Let me chime in with my two cents.
As Steve and I found out a few weeks ago, it not only gets you out of a bind, it gets you going down the road in the direction you want to go.
We were going from Goblin Valley SP to Caineville via Wildhorse Rd. then on to Capitol Reef and needed to cross Muddy River(or Creek, I've seen both). Without the Pull-Pal I would not have attempted the crossing (Steve would have, but that is a different topic
). this would have meant back-tracking to the NP then around to Caineville via Hw 24, bypassing much of the area we wanted to see. With the anchor, I was able to cross and then pull Steve across and so we made our merry way westward. The Pull-Pal now has a permanent position in the rig along with all of the other recovery gear.
Now getting the fargin gravel out from behind the brake shields is another thing....
In retrospect, even if Steve had gone first and buried the runner in the gravel just as I did, the ground was so loose on the bank that I'd still probably need the Pull Pal to anchor me well enough to winch him out.