Ancra International has introduced a gear-driven tie-down winch that tightens cargo straps with a removable six-in. crank handle instead of a 34-in. winch bar. Thanks to a specially designed worm gear, the short crank can apply an equal amount of strap tension as a 200-lb driver using a 34-in. bar.

The EZ Torque Winch requires just one-third the amount of force needed to tighten a winch strap. The device will achieve about 1500 lb of tension on the webbing (the approximate tension needed to secure a load) with as few as a dozen rotations of its removable handle, after slack has been taken out of the straps.

EZ Torque lowers the risk of driver injury by eliminating the repetitive motion of inserting and removing a winch bar, and reduces exposure to pinch-points found on traditional ratchet winches. It’s currently designed to fit the two most popular winch tracks available.

Made of zinc-plated steel, the EZ Torque Winch was tested with thousands of tensioning cycles, Ancra says, simulating 10 years of mechanical use. The worm gear is contained in a seal housing and is lubed for life. Ancra covers the device with the industry’s longest warranty – one full year.