So I own the maxtrax extremes with the aluminum teeth and this past winter in the cold during a snow recovery, one of those boards shattered into multiple pieces. At $250 a board I was a bit tender about it. So I took the board back to maxtrax USA in Prescott Arizona and with no questions asked they gave me a new board. I don’t think anybody knows the maxtrax come with a lifetime warranty.
Yup, the warranty is a big deal and makes the extra cost even more worth it. Not sure they would warranty mine since I'm abusing them intentionally, but who knows. I'm undecided on the Extremes for the next truck build. I want to get 2 sets, and 2 sets of the Extreme are near the cost of a winch.
The warranty is great but they should absolutely be able to handle extreme cold for $250. I have Maxtrax for my overlander and cheapo $70 boards for my work vehicle(a 10k pound Ford transit) and those cheapo boards have held up under that van in below 0 Fahrenheit
Stumbled across your vid here looking for alternative traction boards to MaxTrax. Damn good vid and informative, no sugarcoating, no bullshit and no crazy ass, punishing music to have to put up with. Subbed and keep up the good work. 10/10
Here in Australia, everyone who can afford it (and understands value for money) buys MaxTrax. Ronny Dahl has done a comprehensive comparison video between MaxTrax and the usual competitors, and the results are conclusive - buy the best, forget the rest. Cheap recovery boards are a false economy.
I am with you 100% on that. Cheap stuff fails at the time you need it most. I think the only exception is a winch, since basically all of them are Chinese at this point.
Wow that was a real cliffhanger watching you take the different traction board through the pace. I can see why people pay so much more for the max tracks. Good video 👍
If you are on a budget and don’t go off road to extreme places cheap ones we’ll do the job for the just in case scenario. But if you like the extreme off roading Maxtrax is the way to go for any situation and durability. Great review.
Thanks man! Yeah assuming they survive my winter testing, we will use them a bit in Baja here in a few months. Traveling solo a lot, I prefer having the highest quality, but having a group of people like we will in Baja it will be nice to have boards to hand off to each truck so everyone has some form of self recovery.
@@IndependenceOverland My wife and I do a lot off road on either our SxS Can am X3, ATV’s or an 07 FJ Cruiser we use to explore and overland, currently doing upgrades to it little by little, a lot ideas for our FJ Cruiser I am getting ‘em from your channel. Hopefully in the future we have the pleasure to meet you in person and may be join your group on an adventure. Have fun in Baja and looking forward for those videos.
@@offroadaddiction2073 likewise man! You never know who you might run into on the trail or at one of the Expos. I appreciate the support! I look forward to going on an adventure at some point!
Great job with your review and going that extra mile in creating real world scenarios. Questions; would a recovery line buried in the sand be a better option? A/b winch or tire wrap line? Great comment about plastic and flexing. You sir are a bridging mad man 🤯💥💯👍💪🤙
Be a better option for recovery vs the traction boards? If that's what you mean, then no. Traction boards are so easy to throw down and use that its much better than dealing with a winch by far. I would say 95% of the time traction boards will do the trick. If I misunderstand your question, please clarify. I appreciate you watching!
@@IndependenceOverland I have seen traction boards do the trick quickly and easily. Winches are what they are . My main question was around those new types of recovery Ropes and netting. There is one that looks like a slingshot band which is buried in the sand then used to pull the rig out. At the level of needing to burry a tire in the sand. I've seen another that wraps around the tire like a snow chain but is a poloy nylon rope material that once wraps around the dire the winding by tire spin pulls it right out. Sorry for my layman's explanation. Our Expedition camper is in design phase and we are around 15k lbs Dry weight so looking at options that would compliment or surpass recovery boards.
Great review. I picked up 2 sets of X-Bull tracks on sale for $60 ea. I've used them in sand and snow, no plans on using as a bridge. Not spinning the tires on the board is key. If these wear out I'll replace with Max Tracs.
Drill a bunch of holes thro plastics. No more suction well less for sure. Straps also help, old ratchet straps cut to length work good n cheap. Nice vids
Thanks Michael. Yeah straps can get you out in a pinch. I would assume drilling holes would effect the integrity of the plastics on the boards, assuming they were designed in a proper way that it was all designed for strength. I will be posting a video soon of these same boards being used in the snow, and some cracked immediately.
