Update: Our recovery success rate with two sets of traction boards has slipped from 3-0 to 3-1. You can watch the results on Casey Ladelle's channel here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UohJA1KPhFU.html . We'll have our own video up soon covering the lessons that we learned and some of the limitations that traction boards have. Be sure to subscribe if you want to see it!
That was a great comparison especially nice that you pointed out the difference in the lugs on the boards. I’ve been using ActionTrax for the last few years and they’ve been working pretty good. About 15 years ago i got stuck in the snow and I had to walk 12 miles to get cell service to have someone bring me a shovel and a Come Along. That was a long day, wish I’d had some traction boards then.
Thanks Scott! The tiny lugs on the end are the biggest con of the Maxsas. We haven’t used the ActionTrax yet but I know they are as close as you can get to a Maxtrax clone. I’d imagine they work quite well. That’s quite the experience! One bad trip like that leaves a big impression. We bought the Maxtrax after the bad recovery featured in the video, and a winch followed shortly after. Never want to be there again!
I bought a pair of Maxsa boards in 2015 and another in 2019. I'm really glad I bought cheap ones and learned how best to use them, I spun way too much on my first set and did a fair amount of melting damage to them. I also learned 4 is way way better than two, especially on an open diff vehicle. As well as that doing enough digging to be able to rock the vehicle slightly really helps with engagement. I'll likely replace them soon mainly for the better stacking/mounting of Maxtrax or Actiontrax.
Thanks for sharing Zane! And agreed on all fronts. Our Maxsas have taken a lot of abuse too, much better to learn those lessons on the cheaper boards. The rocking is key, as long as you can move the vehicle a little bit the boards can usually get the job done.
Just found you through Casey LaDelle’s channel. I’ll look forward to going through your back catalog of vids. soon. Good comparison. From past experiences I’m of the mind set of “buy once - cry once”. To many times I’ve bought the cheaper version only to have it fail after a few uses. Personally going with the higher quality stuff from the get-go and it has served me better in the long run. A cheaper back up is not bad ideal but I normally go for the higher quality first.
Thanks a lot JD! And completely agreed, if you know you are going to use the gear its best to buy the right product the first time. The budget boards got the job done when snow driving wasn't practically a daily occurrence for us in the winter. Now that we're in it a lot we're glad to have the Maxtrax, and will eventually pick up a 2nd set.
Great video and explanation. I had those Maxsa boards for 4 years, they traveled the country with me twice and got me out of some wicked spots, last year I tried to get a E350 van out of mud and he didn't hear me yell, BRAKE and he just kept spinning the rear tires till it melted my board straight through. Not a bad run for just over $100. I have a set of maxtrax now and can definitely see the difference in quality and durability though. Cheers ✌🏼
Thanks Ryan! Yeah spinning tires on these is a killer, that’s quite the extreme example. Admittedly a nice reason to have a set of cheaper boards handy… not nearly as big of a deal if they get wrecked when you’re doing the right thing by trying to help someone else 😆
I really enjoyed this. Good real world comparison. Something is better then nothing for sure. I’ve seen others stuck that a set of any boards probably would have got them out. But like in my case, the Ram weighs in at 9800 lbs, I could see cheaper boards just crushing under the weight. So we have max. But your look into the smaller nibs vs the larger was well said. Great work!
Thanks!! We’re working on more content like this. You bring up a great point with the weight capacity of the boards for bigger rigs. Also when a heavy truck gets stuck it really gets stuck and it’s nice to have every advantage to get it out!
As long as you stay out of snow, sand or mud they aren’t totally necessary! We’ve used them a lot more since moving to the mountains. @chambersfamily overland had a good point for heavier rigs: Maxtrax rates their boards for 10-15k 4x4s. Many of the off brands won’t last long with a big Ram!
@@Western-Wild I’m in the sand lot, and have no issues there. Low psi and heavy throttle takes care of that, but I’ll sink in the mushy snow pretty easily if I’m not careful. I’m going to have to consider some boards in the near future for sure!
