A proper cam-buckle tie-down: a steel, spring-loaded cam buckle rated at 1,900 lb tensile strength, bar-tacked several times onto heavyweight 1 in polypropylene webbing. There is a second layer of 2 in webbing bar-tacked underneath the buckle so the metal does not scratch whatever it is sitting on — paint, a canopy, a kayak hull.

A cam buckle beats a ratchet for this kind of work. You cannot over-tension it and crush what you are strapping down, and it releases with a thumb instead of a fight.

Specifications

• Length 15 ft
• Steel spring-loaded cam buckle, 1,900 lb tensile strength
• Heavyweight 1 in polypropylene webbing
• Buckle bar-tacked several times
• 2 in protective webbing bar-tacked under the buckle to prevent scratching
• Color Burgundy

Tensile strength is not a working load limit. 1,900 lb is the buckle’s tensile rating as published by Equinox, not a rated capacity for the assembled strap, and these are utility tie-downs rather than lifting or life-safety equipment.