These buckles are worth the extra money and provide more tautness to the cover to help shed rain even more. They are very long and provide ample length to get around the frame per the directions. If you are going to trailer the boat with the cover on, these are a must. Even though the cover states it is trailerable, these provide that extra confidence and security needed for peace of mind. The only drawback is that they do not have a way to tend to the tag end of the strap after cinching everything up and you end up with a couple feet dangling with no way to get it tied up or managed - and I am not going to cut them to length, that would not be wise.