We live where there is a braided glacial fed river full of silt, and an annual snowfall of around 8 feet. There's no desert here, so don't ask me about sand, but I have multiple recoveries a year in snow/ice and river silt conditions. I have used cheaper alternatives to recovery gear, and they just do not work as well. With a shovel, Maxtrax, an ARB snatch strap, hitchlink, and a couple of shackles, we've recovered everything that's gotten stuck to date. The ARB snatchstrap is not a tow rope, it loads like a bungee cord and ""springs"" the other vehicle out. It is just long enough to position the recovery vehicle in any scenario we've come across, including on two different sides of a tributary. The ARB strap coils tight enough to fit in a ""small-ish"" kit bag with the other recovery kit items except the Maxtrax and shovel. I bought one for the Side by Side, one for the Adventure Van, and one for the Overland/Work/Rescue/Daily-driver Truck. Learn how to use it properly to avoid damage to one of your vehicles, and it is an idespensable piece of gear. Clean it after use and let it dry, and inspect it when it's out. My original one (about 3 years old) has some fraying on the nylon but is still very usable. If the Maxtrax don't work, this gets pulled out right away. During plowing season, I just leave one hooked up to the plow to pull it out of the snowbanks over and over again. Buy one. Buy two, and don't look back.