There are dozens of other general purpose straps out there, and most of them are slightly easier to use than this one. But this one is easy enough to use, and the goal isn't maximum ease of use, once a certain ease of use has been attained. Got it?

Three things set this strap apart:

1. It has a metal buckle, and in the twenty-first century, that's rare.
2. It's striped, and we think you will find, as we have, that the stripes add festive cheeriness to any occasion.
3. It's made in Ireland, and it's the only thing we sell that's made in Ireland. Erin go bragh!

These are the straps we use and prefer for lashing stuff sacks to racks, tripods to bag flaps, panniers to racks, and even heavily loaded baskets that have already been zip-tied to racks, to handlebars (for extra support). We've used them to guy-out tents, as belts, to cinch up pants, and at least one other thing that doesn't come to mind right now.

If you carry things on a bike or on packs of any kind -- in fact, if you do anything that could be construed as even remotely outdoorsy, you need straps.

The 19 incher is good for small things. The 39 incher is too long for most things, but the extra length doesn't hurt, and if it bothers you, cut it to length and melt the ends with a match.