Chain Hoists, Lever Hoists and Slings — Rated for the Hitch You Use

Which chain hoist or come-along matches your load in 2026?

Short answer: Rate for the load, then pick the motion: a SPECSTAR 1-ton chain hoist covers vertical lifts to 2,200 lb, the VEVOR 1.5-ton lever hoist pulls and positions where headroom is tight, and 2-ton models take the heavy end. Never lift over people, and never lift with tie-down straps.

Lifting, Pulling & Positioning (2026)

Manual lifting gear splits into two motions: hand chain hoists for vertical lifts under a solid anchor, and lever hoists (come-alongs) for pulling, dragging, and positioning at any angle. Everything here is rated in working load limit from 1/2 ton to 2 tons, quoted straight from the manufacturers' listings. Part of the Jobsite Equipment & Tools department; related: Hand Trucks & Dollies, Utility & Platform Carts, Jobsite Ladders, Cargo Control & Tie-Downs, Casters & Wheels, Pallet Jacks.

Editor's pick - VEVOR 1-1/2 Ton Lever Chain Hoist
3,300 lb working capacity with a 10 ft G80 chain and lever action that works at any angle - the most versatile single unit in the lineup.

VIEW OUR PICK → CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON → (affiliate link - see disclosure below)

Compare the lineup

Shop Lifting, Pulling & Positioning on Amazon → SPECSTAR SPECSTAR Manual Chain Hoist, 1 To YELLOW JACKET YELLOW JACKET VEVOR

Which one should you buy?

• Buy the SPECSTAR 1-ton for straightforward vertical lifts under a rated beam or tripod.
• Buy the VEVOR 1.5-ton lever hoist for pulling, rigging, and positioning at odd angles.
• Buy a 2-ton unit (SPECSTAR or VEVOR) when loads approach the 1-ton class ceiling - margin is the point.
• Buy the 1/2-ton mini lever hoist for the truck box - light enough to carry, rated enough to matter.
• Buy the YELLOW JACKET 1-ton as the budget chain-block workhorse.

A sling's rating depends on how you hang it

Short answer: two slings on this page quote 6,200 lb and 12,400 lb, and it is the same webbing in a different hitch.

One listing states "6,200 lbs vertical capacity". Another states "12,400 lbs max basket rating". Six thousand two hundred doubled is twelve thousand four hundred, and that is not a coincidence — under ASME B30.9 and OSHA 29 CFR 1910.184 a sling's rated capacity changes with the hitch:

• Vertical hitch — the base rating. One leg, straight down.
• Choker hitch — roughly 75 to 80 percent of vertical. The sling bites itself and the bend costs you capacity.
• Basket hitch — up to double vertical, but only with both legs straight up.

⚠ The basket figure is the one that collapses fastest in real use. As the legs open away from vertical, the tension in each leg rises: at 60 degrees from vertical the sling is carrying roughly twice what the load weight suggests. Sling angle is not a detail — it is the difference between a rated lift and an overloaded one, and no listing publishes an angle chart.

So read which basis a number is quoted on before you compare two slings. A 12,400 lb basket rating and a 6,200 lb vertical rating can be the same product. And 1910.184 requires slings to be marked with rated capacity and inspected before each use; a sling whose tag is unreadable is out of service, because there is no number to work to.

How to choose

Chain hoist vs lever hoist

A hand chain hoist hangs from an anchor and lifts vertically - highest capacity per dollar, needs headroom. A lever hoist ratchets in any orientation - pulling machinery onto a trailer, tensioning, positioning. Most shops end up with one of each.

Working load limit with margin

Size the hoist above your heaviest lift, not at it - a 1-ton unit living at 2,200 lb every day is due for retirement early. Grade 80 load chain (marked on the chain) is the standard here; the listings state their grades.

The anchor is half the system

A 2-ton hoist on an unrated beam clamp is a 0-ton system. Anchor points, slings, and shackles must all carry the load rating - the hoist is only as strong as what it hangs from.

Inspect like it matters

Stretched links, gouged hooks, sprung latches, or a brake that drifts under load retire the unit immediately. ASME B30.16 practice is a pre-use check every shift it works.

Regulatory context

Manual hoists and slings sit under different rulebooks, and both are short. Hoists follow ASME B30.16 (overhead underhung hoists) and B30.21 (lever hoists): rated loads marked and respected, no lifting over personnel, pre-use inspection, prompt retirement on wear. Slings fall under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.184 and ASME B30.9.

Three requirements do most of the work:

• 1910.184(d) — each day before use, slings and all fastenings and attachments shall be inspected for damage or defects by a competent person, and damaged or defective slings shall be immediately removed from service.
• 1910.184(e)(4) — slings shall not be loaded in excess of their rated capacities, and the rating depends on the hitch used.
• 29 CFR 1926.251(a)(1) — on construction, rigging equipment for material handling shall be inspected prior to use on each shift and as necessary during use, and defective gear removed from service.

⚠⚠ The boundary that is not negotiable: tie-down straps and ratchet straps are securement gear, never lifting gear. They are rated under FMCSA working-load-limit rules for restraint, carry no overhead design factor, and are not marked for it. If you need to lift, use something from this page; if you need to hold a load on a truck, use cargo control. That distinction is a standing rule on this site and it runs in both directions.

