Founded in 2009, Factor 55 has long been considered a pioneer in the winching and recovery market. While the idea of using a safety thimble design for winching wasn’t a new idea when they released their ProLink to the full size vehicle market, what was new was the way that it made the type of recovery equipment more accessible to the general public with the ease of install and added features.
Their ProLink has been popular among the full size vehicle crowd for many years as a way to making vehicle recoveries much safer. The demand for their products has spilled over into the UTV market as well with the ProLink XTV.
First of all, what is it and why should you buy it? The ProLink XTV replaces the standard hook that comes with your winch and replaces it with a thimble that you use a d-ring shackle to attach to your attachment point instead. Why is this important? Because standard hooks can fail. We’ve seen it happen. The results aren’t pretty or cheap.
Traditional hooks can bend or slip through the spring loaded clip. Also, they’re significantly weaker than the billet 6000 series aluminum design of the Factor 55 ProLink XTV. It has been tested to have a breaking point of an incredible 22,000 pounds! One slight drawback is that it takes a few extra seconds to connect a ProLink XTV, however unless you’re racing, the tradeoff for safety gained in those few seconds is well worth the minor inconvenience.
Installation of the ProLink XTV couldn’t be easier. Simply remove your old hook, slip the thimble over the loop in your line, slide the 7/16″ titanium pin into it’s slot and put on the snap ring to secure it.
The ProLink XTV also comes with a rubber guard so that you won’t have any metal on metal contact when finished with your recovery and you’ve drawn your winch line in. It is compatible with both synthetic and steel cable up to 5/16″. It is designed for use with standard 5/8″ pin 1/2″ UTV shackles.
Click here for more information or to purchase the Factor 55 ProLink XTV.
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