It weighs 94 grams.
It works at 570 kg.
Seven things owners changed their mind about after fitting one. The words on this page are theirs, taken from their reviews. The footage is filmed on their boats. The numbers come from the technical sheet.
One body, one sheave, one Dyneema soft shackle. Front and forty five degrees: there is nothing else in the product.
Most of us decide our line leads at the dock. Where the builder put the blocks, that is where the sheet goes, because adding a turning point means unloading the line, undoing a shackle and re-reeving it.
So the barber hauler stays in the drawer, the reefing line chafes where it has always chafed, and the spare block stays a spare.
One owner recovered a 35 kg anchor and its chain with two of these, after his windlass failed. Here is what changes when the block goes onto a line that is already rigged.
Do not take our word for it. Watch it.
Filmed by the owner of the boat, on his own deck, mid season. No edit, no music, no voiceover.
You think a block you can trust has metal cheeks and a pin.
570 kg working load at 94 grams
This one has neither. The load runs through a single machined aluminium 6082 ring, hard black anodized, with a Delrin ST100 cover and a TPEE impact ring around it. No cheeks bolted together, so nothing can spread. No pin, so nothing can shear, and nothing can seize into the fitting.
S works at 570 kg and breaks at 1140. M works at 900 kg, L at 1700 kg. Every size breaks at twice its working load.
Homero found out the hard way, and not on a sheet: his windlass failed, so he recovered a 35 kg anchor and its chain with two Olli. His words: they "did the job flawlessly".
The side profile: a single piece, no plates bolted together, nothing to open under load.
You think you have to plan your leads before you leave the dock.
A conventional snatch block is opened with its pin and threaded, so either you rig it before you need it or you do not rig it at all. This one opens and takes a sheet that is already in place. Rhonda bought hers as a barber hauler for the jib sheets, Ray for the spinnaker sheets, Dawn to control her boom and her asymmetric. None of that needs a trip back to the dock.
On deck, one hand, a line that is already rigged. That is the entire operation.
You think light means light duty.
94 g, 181 g, 260 g
94 g in the S, 181 in the M, 260 in the L, for lines up to 10, 12 and 14 mm. You carry three of them in a jacket pocket and they work at the loads a code zero puts on: Greg rigged the code zero of his Helia 44 with them, Markus flies an asymmetric spinnaker on his.
One owner even told us it was too heavy for what he had in mind, which says a lot about what people compare it against. Not a metal block. A piece of rope.
S, M and L side by side: 94, 181 and 260 grams, for lines up to 10, 12 and 14 mm.
The honest comparison
| The metal snatch block | Olli Block | |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | Half a kilo of alloy and stainless, swinging | From 94 g |
| Adding it to a rigged line | Unload, unpin, thread, pin again | Open, drop the line in, lash |
| On deck | Marks the gelcoat and the teak | Light body, technopolymer cover |
| Salt and sun | Pins, springs and bearings to service | Sealed, no lubrication, no maintenance |
| Where it can go | Where there is a padeye strong enough | Anywhere a soft shackle reaches |
You think a snatch block is a spare part.
Owners do not buy one. David bought two for the reefing points of his main, then bought four more. From their own reviews, the same block ends up as:
- A barber hauler on the jib sheets, to bring a reefed headsail closer to the centreline.
- A turning block for spinnaker sheets, code zero, gennaker and asymmetric.
- Boom control and reefing points, where nobody wants to bolt permanent hardware.
Timothy put the whole category in one line: every yacht needs a good snatch block, and this one will be used for a multitude of uses.
Four jobs on the same boat, all of them with the same block.
You think the textile is the weak point.
It is the part that does not corrode. Carlos said it in one line: he is no longer using his old metal ones, the ones that always had corrosion on them.
- Aluminium 6082 ring, hard black anodized, the surface that carries the load.
- Delrin ST100 cover, the low friction surface the line runs on.
- TPEE impact protection, so the block takes the hit instead of your deck and your rig.
- Dyneema soft shackle instead of a steel pin: no galvanic corrosion, nothing seized to hammer out in spring.
The moving parts are sealed and need no lubrication. Rinse it with the rest of the deck gear and put it away.
The sheave groove up close, the surface the line actually runs on.
