High quality recovery gear is essential when heading off-road and Adventure Kings recovery gear is not only high quality but feature packed too. With everything from rated shackles right through to 12,000lb 4WD winches if you are intending to head off-road, make sure you’ve stocked up with the  right gear. So how do you know what you actually need for your set up or upcoming trip? Read on to learn the basics of how to choose the right gear, when you’d use what parts of your kit and how to make the most of it in every situation whether you’re heading to the beach or the bush!

One thing that many people who are new to 4WDing overlook is how useful a recovery winch is! The Domin8r X and Domin8r Xtreme are based around a seriously powerful 7.2HP motor and huge 218:1 gear reduction ratio for massive pulling power. They both come loaded with high strength synthetic winch rope rated to 12,000lbs and upgraded internals to take on every challenge. The Domin8r Xtreme takes things one step further with heaps of added inclusions and upgrades – it comes with an alloy fairlead included as well as a wireless remote which makes recoveries so much easier. Inside, the Domin8r Xtreme uses the same tried and tested motor and gearbox as the Domin8r X, but importantly it utilises a new design patent pending brake that offers much improved cooling characteristics and relocates the braking force and heat away from the rope drum and instead moves it to the outer end of the winch. Having a 12V winch on your vehicle means you have insurance against getting bogged or stuck in a precarious situation where without a means of self-recovery you’d risk damaging your vehicle or yourself. Similary a 12,000lb winch is the perfect tool for easily, quickly and safely recovering your mates’ vehicles too!

Along with a winch, a recovery kit is a necessary bit of gear and Adventure Kings offer everything 4WDers need. The Snatch Strap Kit gives you the basics you’ll need to recover your mates, or be recovered yourself – an eight tonne snatch strap, two 4.7T rated bow shackles and a bag to carry it all in. Your Snatch strap should be rated to between two to three times the Gross Vehicle Mass (or GVM) of the lighter of the two vehicles in the recovery so an 8 tonne snatch strap kit is ideal for vehicles around 2.6 to 4T GVM. If you have a heavier vehicle or you’re towing a trailer you may need a heavy duty strap and that’s where an 11T Snatch strap comes into play. When using a snatch strap kit, the idea is to pull the stuck vehicle out of trouble using the free vehicle. So, what you’re looking for is a strap with plenty of stretch to take up the slack and transfer the kinetic energy without immediately yanking the stuck vehicle which could cause damage. Both the Adventure Kings 8T Snatch strap kit as well as the 11T snatch strap use nylon to offer up to 20% stretch!

The next step up is the Essential Recovery Kit – coming with everything you need for snatch recoveries, plus a long list of gear that makes your winch even more useful. There’s a winch block, winch extension strap and a tree trunk protector all packed into a bag that doubles as a winch dampener. So if you need to snatch out a mate, the essential recovery kit has you covered, plus if you have a winch the other items add so much functionality. A winch block acts like a pulley for your winch rope and doubles your pulling power. If you need to reach a distant anchor point for your winch then the winch extension strap is exactly what you need by extending the reach of your winch rope, while the tree trunk protector is necessary when using a tree as an anchor point for your winch hook or winch block as it prevents damage to the tree bark with can eventually kill the tree. So if you already have the basics and you’re starting to head further remote then the Essential recovery kit is a great choice as it will keep you and your mates out of trouble.

Next there’s the complete recovery kit that comes with everything in the essential recovery kit plus a few extra handy items including a folding recovery shovel and a Kwiky Tyre deflator plus a carry bag to store everything in. If you’ve never been off-road before then you might not realise the importance of ‘airing down’ your tyres. Airing down allows the footprint of your tyre to expand with several benefits. If you’re on soft ground or sand the enlarged footprint helps to prevent your vehicle from sinking in, if you’re on rocky or jagged surfaces the softer tyre is able to conform around the rocks more, rather than putting pressure on one point of your tyre and potentially causing a puncture. The complete recovery kit is the one to get if you don’t have any 4WD recovery gear because not only are you covered for airing down but you’re also covered for winching accessories and snatch strap recoveries. It even comes with a small folding recovery shovel which is much more useful than many people give it

Heading off-road means you’ve likely deflated your tyres for more grip and to protect your tyres from damage, that means when you’re back on the road you need to air back up to ensure your vehicle handles properly and your tyres don’t prematurely wear and that’s why you need a 12V Air Compressor. That’s where the Thumper and Thumper Max Twin Piston come into their own! Both featuring a tough steel and alloy frame, as well as alloy pistons, cylinder heads and block they’re able to stand up to serious work. The Thumper Air Compressor offers up to 160L per minute of air flow and a maximum pressure of 150PSI. Step up to the Thumper Max and you get up to 300L per minute air flow up to 125PSI, with an automatic pressure cut off that means you can add a 3 in 1 air tool and control the airflow from the palm of your hand. The Thumper Max and 3 in 1 combo is an essential if you’re always heading off-road and want to air up as fast and easily as possible!