Moving and Lifting Straps

I recently relocated and wanted to move some of the furniture myself, like the beds, couches, kitchen tables, etc. I have seen professional movers use straps, so saw these online after some research. Best money I ever spent. It's not so much that these items are heavy, though a few of them were, but that they are bulky and have no handholds. They are easily adjustable and work as advertised, making easy work of moving bulky items up and down many steps (I have 3 stories in my apartment). The big plus, is that it makes navigating bulky items around corners and through doorways much easier, as you have total control of the load. We used the "criss cross" method.

I hesitated buying this, thought it was like many other devices that never do what they claim. But because I recently hurt my back and didn’t want to hurt it again, I took the chance. So glad that I did. It is not perfect but it is perfect in taking something awkward and heavy and making it unawkward and not nearly as difficult to move. More importantly two people can comfortably lift something that may have been previously impossible. Several people used these straps during our move and they all said they were going to get some. Two small issues I could point out is sometimes I had to adjust the straps as much as 3 times before the amount of slack was correct (not a big deal). The other issue involves the neck as others have pointed out. It is true that if the straps are not flat and too high towards the neck, undue pressure, weight and pain occurs. There is a slight learning curve and once you learn to make sure the straps lay flat against your skin and as far away from the neck as possible, the pressue, pain and weight goes away. Amazingly a 1inch difference in where the strap lays in relation to the neck can make a huge difference in comfort.

This is an excellent purchase if you want to move smarter, not harder. It's a simple design -- it slips over your shoulders, you feed the longer strap through those straps... which then goes under your furniture and attaches to the other person. These straps allow you to offset the weight of a heavy item by distributing it throughout your body/torso. They come with crude instructions, but the picture you see on the item is more useful than the instructions. These worked well for moving my heavy queen mattress and a few larger pieces of furniture. If your item is long, the strap itself may not be long enough, so be warned. Moving a sofa seems like it would be very easy, since the strap would be holding it up and you wouldn't have to scramble to find a place to hold the sofa. Some helpful tips...I criss-crossed the straps on my torso (so one strap over each shoulder to form an X). Once I lifted the item, I took a moment to readjust the straps for comfort. I am not a strong person, so if you are like me, use your arms WITH the straps, so you don't end up with too much weight on your core. These are well worth the money (I paid about 20 bucks), and saved my back.

We had to move a very heavy treadmill out of our old home, into a POD, and then into our new home. Both moves included going down some steps, and the shape of the treadmill made it very awkward to lift by hands, it just wasn't going to be possible. I was thinking of renting an appliance dolly on both ends of the move until I came across these straps. I am a pretty big guys 6' 215lbs, but my assistant not so much, together with these straps we were able to navigate the challenge with surprisingly little effort. It was very easy to setup, and the awkward shape of the treadmill was helped with a third person spotting and helping balance the load. The straps themselves are made from a heavy duty nylon, with good stitching. I can see there being an issue if the two operators are of much different heights. Straps were cheaper than renting a dolly twice, and they are forever in my arsenal to use again.

I was a bit torn on whether I liked this product or not. It does work, and is one of the cheaper and simpler of these types of products, but often more hassle than it is worth. When you get the furniture on the moving strap, and are on level ground, it is the simple case of balancing horizontally. Its a bit more complicated on stairs. This strap was not helpful in an apt style staircase (what we moved out of), and only slightly better on a more spacious house staircase (what we moved into). It was not helpful with many types of furniture such as a dresser or bookshelf. We only found it useful to move our four couches, everything else we tried we ended up carrying ourselves. All and all I was willing to use it a lot more than the guy helping me, he didn't like it and so we didn't use it long. He has a tall slender frame, and found that the shoulder straps wanted to slip off constantly. Not so much when moving the furniture, but right before standing up to lift the furniture. Because of the type of furniture this is useful for, you will only find yourself using it a couple times a move. I would recommend this for ppl who are older or lack the strength needed to carry some furniture, move a LOT, and/or have a need to carry the furniture a decent distance on level ground. I would also recommend this for people with patience, as this will undoubtedly slow down your moving process. That is, of course, a small price to pay to avoid an injury. I would also recommend two changes to the manufacturer. One, have another short setting. We found the shortest setting still too long for anything smaller than a small couch. Two, some easy way to tie up or secure the slack rope when the moving straps are on a short setting. Currently, it drags on the ground and is a MASSIVE tripping hazard. I gave it 3 stars because it is good for some moving, and is reasonably priced. It lacks refinement, and the ability to be used on a variety of furniture items and moving environments.