- Can you use a snatch block for synthetic rope? Usually yes, if the groove suits the line. A block sized for steel will crush a smaller synthetic line.
- A winch ring does the same job with no sheave, no bearings and no latch. 2.2 lbs, MBS 79,590 lbs.
- In one recovery Rick runs both: a snatch block on each of two winches to double their pull, and Yankum winch rings in a 5:1, big enough that the knot joining two lines goes straight through. In another, he uses a conventional block because that truck has no synthetic rigging yet.
- The ring has hard limits: HMPE up to 7/16 inch only, never steel, bumper winches 12,000 lbs or less, never past 5:1.
- Murphy's sells the ring, not blocks. For a block: Zips AW Direct.
1. One Rig, Two Tools
A brand-new CAT skid steer is frozen solid under six to eight inches of ice on a Nebraska farm, and Rick's family flew fifteen hundred miles to get it out before the thaw makes things worse. This is what choosing between a snatch block for synthetic rope and a winch ring actually looks like on the job: in one recovery, Rick uses both in the same rig.
Along the way he splices a loop into one of his synthetic lines, on camera:
"I've got to put a loop in one of my synthetic lines because I pulled these lines off of some winch drums cuz I knew I was going to need a bunch of extensions."— Nobody Would Save This Small Business… So My Family Flew 1500 Miles
Hitching two winch lines together, he explains the part that actually earns the ring its keep:
"And the cool thing about Yankum's winch rings is the hitch will go through them because they're so big. So, that way we don't have to unrig all this line. We can just keep moving back as we winch this thing out."— Nobody Would Save This Small Business… So My Family Flew 1500 Miles
That's the ring's bonus, in Rick's own words: it's big enough that the knot joining two winch lines goes straight through, so the crew can keep moving back as they winch instead of stopping to unrig. The rings multiply the pull, too. They're the Yankum 5:1 in the same rig, which Rick says “multiplies that 8,000 by five on each side,” and later he's watching “those little winches with Yankum's five to one winch rings just dragging skid steers around with their spades in the ice.”
2. Can Synthetic Run Through a Regular Block?
Usually — and the label is what decides it, not a guess. Here's the same Rick, same recovery, putting a snatch block to work on two 4,000-lb Warrior winches:
"And I've got a snatch block on each one of those, doubling its line pull to 8,000 lb per winch."— Nobody Would Save This Small Business… So My Family Flew 1500 Miles
What decides whether YOUR block can do that on synthetic is the label. Zips AW Direct, who supply the heavy side of this business, put it plainly: blocks "are compatible with both synthetic line and steel cable," and "each snatch block is dual labeled with its pulling capacity and acceptable rope size."[1]
So read the label, and not just the capacity — the acceptable rope size, because the groove is where synthetic gets hurt.
Grand Lifting, an industrial rigging supplier, spells out the failure mode: "Using a wire rope in a block designed for synthetic rope will damage both. Conversely, a large wire rope block will crush a smaller synthetic rope. The sheave groove must be the correct size and material for the rope."[2]
A big steel-rated sheave has a wide, hard groove, and slim synthetic run into it under load flattens into the bottom instead of sitting in it. Do that a few times and you've aged a rope that still looks fine. That's the failure you don't see coming.
And synthetic has no margin to give away. BFGoodrich: it "is now the preferred standard for winching," and "while it's more vulnerable to abrasion, it offers a much higher breaking strength."[3] Stronger, less tolerant of being chewed on.
3. What a Winch Ring Replaces
A winch ring is solid, and the line just wraps around it. Nothing spins, nothing pivots, nothing latches shut. So where did all the parts go?
Take the moving parts out and a list of problems goes with them: no bearings to seize, no side plates to bend, no pin to lose in the mud. Zips recommends daily inspection of each block before use[1] — a job a ring simply doesn't have.
The weight is what surprises people. It's 2.2 lbs, and it's rated MBS 79,590 lbs, pull-apart tested. That's stout for something you can put in a jacket pocket. The store's claim: two rings and three soft shackles do the job of four snatch blocks and five hard shackles. 6061 aircraft aluminium, Type III hard anodized, machined in southern Idaho.
Then there's the offset hole, the bit that earns the name. On a 2:1 you run the line through the hole instead of the groove, so it can't fall out when tension drops. That's a perfect fix for a stupid problem. Ever watched a line hop off a sheave and had to walk back and re-rig it? Then you know.
Machined 6061 aircraft aluminium, Type III hard anodized. MBS 79,590 lbs pull-apart tested, 2.2 lbs, 5 inches across. Synthetic HMPE up to 7/16 inch only, on electric bumper winches rated 12,000 lbs or less. Offset hole keeps the line put on a 2:1. Made by Yankum Ropes.
