Factor 55 Blog

A little Friday reminder for those of you that would like to eliminate the traditional steel tube thimble on the end of your winch line and run a “soft loop” termination instead. We manufacture billet aluminum load spools for this purpose. The load spools simply fit over the titanium shear pins on our winch line shackle mount products and provide the minimum bend radius dictated by the Cordage Institute (CI 1500). Take a look at some of the IRT workshop presentation slides and note that to properly tensile test rope eyes, the standards dictate minimum D/d ratios from 1.5 -2. If...

Alright Factor 55 Nation, the moment you’ve been waiting for. Remember, this particular Factor 55 test was only to determine ultimate breaking strength differences and not whether during cycles of tension and slack, one configuration is a more secure attachment than the other. All tests were conducted without any possible sharp edges affecting the tests. D/d of 4-6.   INTERNET MYTH – The breaking point of a common soft shackle is highest when the knot is up against the rigging. Is it? Well the answer is NO. Take a look at the test sheets and the pile of destroyed test...

Take a look at the attached images of Factor 55 soft good products. Not only are these products manufactured in the USA, they are also individually serialized and legibly labeled with WLL and manufacture date. The labels may appear to look the same but they are not. Look closely and you will see that each and every rigging product is marked with a unique serial number. Why go through the extra trouble of printing all of these individual labels? – Simple actually. It allows for material lot traceability and product age data. Factor 55 – Engineered, Tested and Made In...

Terradyne Armored Vehicles, manufacturers of the Gurkha Tactical Armored Vehicle has chosen Factor 55 LLC as the supplier of Closed System Winching™ Safety Solutions. A favorite of the Armed Forces and Tactical Law Enforcement agencies, the Gurkha is a lightweight and highly maneuverable (GVW of 16-20K) armored vehicle.   When the engineers at Terradyne were looking for a safer and more secure method of winch cable attachment, the Made In USA Factor 55 winch shackle mounts was their first choice. Closed System Winching™ with a Factor 55 winch cable shackle mount eliminates the hazards of conventional winch hooks and is...