Thanks for the sub Ola! And I can confirm, Casey is just as cool and kind as he appears on camera. Super grateful to him and Ben for helping us out the other day.
Thanks for bringing these up! There is a big tradeoff with the Xtremes in that they are more likely to get you out… but also much more likely to rip up your tires in the process. Maxtrax really markets them for military, competition and industrial applications where tire life is less of an issue. We’d rather melt teeth on a $165 board than replace a $250 tire in most conditions… unless of course it’s really an emergency situation.
@@Western-Wild I get that, but I've got a set of both regular and Xtreme Maxtrax, and the teeth on the Xtreme definitely bite better, so you get less tire spin than the regular teeth. No tire damage if you're not spinning tires trying to get traction on the board.
You need better throttle control to even compare them… your just shooting them out with all the wheel spin… very low wheel spin is the best for traction boards
Great point about the importance of controlling wheel spin. An ideal test would have involved getting all four wheels stuck, and then putting the transfer case into 4lo to let the truck slowly idle onto the boards. We didn't have a recovery vehicle for this shoot and didn't want to risk fully getting stuck with the light fading that day, thus the 2WD approach. Since we were in 2hi all of the torque went to the rear wheels, I could have been a little gentler on the throttle but even a light touch causes significant spin (its actually one of the complaints about the 2nd gen Tundra off-road). Honestly with the Maxsas I don't think it would have made that big of a difference. Because the knobs on the end of the board are so small the tires tend to just spin on them even in an idle position (I have seen this happen many times). Momentum is required to get on top... which is really a design flaw. The Maxtrax are a different story, with a little more finesse I could have crawled on top of them. In any case I'm usually not too concerned about the boards flying forward as long as the truck moves a few feet in the other direction, that's almost always enough to get the job done when 4WD is activated.
"... your just shooting them...", oops and all too common spelling and grammar error, it should be either you are or you're. Yes, when spoken your and you're sound the same. When written, your and you're have completely different usages and meanings. Remember, when writing your, that which following belongs to the person you are writing to or about. Hope this helps you and others as well. Cordially,
I find these boards to be fantastic. However, as you pointed out yourself in the video, the inexpensive boards have application with street/passenger vehicles. No point in paying $300 more dollars for a board that will do you no better for the vehicle you drive. Also it should be noted that a tool used improperly makes no difference in the quality of the tool used. Consumers should know that if you are in a situation where you get stuck you shouldn’t spin your tires trying to get out. You should stop immediately upon the loss off traction/movement. With out spinning your tires, drive your vehilce in the opposite direction you need to go as far as what little traction you have will allow or the few inches necessary, which ever is appropriate for the situation. Then push the track boards under the tires as far as they will go. (Note: fill in holes made from initial spin with hard material if possible) Then drive out slow and steady. Do not spin tires. Do not try to shot gun out of situation. Finally It would be helpful if these this could be mad longer or at least able to interconnect for more length when needed. These recovery boards are not magic. They are the same as the plywood you would use for the same purpose accept they are cleaner, reusable and you can keep them stored with you instead of searching and losing time.
That’s all spot on in our experience! They aren’t a get out of jail free card and using them appropriately takes some practice. Great points all around!
Content like this makes the world a worst place. Maybe actually get stuck to test? Be smart And bring a friend with a recovery strap in case the boards don’t work. These things are just a cosmetic garnish. Imagine not having a folding saw in the woods or a recovery strap.
I don't think you actually watched the video since we mentioned straps and winches in the first 30s lol. Three real world traction board recoveries were featured in addition to the test segments which were setup intentionally to create an apples to apples comparison. The test mirrored the results that we have experienced in the field. This video was exclusively intended to compare two traction board brands, but we have other winter wheeling content that covers your points about essential gear and exploring with a friend. Maybe you can consider subscribing and checking those videos out as well.
We don’t have a dog in that hunt. We’ve bought both and used both extensively. In a head to head the Maxtrax are better than the Escaper Buddies. Are they worth the substantial price premium? That’s up to the individual buyer and their needs.
