The two industry benchmarks
When it comes to lifting shackles, two American brands dominate: Crosby (The Crosby Group) and CM (Columbus McKinnon). Both are long-established, highly respected makers of forged alloy-steel rigging hardware, and for most buyers the honest answer to CM versus Crosby is that both are excellent, spec-comparable, top-tier choices. Crosby is often treated as the default benchmark, its part numbers are the industry's shorthand, while CM is an equally trusted alternative, frequently at a competitive price. Our collection carries both the Crosby G-209 and the CM Super Strong lines.
Crosby's references and marks
Crosby's naming has become the industry's common language. The G-209 and S-209 are screw-pin anchor (bow) shackles, and the G-2130 and S-2130 are bolt-type anchor shackles, where G denotes galvanized and S self-colored. When riggers say a G-2130, everyone knows the shackle. Crosby's alloy shackles are approved from -40°F to 400°F, and the brand uses a Red Pin as an authenticity mark against counterfeits, a real consideration, since fakes exist. A genuine Crosby is engineered to deform rather than release its load if overloaded, a designed-in safety behavior.
CM's line
Columbus McKinnon's shackle line is equally legitimate and USA-made, and its Super Strong Shackle is among the most popular on the market. CM is ISO-9001 certified, offers comparable grade and certification options, and covers the same anchor and chain body types in screw-pin and bolt-type styles. For an operation that prefers CM, standardizes on Columbus McKinnon hoists and rigging, or finds better pricing or availability on CM, there's no safety compromise in choosing it over Crosby. It's a peer brand, not a step down.
How to choose between them
Since both are top-tier and spec-comparable, the choice usually comes down to practical factors rather than quality. Price and availability often decide it, one brand may be cheaper or in stock when you need it. Standardization matters too: if your shop already runs Crosby or CM hardware, sticking with one brand simplifies training and spares. And if a job specifies a brand, follow the spec. What you should not do is trade down to an unrated or off-brand shackle to save money, the value of Crosby and CM is exactly the assurance that the rating is real and the shackle is what it claims to be.
Beware counterfeits and off-brands
Because Crosby and CM are the benchmarks, their products are counterfeited, and cheap look-alikes with no real rating circulate. This is the genuine risk in shackle buying, not choosing between the two good brands. Buy from reputable suppliers, look for authenticity marks like Crosby's Red Pin, and insist on the stamped WLL and, for critical work, a material certificate. A shackle whose rating you can't trust is a hazard regardless of what's stamped on it. Both CM and Crosby from a legitimate source give you a rating you can rely on.
A note on exact spec parity
For most uses, CM and Crosby shackles of the same nominal size and type are interchangeable in capability. If your application demands an exact, spec-for-spec working-load-limit match between a specific CM and Crosby shackle, verify against each manufacturer's current catalog before relying on head-to-head numbers, published ratings can vary slightly by size and series. In practice this level of precision matters only for engineered lifts; for general rigging, a correctly sized shackle from either brand, rated above your load, is the right choice. When in doubt on a critical lift, confirm the exact WLL from the maker's chart.
The bottom line
CM and Crosby are the two dominant, trusted US shackle brands, and both make forged, rated, certified alloy-steel shackles that are spec-comparable for nearly all uses. Crosby's G-209 and G-2130 are the industry's shorthand; CM's Super Strong line is an equally solid, often competitively-priced peer. Choose on price, availability, and standardization, not quality, and above all buy genuine, rated hardware from a reputable source rather than an unrated look-alike. Compare specific shackles in our best lifting shackles guide.
Availability and standardization in practice
In day-to-day buying, the CM-versus-Crosby decision often comes down to what's in stock and what your shop already uses. Both brands are carried by most rigging suppliers, so whichever you can get quickly, in the size and type you need, is usually the right call. And if your operation already standardizes on one, matching hoists, chain, and hardware to a single brand, staying with it simplifies training, spares, and familiarity. Neither Crosby nor CM is a compromise, so let practical availability and consistency guide the pick rather than agonizing over marginal spec differences.
Don't overthink it
It's worth saying plainly: for the vast majority of lifts, either brand, correctly sized and rated above your load, is the right shackle, and the energy better spent is on sizing, inspection, and safe use than on choosing between two excellent brands. The real shackle decisions that affect safety are getting the WLL, pin type, and fit right, and buying genuine rated hardware rather than an unrated look-alike. Between CM and Crosby specifically, you can't go wrong. Pick one, size it correctly, use it within the rules, and inspect it.