Anchorage is the other half of every lift. A rated beam clamp or trolley carries the load; a convenient pipe or joist does not, and the anchorage rules for fall protection are a separate system again. NIOSH publishes the manual-handling research behind the rest of the job, and our NIOSH lifting equation reference covers the model.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a come-along and a lever hoist?

Same tool family: a ratcheting lever that tensions chain or cable in any direction. Chain lever hoists like the ones here carry load ratings suitable for lifting; cable pullers sold as come-alongs are often pull-only - check the listing rating.

Can I lift with ratchet straps if the load is light?

No. Straps are securement equipment with different safety factors and failure modes - lifting takes rated hoists and slings, full stop. The cargo control collection is for holding loads down, not picking them up.

How much can a 1-ton chain hoist actually lift?

2,000-2,200 lb per the listings here - that is the working load limit, not a burst rating. The lift height is set by chain length, 10 ft on most units in this lineup.

What does G80 chain mean?

Grade 80 alloy steel — the standard load-chain grade for overhead lifting, heat-treated for strength and marked on the chain itself. ⭐ A hand chain hoist is also sold as a chain block or a chain fall, and a lever unit as a chain come along — four names, two machines. A hoist has two chains and they are not held to the same standard: the load chain carries the weight and should be Grade 80, while the hand chain you pull to drive the hoist carries almost nothing and is often a lower grade. ⚠ Several titles here state a grade without saying which chain it refers to, so a listing reading G70 beside one reading G80 may simply be describing hand chain. Check the specification for the load chain grade before drawing a conclusion from the title.

What anchor point can I hang a chain hoist from?

A rated beam clamp, trolley, or engineered anchor - never a convenient pipe, joist, or forklift tine. The anchor and rigging must meet or exceed the hoist rating; that is where most field failures actually start.

Chain hoist or electric hoist?

Manual wins on price, portability, and zero power dependency; electric earns its cost on repetitive production lifts. This collection is manual-only for now - electric hoists carry install and control requirements beyond a marketplace purchase.

How do I inspect a chain hoist?

Before use: sight the chain for stretch, twists, and gouges; check hooks for throat opening and latch function; test the brake with a small load. Anything questionable comes out of service - hoists are cheap against what they hold.

Can two hoists share one load?

Multi-hoist lifts are engineered lifts - load sharing is never automatic and side loading creeps in fast. If one hoist cannot carry it with margin, the answer is a bigger hoist or a rigging plan, not two small ones.

Are there lifting slings in this collection?

Yes — five of the nineteen listings are synthetic web slings, from 2-ply strap slings to a twisted-eye nylon sling. ⚠ An earlier version of this page said there were none; that was wrong and we have corrected it. What is still true is that sling selection deserves care: hitch type changes the rating (vertical, choker at roughly three-quarters, basket at up to double), sling angle erodes the basket figure fast, and ASME B30.9 and OSHA 1910.184 govern marking and pre-use inspection. Read which basis a listing quotes before comparing two slings.

Why do two similar slings show 6,200 lb and 12,400 lb?

Because they are quoted on different hitches. One states a vertical capacity and the other a basket rating, and a basket hitch is rated up to double vertical — 6,200 doubled is 12,400. ⚠ The basket figure only holds with both legs straight up; as the legs open away from vertical the tension in each rises sharply. Compare like with like, and treat a basket number as the best case rather than the working one.

How often does lifting gear have to be inspected?

Before every use. OSHA 1910.184(d) requires slings and their fastenings to be inspected each day before use by a competent person and removed from service immediately if damaged, and on construction 29 CFR 1926.251(a)(1) requires rigging equipment to be inspected prior to use on each shift. ⚠ This is not an annual formality — it is a per-shift condition of use, and ASME B30.16 practice for hoists is the same.

What pairs with a hoist purchase?

Rated shackles and slings, grip gloves for chain work, and safety-toe footwear - loads that lift can drop. Chock and stage with the cargo control gear before anything moves.

Our methodology: what is on this page, and what it cannot do

We counted this collection against the storefront and read all nineteen listing titles before describing it, and the count corrected the page. ⚠ An earlier version said there were no lifting slings in the lineup. There are five. That is now fixed, and the sling section explains what the listings do not: that a vertical rating and a basket rating can describe the same webbing, and that a basket figure holds only with the legs straight up. We also added the inspection citations, because pre-use inspection is a per-shift condition of use rather than an annual formality. ⭐ Two things we checked and did NOT change, because the page was already right: the four listings sold as "come alongs" here are lever chain hoists rated for lifting, not wire-rope cable pullers — the page already warned about that difference; and a title reading G70 beside one reading G80 is most likely describing the hand chain rather than the load chain, which the page already distinguished. We judge attributes from listing titles and variant data only, never from shared descriptive copy. Capacities and chain grades are the manufacturers' published figures quoted as listed — we do not proof-test hoists or pull-test slings. ⚠ What we cannot do is inspect your gear or your anchor. A rated hoist on an unrated beam clamp is not a rated system, and no product page substitutes for the competent person the standards require.