You think you will find out how good it is at the worst possible moment.
78 owners got there first: 4.8 out of 5, and a DAME Design Award nomination in 2024. Harlan tested his before launching on Lake Michigan and reported it was much better than traditional snatch blocks.
They are not all five stars either, and the ones that are not are still below, in their words: one owner wants a longer Dyneema loop to reach his toe rail, two think the packaging is far more than the product needs. Nothing on this page has been picked to hide that.
The line running through the block, front view.
The one you buy as a spare is the one that saves the passage.
Ask an owner why he keeps three on board and he will not talk about weight. A block lets go, a fitting shears, a car jumps off its track, and you are a long way from a chandlery with a sheet that has nowhere to run. A metal snatch block only helps if you also have the right pin, a free padeye and two free hands.
This one goes on with a soft shackle, anywhere there is a strong point to tie to, and it opens onto the loaded line instead of asking you to re-reeve it. That is a jury rig you can do in a minute, in the dark, with one hand on the boat.
Scott is crossing a couple of thousand kilometres of the Great Barrier Reef this winter, and wrote that he feels more at ease knowing his blocks can be quickly configured if he has any gear failure. Homero is the same story with a failed windlass and a 35 kg anchor. It is why owners rarely stop at one: David bought two, then four more.
The Dyneema soft shackle. It is the reason a spare block can go anywhere on the boat, with no tools and no free padeye.
What owners say after they use it
An owner, his boat, his words
Filmed on board by an owner running his jib sheet out to the side of the boat downwind. Original audio, nothing added. Turn the sound on.
"Recently I need to retrieve my 35 kilo anchor plus chain, and used two olli. My windlass broke and the two olli did the job flawlessly. I am very happy with it."
Verified buyer
"These snatch blocks were the perfect solution for the rigging of my code zero on a FP Helia 44."
Verified buyer, customer photo
"WE launch in April on Lake Michigan.......our trial/test showed this device to be much better than traditional snatch blocks."
Verified buyer
"Great product! It serves a perfect niche on the boat. I bought two initially and use them on my reefing points on my main. I liked them so much I bought four more!"
Verified buyer
"The design and engineering of my new Olli Snatch Blocks impressed me straight of the pack. Complementing my Olli Rings I cant wait to get my Gennaker flying."
Verified buyer
"Great, but overpackaged, better to save on packaging waste and money with simpler packaging."
Verified buyer, 4 stars
The numbers
Questions everyone asks
Is it strong enough for a code zero or an asymmetric?
That is what owners use it for. The load runs through one machined aluminium 6082 ring, hard black anodized, so there are no cheeks that can spread. S: 570 kg working, 1140 kg breaking. M: 900 and 1800. L: 1700 and 3400.
Can I put it on a sheet that is already rigged?
Yes, that is the point of it. The block opens and the line drops into the sheave without threading, then you lash it where you want the turning point. It is the manoeuvre in the second video on this page.
Which size for my line?
By line diameter: S up to 10 mm, M up to 12 mm, L up to 14 mm. Between two sizes, take the larger one: the working load goes from 570 kg to 900 kg and the block still weighs under 200 g.
How do I open it when it is already attached to the boat?
Honestly: the same soft shackle closes the block and holds it to the boat, so opening it means undoing the attachment. If you take it on and off over the water, on tweakers for example, run a light lanyard through the loop of the soft shackle first. It is the workaround an owner sent us, and it is the right one.
Will it corrode after a season?
There is no steel pin to corrode and no thread to seize. The ring is hard anodized, the cover is Delrin ST100 and the moving parts are sealed, so there is nothing to lubricate. Rinse it with fresh water like the rest of the deck gear.
What happens on a shock load?
It is built for it: the TPEE impact protection absorbs the hit, which is what protects the block, the deck and the rest of the hardware when a sheet loads up suddenly. Every size breaks at twice its working load.
Open with the line inside, and open with the soft shackle in place.
Still planning your leads at the dock?
Two options. Leave the sheet where the builder put it and keep a kilo of metal swinging at the toe rail. Or carry 94 grams that go onto a line already rigged, work at 570 kg, and that 78 owners have already had a season with.
Olli Block, the anti-shock snatch block. Three sizes, from 115 EUR, in stock.
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