Best off-roading tools and recovery gear in 2020

There are plenty of recovery boards you can buy, but I like to go with the original Maxtrax. I've used them to get a Defender unstuck from Moroccan sand dunes, for vehicle recovery of a stock bug out of silt in Baja, Mexico, and built little bridges across gullies that otherwise would have damaged my front end in Johnson Valley, California. 

The premise is easy. Just dig out under the tires as much as possible and shove the Maxtrax as far under the tire as you can. Slowly roll on to the throttle and your rig will pop up out of the mess you've gotten yourself into. 

The problem with Maxtrax is that it's pretty easy to wear down the hard plastic teeth that do the gripping. One quick spin of the tire and those little guys are melted right down. If you don't trust yourself to be easy on the throttle in recovery, I recommend the heavy duty Maxtrax Xtreme with the replaceable aluminum teeth. Yes, they are more expensive, but your boards will last longer. 

I also recommend a tether of sorts to easily find and pull your Maxtrax out of the sand when you're recovered. There is still one of my Maxtrax buried in the dunes of Glamis somewhere. 

The first time I used my DMOS Delta Shovel was on the Rebelle Rally, changing a tire on the Rolls Royce Cullinan on the side of the road. The jacking points did not account for the suspension droop and we found that while the flat tire came off easily, we would have to dig in the hard pack to make room to get the inflated spare tire on. The 12-gauge steel spade blade made it easy to punch through the rocky dirt, and the adjustable length meant my navigator could use her shovel with a shorter handle and dig from a lower position, while I could extend the Delta to the full 51 inches and dig while standing, taking advantage of the wide, 2-inch foot pad for extra grunt.

The next time I used my Delta folding shovel was in the dunes at Glamis. The spade can be configured to a 90-degree angle, making it super-useful as a sand rake. It's much easier to just pull the soft sand out from under the tires than dig it out. A few pulls with the Delta and I had enough room for my Maxtrax to free the stuck vehicle. After you're all done, the Delta folds up to 24 inches by 11 inches by 2.75 for easy storage. 

The Delta is an expensive folding shovel, but it's virtually indestructible thanks to its quality materials. Buy it once and never buy another off-road shovel again.

So what if you're stuck badly enough that a shovel and Maxtrax just won't do it? Kinetic rope to the rescue! Unlike a traditional tow rope or tow strap, which can snap under heavy loads, a kinetic snatch strap allows the rescuer to get a running start. The rope then stretches and acts kind of like a sling shot to pull you, the rescuee, out of your predicament. 

I like Bubba Ropes as they are UV-resistant and come in a variety of break strengths and lengths. It's best to multiply the weight of your vehicle by four and choose a rope that has a break strength equal or greater to that number. Using this formula, this 19,000-pound rope is best suited for midsize vehicles like Jeep Wranglers.  

Bubba Rope comes with a closed loop end. If your tow points are also closed you'll need a shackle. Again, I like the Bubba Rope brand and have a Gator-Jaw soft shackle. It's stronger than a metal shackle, floats in water and won't rust.

This kinetic rope from Bubba Rope is also UV-resistant, but with a break strength of 28,600 pounds. It has all the same slingshot properties as the Renegade rope above, but it's more suited for heavier vehicles like full-size trucks and SUVs.

There are a lot of expensive tire repair kits out there, but I've been happy with my little Slime kit for years now. The last time I used this kit was to plug a tire on the Rebelle Rally. We eventually needed that tire as a spare. Had I not had the plug kit, our rally would have ended. I'd call that $19 well spent, wouldn't you?

I like this kit because in addition to the plugs, reamer and insertion tool, it also comes with rubber cement, which helps with plug insertion and keeping the plugs in place. Why spend $60 when this compact kit is just as good and three times cheaper?

If you've plugged a tire, then you probably need to add air and there are plenty of air compressors out there. Since I am always in different rigs, I love this portable air compressor from ARB. It's heavy, but it can fill a 35-inch tire from 15 psi to street pressure in 3 to 4 minutes. At 19 feet, the hose is long enough to fill all four tires without having to move the box and the power cord is long enough that I can leave the compressor on the ground and still reach the battery with the alligator clips. I've never had it overheat, even after filling up all four tires and loaning it to air to other rigs on the trail. The only bummer is that it does not come with an integrated gauge, so be prepared with a standalone gauge.

However, the ARB compressor is a bit of overkill for my little lifted Miata with 27-inch tires, so I'm planning on pulling the trigger on this smaller air compressor from Slime, dubbed the 2X. It has an integrated gauge, connects directly to the battery and has a long power cord and hose so I won't have to move it around to get to all four tires.

If you find yourself high-centered on some soft sand, it's gonna take an awful lot of digging to get you out. If you've high-centered on a rock, forget it. You need to get your rig up in the air so you can move that obstacle. Further, if you've got a hole in the sidewall of your tire, you're going to have to change it. You need a jack.

A lot of people go mad for the Hi-Lift jack. You know, those complicated-looking tall jacks, usually red, that Jeepers have proudly strapped to their rig. They have their problems, however. They can be really dangerous if you don't know what you're doing and they are useless for many applications if your truck doesn't have steel bumpers or rock rails. 

The truth is, unless you've got to jack up your truck to the stratosphere, a bottle jack can suffice. It's easier to deal with, it's smaller and it's safer. I like this 12-ton capacity jack from Big Red, as it has a lifting range of 9-⅛ inch to 18-¼ inches. There are models that can handle more or less weight, but the lifting range isn't as much. Remember to bring along a flat piece of wood to use as a jack base.

I'm not saying Hi-Lift jacks don't have a place in recovery gear, because they do. If you have the requisite equipment on your rig and someone to teach you how to use a Hi-Lift, they can be indispensable. You can lift with them, winch with them, clamp with them...heck I even used one to take a tire off a wheel when we needed to patch the rubber from the inside.

Having said that, they require maintenance and training. Remember, Hi-Lift jacks lift the chassis of a vehicle, so if you're changing a tire, you'll have to strap axle to the chassis so it doesn't droop. (See my Rebelle Rally problem in the shovel category). I like this one because it's all-cast, will last forever and the 48-inch size is good for all but the most lifted of rigs. 

So with all this digging and Maxtraxing and such, you'll want to protect your hands. These Ironclad all-purpose gloves are great with padding on the knuckles and a reinforced palm. They are machine-washable and come in XS-XXL, so little lady hands like mine or big man-hands like my dad's are covered.

If you know you're really going to get out there in the rocks, you're going to want a winch. Only one of my vehicles was equipped with a winch, a 1969 Baja bug, and I don't have a ton of experience here, so I talked to Harry Wagner. Wagner is a fellow off-road journalist and a co-driver in the infamous King of the Hammers race, which means he has run a lot of winch line in his day. 

Wagner likes Warn recovery winches for their durability and full product line. While the ultimate performance Zeon model is full of bells and whistles like aluminum tie bars to save weight and solid-state connectors, it's also well over $1,000. Most people will do just fine winching with a standard duty winch. You'll need 1.5x weight capacity so if you're rocking a two-door Jeep Wrangler or other midsize SUV, an 8,000-pound winch should be fine. Go for the synthetic winch cable, as it's lighter than steel and you don't necessarily need gloves to work with it.

Again, like Hi-Lift jacks, winches can be dangerous if you don't know how to use them. Ask a trusted pal for a lesson or get thee to an off-road training class for professional instruction.

For larger vehicles you'll want a winch with a bit more capacity. Again, I'm going with the Warn VR EVO here for the reasons stated above, but at a 12,000-pound rating.