bouncing around as they're dragged along.



I keep hitting my leg on the stupid hitch thing, and cars behind me tend to get hooks more easily embedded, so the D-Shackle is a bit less dangerous, and for me, an acceptable compromise.

For most wheeling though, a hook is much easier to work with, and a hitch pin is the same convenience as a D-Shackle, but more prone to failure.

If the hitch pins were 7/8" or 1" diameter like my D-Shackle bolts, that would be different, but they are way skinnier than that.