Which Cable Tie Brand Wins?
In our test we compared 12 cable tie options head to head. Strong Ties came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Strong Ties
Price shown in test: 9 cents each
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Ty-Rap
Price shown in test: 88 cents each, the most expensive nylon brand tested
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Storehouse
Price shown in test: $2.99 for 100 pieces, about 3 cents each, the least expensive nylon brand tested
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The quick take
The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.
“strong ties finishes in the top position at 159 lb, ty rap second at 137, the harbor freight storehouse brand third at 116”
The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.
Loop tensile strength, no UV exposure
- 1Strong Ties
averaged 159 lb, the strongest of all nylon brands tested
- 2Ty-Rap
averaged 137 lb (135, 139, 137), second highest of the nylon brands; unlike other brands it kept providing around 100 lb of tensile strength even after the locking mechanism began slipping
- 3Storehouse
averaged 116 lb, tested about a year before the rest of the video
- 4Commercial Electric Black
averaged 97 lb (98, 98, 96), moving into third position among nylon brands at that point in the video
- 5Gardner Bender Black
averaged 96 lb (96, 97, 94)
- 6Panduit
averaged 92 lb (95, 93, 87), far exceeding its 50 lb rating
- 7Gardner Bender White
averaged 91 lb (92, 92, 90), above its 75 lb rating
- 8ACT
averaged about 84 lb (84, 86, 82), all three samples failing the same way at the locking mechanism
- 9Commercial Electric White
averaged 84 lb (89, 79, 85), tied for last position with the ACT brand
- 10Gardner Bender stainless steelnot tested
- 11HYCC stainless steelnot tested
- 12Storehouse stainless steelnot tested
Loop tensile strength, after about 1 year UV exposure
- 1Strong Ties
averaged 232 lb (233, 226, and a third sample described only as 'a lb' in the transcript), a 46 percent increase in strength, again the strongest of the nylon brands after UV exposure
- 2Ty-Rap
averaged 179 lb (175, 182, 181), continued to gradually lose grip instead of snapping
- 3Storehouse
averaged about 135 lb (134, 140, 132), roughly 16 percent stronger after UV exposure
- 4Commercial Electric Black
averaged 141 lb (139, 145, 140), moved ahead of the Storehouse brand
- 5Gardner Bender Black
averaged 110 lb (106, 110, 114), well above its 75 lb rating
- 6Panduit
averaged 134 lb (130, 135, 136)
- 7Gardner Bender White
averaged 47 lb (111, then failures at only 10 lb and 21 lb), extremely brittle and well below its 75 lb rating
- 8ACT
averaged about 119 lb (122, 124, 110)
- 9Commercial Electric White
averaged 133 lb (128, 136, 135)
- 10Gardner Bender stainless steelnot tested
- 11HYCC stainless steelnot tested
- 12Storehouse stainless steelnot tested
Loop tensile strength (stainless steel subgroup)
- 10Gardner Bender stainless steel
averaged 376 lb (393, 388, 346), the strongest of the three stainless steel brands despite having the lowest 100 lb rating of the group
- 11HYCC stainless steel
averaged 344 lb (346, 338, 347), more than twice the strength of the strongest nylon tie tested
- 12Storehouse stainless steel
averaged 321 lb (312, 370, 281), the weakest of the three stainless steel brands
- 1Strong Tiesnot tested
- 2Ty-Rapnot tested
- 3Storehousenot tested
- 4Commercial Electric Blacknot tested
- 5Gardner Bender Blacknot tested
- 6Panduitnot tested
- 7Gardner Bender Whitenot tested
- 8ACTnot tested
- 9Commercial Electric Whitenot tested
How it was tested
- loop tensile strength test on cable ties with no UV exposure (3 samples per brand)
- loop tensile strength test on stainless steel cable ties (3 samples per brand)
- loop tensile strength retest after roughly 1 year of outdoor UV exposure (3 samples per brand)
- JB Weld epoxy plus a dozen zip ties used in place of cylinder head bolts to see if an engine would run
- a single stainless steel cable tie, wrapped 3 times, tested to see if it could lift the back of a pickup truck off the ground
“strong ties finishes in the top position at 159 lb, ty rap second at 137, the harbor freight storehouse brand third at 116”