@@IndependenceOverland drill holes on the earth flat side even a dozen should unstuck them n should not affect strength. Lots of items made have holes or cut outs n they remain their strength. But it's only my 2 cents haha n not my boards. There is another channel that tested a few diff boards . Good to see more reviews n tests. Happy trails and safe travels everyone.
Great Review. Good Show. I'm now just a bit confused as Nothing Seems to work 100% as we would wish. Well actually I have a slight issue with the price of the MaxTrac but maybe should Shut Up as they have such a solid warranty. THX👍
If I get the chance I’ll test them all out. I’ve never used Actiontrax yet. Maybe one of these days I can get my hands on some and I will post up my results.
The “stress fractures”, where they discolor, can be quickly repaired in a few seconds with a heat gun. Once torn, then no, but discoloring is not a big deal.
Anyone thought about old tires? Taking the round side walls off and then cutting the metal circle into a straight line. Then put the circle below the line and see if can get out. It may work, or not, but they would not shatter
When I bought my gladiator about a month ago I ask if they could give me a discount for shit in the dealer part store and I got them to give me maxtrax and a hilift for 250
Great video and comparison. I’m looking for boards for my two wheel drive Campervan as we are off to Morocco. I reckon the cheaper versions will be ok for sand but maybe I will drill holes in the boards and add metal bolts/nuts/lugs in a few strategic positions to add traction and avoid melting. Saw this done by another channel and it seemed to work well.
My tale away is, buy the cheaper boards no matter what. Look if i can get 2 pairs for the price of one pair... Then im way ahead. Watching those cheaper boards get you out of sand and then you are pubishing them in a climb making them flex loke that? Come on dude, at least 70% of us are never going to use then in that fashion and i just think that the few times we need to use them to get out of some sand or snow are well within the cheap boards likits of usability even multiple times. And in the rare event that we need them to clear a gap or whatever... I have 2 pairs! Abuse the shit out on one pair and use the other pair for general use. I have lived by "you get what you pay for" but sometimes common sense needs to prevail, especially when a market is flooded with a bunch of newbie consumers eager to spend cash on the top gear. Anyone following the mountain biking scene since 2020 and covid-19 should know and understand this.
Common sense isn’t part of it, that’s kind of asshole way to word that. In the second video I did on these in the snow, the black ones shattered pretty much right away. The pink ones got so stiff that they basically no longer functioned because the knobs aren’t good enough to really hook a tire when they are cold. If I take a cheap set down to Mexico/Arkansas/ PNW on a 2 week trip and they break, I am instantly at a disadvantage if I planned to get remote. One of my tools is now gone. Actually using them to bridge a gap isn’t common, but if your in a mud pit and stuck them under a front tire trying to to climb out of something, you have a rounded hole with a flat board. Your putting forward force on the center of the board, similar to bridging it. If they can’t hold up to bending then it’s a problem for more than just a bridge. If your someone who bolts them to the roof rack so the neighbors think your cool and you camp 3x a year, the cheap ones might be perfect for you. For those that actually find themselves in squirrelly circumstances fairly often, I recommend the Maxtrax.
@@IndependenceOverland hey sorry if you felt like I was taking a shot at you personally. I don't have the experience required to go toe to toe with you on this. I will say this though, at $60 for a pair (I think that's what you said, I'm not going to go back to get the exact quote) but maybe you can spend double that, get much better quality and still buy a second pair for the same or close to the same as the max trax... I rarely, if ever buy the cheapest. Most of the time I buy the best that I can afford. And seeing as how these are plastic and they're just never going to be a 1 time buy, especially if, like you just said, not just a weekend camper 3x a year.. Also, if you're not the weekend camper you are almost certainly going to have additional means of recovery. I don't know man, feels like common sense to me. 1 is none, 2 is one.
You lied you didn't burry the vehicle to the frame rails. thus nothing else you say is believable as you proved you are a lair right off the bat. Good on ya mate
