Ratchet straps are assemblies of ratchet buckles with all kinds of straps with or without hooks, endless or not. The straps part of the assemblies can be made of nylon or polyester webbing , and the working load limit should be a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds , the strap width can range from 1” to 4” , usually we can see hooks, loops or chain extension at both ends of the assembly .

The material people use to make ratchet buckle is steel, specifically carbon steel, but the ratchet handle can be aluminum or plastic coated, or just the steel . Following link is the diagram of long wide handle ratchet : Ratchets  .

According to WSTDA, tie down straps are made of nylon or polyester webbing, people choose different ratchet straps for different applications, nylon webbing has better elongation than polyester one, so it’s used when shock absorption is critical, such as motorcycle tie down, when low elongation and  low creep are required, polyester will be the choice, tie down heavy equipment will require polyester webbing ratchet straps .

Coated with suitable material, we can impact the characteristics of the webbing , we can make more abrasion resistant, seal the straps to prevent corrosion, increase ultra-violet light resistance, increase or decrease coefficient of friction and more .

Of course the quality of the straps is the most important characteristic, to properly and safely use the ratchet straps is a must . Now how to find these straps with quality and low price? Usually your local dealer will have quite some varieties of straps, and the quality probably is OK but the price will be somewhat high. And don’t forget the online store are the best place to find a lot of products, include tie down strap, but there is a problem, you can’t touch the real products before they got delivered, it’s almost unrealistic to have vendors to send you a sample when you only need a few straps, here we can go online to read product and service reviews of these online stores, usually you can read a blog, such as Running Tire, or specialized  online opinion sites .