I too have used regular bungies and used to have a bungee net thingee a long time ago but it ended up stretching out of shape and got all kinda weird. It did work well, but haven't seen any in stores since then so never replaced it. In july when preparing for a trip I tried using some straps I have instead of bungies, but whether it was the straps (slippy nylon) or my technique, but I just wasnt comfortable with the possibility of them shifting loose and then hanging down near the rear wheel, so I went with my tried and trued two bungies use to hold down the tent.

I agree with having to be careful with whatever one uses. My wife had a bungie get into a wheel and cassette a bunch of years ago, and I agree that Id rather have a bungie go in because of the stretch rather than a rigid strap. Ive really mostly used bungies to hold down a tent on the rear rack, and try to be as careful as possible with setting them up.

I must admit I still like how its easy with bungies to stick anything under them-from wet clothes to a free map to a box of cookies, and be able to grab it quickly without worrying about a strap becoming loose.

the warnings about eyes is certainly always valid, but as I have used bungies for years in some work duties, I think its fair to say that one always has to be super careful with them. My close calls have been when other people were attaching them to equipment near me and in a rush not doing it properly, but the danger is always there. With bike use, I find I like the shorter ones now, so theres less over stretching.

Im sure there are some neat straps as mentioned that work well, but I really do like the quickness of adding and removing stuff from my usual two "tent bungies". I too have ridden on rough stuff without any issues, and would hazard to say that on rough terrain, a load can shift and change how a strap is tight to perhaps not so tight (guess that depends on the shape of the "thing" and the strap types)