How to store ratchet straps

Webbing dies from cuts, from abrasion, and from the slow stuff: sunlight, moisture left in a knot, battery acid, fuel, and fertilizer. Storage is the unglamorous half of owning a strap that still matches its tag next season.

1. Release the ratchet fully so the webbing is not stored under tension. A loaded spool left for months can set a twist you will fight later.
2. If the strap is wet or muddy, rinse off grit and let it dry in the air, out of direct sun, before it goes in a bag. Trapped water feeds mildew and hides cuts.
3. Coil loosely or fold in a figure-eight. Do not knot the webbing. A knot is a stress riser and a place that never quite dries.
4. Keep hooks from chewing the coil. Some people snap the hook onto the ratchet frame. Others drop the whole set in the bag the kit came with. The AUGO 15-foot listing includes that bag.
5. Store the bag away from batteries, fuel cans, solvents, weld sparks, and a sunny rear window. Polyester resists rot better than natural fiber. It does not ignore ultraviolet light or acid.
6. Hang the bag where you will actually use it. A strap left at home is how a load leaves on a prayer and a bungee.
7. Before the next trip, run the webbing through your hands. Retire cuts, melted spots, broken stitching, cracked ratchets, and hooks that no longer close. If the tag is gone and you needed a known working load, retire it from that job.

If the kit you are storing is the everyday one, the AUGO review lists what should be in the bag: four straps, four soft loops, and two bungees, on the 15-foot listing. Missing loops are a reason to look under the seat, not a reason to hook bare metal onto a handlebar next time.