What is Reddit's opinion of Maxsa 20333 Heavy-Duty Escaper Buddy Traction Mats for Off-Road Mud, Sand, & Snow Vehicle Extraction and Recovery, Bendable, Unbreakable, Orange, 2 Pack?

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I have these ones and have used them on a number of vehicles (all not mine) ranging from 4 door sedans, other overlanders, and up to medium sized RVs. They have not cracked, chipped, or deformed in any way. I’ve had them for 5 years now. I store them in my garage when not in use/on trips. I also put them on uneven ground and run them over in my Jeep yearly to make sure they’re still good. Highly recommend these ones.

Thanks- will let her know to check into the chains and rust protection. I was also thinking traction mats just in case, but maybe those aren’t necessary. Maxsa 20333 Orange Heavy-Duty Escaper Buddy Traction Mats for Sand, Mud, Ice and Snow, 2 Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AV2HONS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_50BFK5FFGGGYQMBBE9VN

Get these cheap ones on Amazon. Mine have been great. Been using them for self-recovering or to aid winch recoveries for about 2 years now and they are still like new. The key is to be very careful not to spin your tires. If you're spinning your tires on recovery boards then you're doing something wrong and damaging your equipment and probably getting more stuck. The key is to dig out and do enough prep-work to where the boards can do their job. You should just be able to idle out or use just a little bit of throttle.

Also I've stacked two of these boards on soft snow to use as a base for jacking. They bent a little while under load but no cracks and they went back to their normal shape when we were done. I thought that was pretty impressive for how cheap they were

https://www.amazon.com/Escaper-Traction-Off-Road-Extraction-20333/dp/B00AV2HONS

I've bought a pair of $130 Maxsa Escaper mats and used them once. Worked just fine for getting my 2WD truck out of some surface mud. I'm glad to have them and they're a no-brainer bring-along.

Good looking wheels! The sand mats are from Amazon and help to completely block any view out the rear window so I have a rear view camera with wireless 7" display screen that is searching for a good mounting solution.

I have a pair of these and they've worked fine in snow so far. Haven't tested them in any other condition.

I'd love some maxtrax though as a primary set!

Definitely depends on a number of things, the biggest ones being the capabilities of your vehicle and the types of roads you expect to be traveling on.

AWD and 4WD are not invincible. Good traction tires (they do NOT need to be studded, studless snow tires are actually generally better than studded tires in most conditions) should be your first investment, because they make it markedly less likely that you'll need to be recovered in the first place.

Assuming you are just driving around on mostly paved roads or well-kept Forest Service roads, I'd be prepared with jumper cables, a spare tire with jack/tire iron/wheel chock (and some blocks of wood to shim in case you need extra height), tow straps, a snow shovel (and snow gloves) and possibly traction mats of some sort (like these). Know where your tow points are on your vehicle, because if you get stuck and can't dig yourself out or use traction mats to get yourself out, you will need someone to pull you out. If you have a vehicle where you can store gas externally (roof basket, pickup bed, etc) consider getting a 5-gal jerry can for spare fuel. Otherwise, I strongly advise never venturing into the backcountry without at least half a tank.

If you get deeper into wanting to overland/offroad, you'd want to look at improving your ground clearance and investing in a good winch. Ground clearance will definitely help with not getting stuck in the first place, and a winch will greatly improve your ability to self-recover. However, being new to this, I'd strongly encourage you to do this in a group with at least one other vehicle.

I could write a novel on what sort of survival gear to have with you. But figure at a bare minimum you'd want:

• Blankets/sleeping bags

• At least a gallon of water per person, augment with a water filter

• Spare food/snacks

• Firestarting equipment

• Layered cold and wet weather gear

• First aid/medical gear matched to your level of training

• A good, bright headlamp or flashlight like those from reputable brands like Nitecore, Fenix, FourSevens, OLight, Black Diamond, Petzl, etc along with spare batteries

• Hand saw and potentially an axe for clearing brush that might fall across a road and block your travel

• If there are multiple vehicles in your group, consider adding a cheap CB radio to each vehicle or handheld UHF radios like cheap Baofengs or something

• A PLB (personal locator beacon for life-threatening emergencies) or other satellite communicator (DeLorme InReach being the best, also the SPOT line of products). A true PLB like those from ACR are about $250 on Amazon and are only to be used in situations of grave danger, whereas a two-way communicator like the InReach can be useful if you get stuck somewhere without cell coverage and need recovery/support but you aren't actively dying.

Tolmie Fire lookout is neat. There's a campground (Evan's creek I think) that's not too far from it.

I'm using these boards.

Rhino strap.

I have a Smittybilt winch mounted to a custom made front bumper.

I am trying to mount these recovery boards to my stock rack...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AV2HONS/?coliid=IYRC7HV9LHNZ0&colid=318YY8ABBB2YU&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Ideas?

These are the ones I got, not $75 but not $300 either.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AV2HONS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Here's another set up from amazon https://www.amazon.com/Escaper-Traction-Off-Road-Extraction-20333/dp/B00AV2HONS

These for getting unstuck.

Traction mats https://www.amazon.com/Innovations-20333-Escaper-Orange-Traction/dp/B00AV2HONS

I have learned my lesson and invested in basic recovery gear. Hi-jack lift is next. Also not in this picture is a Viair 88p.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AV2HONS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002QSHIEU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H90NJ4S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Maxtrax

Also D-Rings and a tow strap or snatch strap for somebody to pull you out.D-Ring Snatch Strap

hah, never mind... I figured it out