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Warn Platinum— is it worth the extra cost?

Jeepeninutah

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Planning on getting a Zeon 10-s but can’t decide if the platinum is worth the extra cost. I like some of the features it has over the standard version. But these could also be more acceptable to malfunction. Anyone with platinum? Would you buy it again or save the cash and get the standard one?
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offcamber

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Warn winches are waaay over rated. I bought Warn winches only for years and after multiple failures, I decided it wasn't worth spending the extra cash on them and last time bought a Smittybilt X20 9,500lb winch for $399 with synthetic line 7 years ago. It's been used multiple times for some really hard recoveries and it's never once failed or given a single hiccup. If it had, I could have just taken it to the local 4 Wheel Parts for replacement (I got their warranty for $40). Look at the Winch torture tests that the offroad pubs used to do. The Warn ALWAYS failed during the tests before the cheaper alternatives. The winch going on my JL is a Quadratec 10000lb Competition series, that cost me $400. The other $1000 I would have spent on a Warn can go towards other stuff, like suspension.
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The big difference in my experience with the Warn Zeon and CTi series winches is the waterproofing of the electronics, and the line speed. I have experienced friends with the cheaper winch brands that attempt to use them on the trail after they haven't had the need for months and due to corrosion in the control box, they just don't work. This could be a side effect of the road salt here in the midwest because plenty of people swear by them.

I am a big fan of Warn Zeon and willing to pay the premium for it, but if my budget couldn't support it I would look at the Warn VR series or something like the Quadratec or Smittybit X20 winches. I think waterproofing is the biggest feature to look for.
 

offcamber

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The big difference in my experience with the Warn Zeon and CTi series winches is the waterproofing of the electronics, and the line speed. I have experienced friends with the cheaper winch brands that attempt to use them on the trail after they haven't had the need for months and due to corrosion in the control box, they just don't work. This could be a side effect of the road salt here in the midwest because plenty of people swear by them.

I am a big fan of Warn Zeon and willing to pay the premium for it, but if my budget couldn't support it I would look at the Warn VR series or something like the Quadratec or Smittybit X20 winches. I think waterproofing is the biggest feature to look for.
The first winch I had on my JK that failed was a Xeon. When it failed, Warn wanted me to pay to ship it back for warranty work. I instead returned it. My Smittybilt X20 has been submerged multiple times. The biggest recovery I did was pulling my buddies F250 out of a swamp. It took 3.5 hours moving him inches at a time because I had to have another Jeep anchor me and I still kept dragging myself towards him twice as far as I'd move him. It never went into thermal shutdown and after hours of pulling, just kept going. I honestly couldnt believe it didn't fail. Why was I trying to pull such a big truck? Because my buddies other friend with a Dodge and Warn Xeon's winch failed after 30 minutes. It had to be replaced.
 

BVGeezer

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OP - You didn't state why you are considering purchasing a Warn premium winch. Are you doing serious crawling or mudding on a constant basis? Or is your ego wanting to buy the premium winch? I agree that Warn is way over priced especially their premium line. I'm a fan of Smittybilt for value and performance. The Smittybilt on our '12 JK has worked great for occasional use. Plan on purchasing same for our '18 JKL Rubicon.
 

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After reading all the magazine torture tests over the last 5-10 years, I'm convinced that NO Warn winch is worth the money.
 
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Jeepeninutah

Jeepeninutah

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I will need to see what I can find for torture testing. When I bought my M8000 all I could find was good things about Warn. Maybe this is no longer the case. I was just going with what I know and have used for the last few years. What I can say is that it has not let me down yet which is why I planned to stick with it.
 

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The big difference in my experience with the Warn Zeon and CTi series winches is the waterproofing of the electronics, and the line speed. I have experienced friends with the cheaper winch brands that attempt to use them on the trail after they haven't had the need for months and due to corrosion in the control box, they just don't work. This could be a side effect of the road salt here in the midwest because plenty of people swear by them.

I am a big fan of Warn Zeon and willing to pay the premium for it, but if my budget couldn't support it I would look at the Warn VR series or something like the Quadratec or Smittybit X20 winches. I think waterproofing is the biggest feature to look for.
I bought the platinum for this reason also. But alas my Jeep is still delayed. Hope it was the right choice,
 
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Jeepeninutah

Jeepeninutah

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OP - You didn't state why you are considering purchasing a Warn premium winch. Are you doing serious crawling or mudding on a constant basis? Or is your ego wanting to buy the premium winch? I agree that Warn is way over priced especially their premium line. I'm a fan of Smittybilt for value and performance. The Smittybilt on our '12 JK has worked great for occasional use. Plan on purchasing same for our '18 JKL Rubicon.
I would say it’s serious use because I am limited on how often I can get out. In the two years I’ve owned my M8000 I’ve had to use it 3 times. Once to pull my JKUR up a ledge in Moab and twice to pull others who either broke or couldn’t make it. I mostly rock crawl living in Utah and do challenging trails.
 
