Factor 55: Prolink Vs Flatlink

Are you in the market for a winch recovery hook? The Factor 55 Prolink and the Factor 55 Flatlink are two of the best options money can buy. But which one should you choose? We’ve put together this quick guide to help you decide whether the Prolink or the Flatlink is the right Factor 55 product for you. We’ll go over some of the specifications and features for each, so that you can be sure you’re making the best choice when it comes to your new winch recovery hook.

Factor 55 Flatlink Features and Benefits

The Factor 55 Flatlink shackle winch recovery hook is designed for you to ditch the traditional winch hook. It’s time for you to replace it with something much safer and much stronger - a Flatlink shackle thimble and D-ring. 

Factor 55 has put together this excellent accessory for recovery winches, and it’s an industry first. The Flatlink is the first folding shackle mount on the market. It’s under 1.75 inches thick, so that means it will work with any roller fairlead licence plate mounting bracket. 

The days of the conventional winch hook are done and dusted - they would cut, fray, and otherwise destroy recovery straps. If there was a slack cycle in a standard winching recovery, they could allow the ends of straps to escape. Bad news when you’re in a recovery situation! Not so with the Factor 55 Flatlink. These have a screw pin shackle, and their secure pin attachment means that straps will never have a chance to escape.

You don’t need to splice if you’re using a Factor 55 Flatlink. This recovery hook is compatible with both synthetic ropes and steel cables, provided their diameter is under 3/8th inches. The Flatlink has a cable eye which is kept in place by a double shear pin made of grade 5 steel with a diameter of 5/8ths of an inch. There’s also an internal snap ring for good measure.

The Factor 55 Flatlink is a breeze to install, and this can be done in literally minutes. It’s got EPDM Rubber Guards to protect the alloy fairleads, and these are attached with 4 barbed tips. The whole thing stows smoothly and easily next to roller or Hawse type fairleads. The Flatlink has been made explicitly for use with ¾ inch shackles. 

Factor 55 Flatlinks are made in the United States, constructed from 6000 series billet aluminium, and powder-coated in nine different colours.

If the Factor 55 Flatlink sounds like the right choice for you, check them out in our range ofFactor 55 products today.

Factor 55 Prolink Features and Benefits

The Factor 55 Prolink is a shackle mount for synthetic ropes and winch cables. This shackle mount is machined and engineered in the United States and is composed of lightweight billet 6061 aluminium. The Factor 55 Prolink is designed to offer users a safe way to attach a typical ¾ inch screw pin shackle to pre-existing eyes on synthetic ropes and winch cables.

The Factor 55 Prolick uses a removable, oversize ⅝ inch double titanium shear pin. This shear pin captures the synthetic rope or winch cable eye and fastens it into the body of the Prolink. The front portion of the Prolink has a shackle mounting hole built for precision, and it’s mounting tab is massive - 1.2 inches thick! 

Like the Flatlink, the Prolink is compatible with both Hawse and Roller fairleads. Either way, the Prolink will tuck neatly and tidily next to whichever fairlead you use it with. Every single Prolink product uses titanium pins and rubber guards - Factor 55 only uses the best materials.

The Prolink is capable of handling a load of up to 16000 pounds, or 7250 kilograms. The Factor 55 Prolink offers a lot of the same benefits of the Flatlink - it prevents straps from fraying, breaking, and escaping like they can in conventional winch hooks. 

Where To Buy Factor 55 Recovery Hooks

The main difference between the Flatlink and the Prolink is the way that it’s mounted to your vehicle. While the Prolink is unintrusive, it sticks out more than the Flatlink which, as it name suggests, lies flat. Have a read back over our guide and consult our product pages online to confirm which Factor 55 product is right for you.