A tow strap, 4" x 8' rated to 40,000 lb., grey with reinforced black ends and a storage bag.

A tow strap is a static strap — minimal stretch, meant for towing and steady dragging. That is the opposite of a kinetic rope, which is built to stretch and snap back. Using a tow strap for a running-start recovery puts the whole shock into the recovery points instead of the strap, and that is how bumpers get torn off.

This size is a bridle-length strap, short and very strong, for wrapping an anchor or joining to another strap rather than spanning a gap.

Loop ends rather than metal hooks, which is what you want — a hook is a projectile if it lets go, and loops connect cleanly to a soft shackle or a rated point.

Always pull from a rated recovery point. A tow ball, a bumper bracket or a factory tie-down loop is not one. Rated points are bolted to the frame and marked as such — if you are not sure what your vehicle has, find out before you need it, not while you are buried to the axles.

Lay a recovery damper — a heavy blanket or purpose-made bag — over the line before any pull under load. If something lets go, it drops the line instead of letting it whip.