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Jeepeninutah

Jeepeninutah

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The big difference in my experience with the Warn Zeon and CTi series winches is the waterproofing of the electronics, and the line speed. I have experienced friends with the cheaper winch brands that attempt to use them on the trail after they haven't had the need for months and due to corrosion in the control box, they just don't work. This could be a side effect of the road salt here in the midwest because plenty of people swear by them.

I am a big fan of Warn Zeon and willing to pay the premium for it, but if my budget couldn't support it I would look at the Warn VR series or something like the Quadratec or Smittybit X20 winches. I think waterproofing is the biggest feature to look for.
This is the type of post I was seeing when I bought my M8000 which is why I went that way.
 

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offcamber

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I'm not saying Warn is necessarily worse than other brands, just that you really, truly doh't get anything more for a LOT more money. The Smittybilts and other brands are pretty much equal. I look at how much I use a winch and how big of an inconvenience it would be if it failed for me. The reality is that I use my winch a few times a year and most of the time it's not huge recoveries. It's just not cost effective unless I KNOW I would be getting a more reliable product or at the very least, easy service. I KNOW I can get quick easy service with a SB winch.
 

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well, there are a lot of folks with strong opinions on most anything, and winches are no
exception. i've been an electrical contractor for over 40 years, and electricians use
lots of capstan winches, and often do a lot of lifting and winching playing electrician.
so a lot of it comes down to how many hours have you done something? i've done a
fair bit, and i've had to tug and nudge stuff a hell of a lot heavier and more expensive
than a jeep.

i've had a 150 lb tugger break the shackles, and fly 50' thru the air, dissipating the energy
stored in the rope. i've seen 35,000 lb rope separate.... all that being said....

which is the better winch?

for me, the wireless aspect of the platinum winch made the deal.
the ability to by yourself take up the slack and position the rope
if you have to snoodle it around or over something might be
invaluable. i often travel solo. being able to clutch and freewheel
with the remote... well, why not?

will the smitty built get it done? sure. are they both equally reliable? dunno.
i'm suspecting it varies from winch to winch. the general consensus is the
smittybuilt is more reliable. truth is, if i'm going off to do serious offroading,
i'll pull out the rope, attach it to something, and wind it back up, pulling the
jeep in neural, before i set out. i may even step on the brakes a bit, and see
how it works under load.

is the warn worth it? probably not. it's almost three times the price of the SB.
would i do it again? probably so.

i'm suspecting more of he winch is made in oregon. that explains some of the
cost delta. china is cheaper to make stuff at.

that being said, what about rope versus cable? rope, thanks. when it goes away,
no way in hell i'd buy the warn replacement rope. 1/4" purple plasma rope,
(the real stuff from puget sound rope, not the chinese fake) is a 10,000 lb working
rating rope. you aren't gonna break it, it's a hell of a lot cheaper than warn's chinese rope,
and it's thinner and you can put more on the drum.

3/8" plasma rope is 17,500# working load. there's enough dynamite there, butch. we're good.

other winching and extraction stuff? i've got a fair bit of it in the shop, and i just picked
out some chokers, clevises and such. a winch doesn't accomplish squat without some
stuff to let it work. i've got a pelikan case with bits and pieces. get a good snatch block.
maybe 2 of them.

if you are playing in sand solo, go to amazon, and buy the cheapest danforth anchor
you can get put a long 1" mule tape lead on it. stick it in your oops bin. if you get
suck way far out in sand, and there is nothing to attach to, like when i buried it to the
axles in a bowl at the back of sand hollow utah on a rainy tuesday morning, with nobody
around, you can run out your rope 100, use another 100' of mule tape attached to the
danforth, set the anchor 200' away, and pull yourself out of the bowl. or wherever.

you put the danforth on a long lead, as if it's a sucky pull, by the time you get pulled 100'
and have to reset your rope, that danforth will be 4' deep in the sand often. i've left a couple
of them behind, thank you. assume the danforth is going to be left behind, and don't attach
your winch rope directly, unless you like digging a hole in the sand to get your winch lead back.
thinking about setting a danforth anchor by myself a long way from the jeep is why i opted for
the wireless controller.

