Watch: DIY Primitive Flip-Flop Winch for Survival

Now here’s something cool.

Take a rope–make sure it’s a good one–and two wooden poles, and you can move a mountain. Or a big rock, or a vehicle that’s stuck, or whatever. This concept could even be used to build a crane to hoist heavy things up.

Why the name? Well, to operate this simple machine, you flip one log or pole, then you flop the other. Repeat.

It’s an interesting and practical idea, anyhow.

The version shown in that video is a bit rough, in that it requires two guys working together. But what if you’re alone? You can try some of the refinements shown in the video below… but chances are you will want to skip forward, because he is anything but succinct. The main innovations shown below are a couple of large stakes to secure the flipper and a couple loops of rope to secure the flopper.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.