Product Review: Moto-Gate Tie Down Straps

Tie downs are a fact of life for ATV riders- we use them to secure expensive machines, gear bags, gas cans and if such things weren’t illegal, perhaps our significant others as well. Generally speaking there are two schools of thought when it comes to the tie down philosophy: the self locking and the ratchet method.

Each offers their own set of pros and cons but like most things, ultimately comes down to individual preference. We picked up a set of Moto-Gate tie down straps, which happen to be of the self locking variety (attach your hooks, pull down on to the desired tension and the clincher locks in place until released via the mechanical button).

What makes the Moto-Gate straps unique, at least from most designs we’ve encountered, is rather than identical hooks on either end of the strap, one end contains a rubber-coated hook for the handlebars and the other a closed-loop to secure to the truck or trailer’s anchor points.

Additionally, rather than excess strap simply dangling useless when in use, the Moto-Gate tie down offers up a loop strap which can then be fed back around to the hook for situations where the hook alone isn’t enough.

We spent a few weeks with these straps and came away with a few conclusions: 1) The fit, finish and strap strength was excellent- no fraying, creaking or loosening up with heavy loads. 2) We appreciate rubber coated hooks for their resistance to scratching up our quads’ bars and racks though these particular hooks did encounter a few oversize bars that were beyond their reach. 3) The carabiner side (closed loop) is pretty neat and speedy but not quite as useful as another hook would be in many instances (not the least of which is that because the ends are different, there is a right-side-up and upside down way). 4) The loop strap is very useful, especially in instances where the hooks aren’t quite big enough by themselves.

In all $30 is pretty much standard fair when it comes to picking up a set of ATV-worthy tie downs so it’s easy for us to recommend the Moto-Gate system. While not everything that sets these straps apart from the competition can be considered benefits, they aren’t negatives either. The loop alone makes these worthy of being placed at the top of anyone’s short list.

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