4. When a Conventional Block Is Still Right
Here's the part a store doesn't usually print: Murphy's doesn't sell snatch blocks. It sells the ring. So take the next bit as it's meant — there are jobs where a ring is the wrong answer, and you should go buy a block from someone who sells them.
Rick shows one of those jobs in a different episode. He's redirecting a pull off a tree to keep a lifted truck from swinging into a door, and he tells you straight why it's a conventional block:
"We're using the snatch block as a redirection and we're having to use a conventional snatch block because we don't have synthetic rigging on the Midnight Express yet."— "No One In Arizona Would Rescue Them… Now I Know Why!"
Steel line, conventional block. No debate about it. So go conventional when:
- You're running steel cable. The ring's label says never steel. Not a preference — a prohibition.
- The winch is bigger than a bumper winch. The ring's for electric bumper winches rated 12,000 lbs or less, and is "NOT designed for heavy-duty wrecker use."
- Your line is over 7/16 inch. Above that, the ring is out.
- It's an overhead job. The ring's warning says not for overhead use.
When Rick needs a conventional block it comes from Zips AW Direct. Buy it there, not here, and nobody has to pretend.
5. The Ring's Limits, in Its Own Words
The warning on the ring's page is unusually blunt for product copy. Read it before you buy, not after:
- Synthetic HMPE line only, no larger than 7/16 inch. Never steel cable.
- Electric bumper-mounted winches rated 12,000 lbs or less.
- Not designed for heavy-duty wrecker use, and not for overhead use.
- Start at a single line pull and work up. Overload risk on your points rises with every stage.
- Never exceed a 5:1 pull. A 4:1 is professionals only, with two rings, a safety catch sling and double loop 7/16-inch soft shackles.
That fourth line is the one people skip. The ring's rated 79,590 lbs. Your recovery points are not, and the page says so: in these configurations it's easy to exceed the rating of some tow points. The hardware doubling your pull doesn't know what it's bolted to.
Want the technique instead? That's the next one: how to double your winch's pull with a block or winch ring.
6. Which One Belongs on Your Bumper
| Conventional Snatch Block | Offset Winch Snatch Ring | |
|---|---|---|
| Steel cable | Yes, if labelled for it | Never |
| Synthetic line | Yes, if the groove suits it | HMPE up to 7/16" |
| Winch size | Up to its rated capacity | Electric bumper winch, 12,000 lbs or less |
| Moving parts | Sheave, bearings, pin, latch | None |
| Maintenance | Lubrication and daily inspection | Nothing to grease |
| Weight | Varies with capacity | 2.2 lbs |
| Where to buy | Zips | Murphy's |
2.2 lbs, MBS 79,590 lbs. Synthetic HMPE up to 7/16 inch, bumper winches 12,000 lbs or less.
What the ring hangs from. Long enough for an awkward anchor, no steel in the rigging.
Shields synthetic line from trees, rocks and the bumper face. Five fitments.
A 10,000 lb electric winch on synthetic, under the ring's ceiling. Aluminium fairlead and hook included.
Both bend a loaded line around a corner. That corner carries more force than the pull does.
- Match the hardware to the line. Never steel through the ring, and never a steel-groove block on slim synthetic: "a large wire rope block will crush a smaller synthetic rope."[2]
- Read the label, not the internet. Every block's dual labelled with capacity and rope size.[1] The ring's ceiling is a 12,000 lb bumper winch.
- Know your recovery point ratings first. In multi-part configurations it's easy to exceed the rating of some tow points, and the ring's page says know them before use.
- Inspect a block every use. Grand Lifting: a block "must be visually inspected before every single use." Anything shock-loaded comes out of service.[2]
- Stay out of the line. "A good safety rule is to stand farther back than the full length of the winch line."[3] With a block or ring in the rig, there's line on both sides.
- Gloves. "Do not winch without gloves."[3]
Sources
- Zips AW Direct, "Get to Know Snatch Blocks." Verbatim 2026-09-19. zips.com/blog/get-to-know-snatch-blocks-their-uses-parts-and-care
- Grand Lifting, "How to Use a Snatch Block." Verbatim 2026-09-19. grandlifting.com/blog/how-to-use-a-snatch-block-for-industrial-lifting-and-rigging
- BFGoodrich Tires, "4x4 Driving Guide — Recovery Techniques." Verbatim 2026-09-19. bfgoodrichtires.com/auto/learn/4x4-driving-guide/recovery-techniques
- Offset Winch Snatch Ring product page — warning and specs. Fetched 2026-09-19. murphysdiesel.com/products/offset-winch-snatch-ring
Pick by the Line You Run
Steel cable, heavy winch, overhead work: conventional block, and Zips is where Rick gets his. Synthetic up to 7/16 inch on a bumper winch: the ring's lighter, needs nothing, and can't fall off when tension drops. In one recovery, Rick ran both in the same rig, a block on each winch and rings in a 5:1, proof they're not rivals. Know which job you're doing before you buy either.