TESTED: SAFEGUARD CARGO NET

KEEP GEAR SECURE IN YOUR TRAY WITH A SAFEGUARD CARGO NET.

THERE’S an in-car camera video doing the rounds of Facebook that captures a rolled-up piece of foam – similar to a swag – blowing out of the back of a boat being towed along a highway. Behind the boat is a motorcyclist.

Thankfully, the motorcyclist wasn’t badly injured (the voice in the video tells us he’s up), but it just goes to show how easily things can turn awry – and how important it is to make sure everything you’re carrying is properly loaded and tied to the vehicle.

In fact, to help prevent situations like this there’s legislation in many states – or existing legislation is being more rigorously enforced – regarding tying down (or making secure) any and all equipment and materials in the back of a ute.

With so many utes being used for work and play, and with a greater chance for stuff to go wrong, it’s easy to see why our diligent lads and ladies in uniform are keen to keep the roads safe. Word is: if someone can reach into your load area and grab a crushed soft drink can, for example, then your load isn’t secure. That makes sense, because even something as trivial as a chip packet can cause a dangerous distraction to other drivers if it blows off a tray at 110km/h.

Enter the Safeguard Cargo Net, a certified, load-rated cargo containment net. Editor Matt and I grabbed one of these nets recently in preparation for a week-long outback trek, and even as we were loading our borrowed ute with the office fridge and other stuff, we were immediately impressed with its strength and ease of use.

The Safeguard utilises a tight grid of webbing inter-filled with a fine see-through mesh. Unlike those conventional el-cheapo nets we’ve all used in the past, the Safeguard has plenty of body so it doesn’t easily get tangled or crumpled.

Radiating toward each corner are several tethers to allow easy adjustment using the karabiners, to suit varying load heights/ sizes. The final pull-down of the Safeguard over your equipment is via cam-lockequipped straps.

The triple-layer-edge straps mean it’s possible to pull the Safeguard’s edges down tight to the floor of a ute tub to wrap all the way over, say, a load of firewood.

For ease of use and effectiveness, the Safeguard Cargo Net is available in eight sizes. Scores a double GT thumbs-up.

Sturdy and designed with an eye to ease of use, the Safeguard Cargo Net is easily adjusted. Cam-locked straps and heavy-duty karabiners make the Safeguard a versatile cover-all for many loads.