muletape is an excellent thing to throw in the oops box. the 3/4" wide stuff is 6,000 lb
working strength, and is pretty awesome when you don't have enough winch line to reach
the mothership. don't buy the chinese stuff. it will break.

www.nepco.com makes the good stuff. buy a 1,000' roll and split it up with your buddies. i've
never broken 3/4" muletape pulling feeders, ever. and i've had strain guage readings of 8,000#
on a #6,000 tape.

lastly, safety. lest i sound like your gramma or something, storing energy in a cable, synthetic
or steel, is inherently hazardous. you need something tossed over that rope to dampen it if it
parts on you. assume the rope will magically find you or anyone nearby if it breaks.

that 150# winch at the top of this endless post? the one that went 50'? it only had 3,600#
pull on it when it let go. i had a strain guage monitoring the pull. that was the peak reading.

enjoy the ride. have fun.

ps-

and if you ever have to pull someone up over a snarfy edge that will eat that rope, this little thing is a lot stronger than it looks...... you don't need it if you are pulling yourself, but if you are pulling someone else.....

download.jpg
 
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word302

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I'm not saying Warn is necessarily worse than other brands, just that you really, truly doh't get anything more for a LOT more money. The Smittybilts and other brands are pretty much equal. I look at how much I use a winch and how big of an inconvenience it would be if it failed for me. The reality is that I use my winch a few times a year and most of the time it's not huge recoveries. It's just not cost effective unless I KNOW I would be getting a more reliable product or at the very least, easy service. I KNOW I can get quick easy service with a SB winch.
Meh. I don't see any 30 and 40 year old winches out there still doing the job other than Warn. I think that says something. I'm in Oregon so I might be biased, but I wheel alone quite a bit and can't afford to have something that doesn't just work.
 

offcamber

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Meh. I don't see any 30 and 40 year old winches out there still doing the job other than Warn. I think that says something. I'm in Oregon so I might be biased, but I wheel alone quite a bit and can't afford to have something that doesn't just work.
I'm not buying a winch to last 40 years. Why on earth would you when technology changes so fast. No thanks, anything over a couple of years gets replaced anyway. My SB X20 9500 lb winch works great and is 7 years old, but I bought a new winch for the JL leaving the old X20 which still works fine sitting in the garage as a spare.
 

AZCrawl

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well, there are a lot of folks with strong opinions on most anything, and winches are no
exception. i've been an electrical contractor for over 40 years, and electricians use
lots of capstan winches, and often do a lot of lifting and winching playing electrician.
so a lot of it comes down to how many hours have you done something? i've done a
fair bit, and i've had to tug and nudge stuff a hell of a lot heavier and more expensive
than a jeep.

i've had a 150 lb tugger break the shackles, and fly 50' thru the air, dissipating the energy
stored in the rope. i've seen 35,000 lb rope separate.... all that being said....

which is the better winch?

for me, the wireless aspect of the platinum winch made the deal.
the ability to by yourself take up the slack and position the rope
if you have to snoodle it around or over something might be
invaluable. i often travel solo. being able to clutch and freewheel
with the remote... well, why not?

will the smitty built get it done? sure. are they both equally reliable? dunno.
i'm suspecting it varies from winch to winch. the general consensus is the
smittybuilt is more reliable. truth is, if i'm going off to do serious offroading,
i'll pull out the rope, attach it to something, and wind it back up, pulling the
jeep in neural, before i set out. i may even step on the brakes a bit, and see
how it works under load.

is the warn worth it? probably not. it's almost three times the price of the SB.
would i do it again? probably so.

i'm suspecting more of he winch is made in oregon. that explains some of the
cost delta. china is cheaper to make stuff at.

that being said, what about rope versus cable? rope, thanks. when it goes away,
no way in hell i'd buy the warn replacement rope. 1/4" purple plasma rope,
(the real stuff from puget sound rope, not the chinese fake) is a 10,000 lb working
rating rope. you aren't gonna break it, it's a hell of a lot cheaper than warn's chinese rope,
and it's thinner and you can put more on the drum.

3/8" plasma rope is 17,500# working load. there's enough dynamite there, butch. we're good.

other winching and extraction stuff? i've got a fair bit of it in the shop, and i just picked
out some chokers, clevises and such. a winch doesn't accomplish squat without some
stuff to let it work. i've got a pelikan case with bits and pieces. get a good snatch block.
maybe 2 of them.

if you are playing in sand solo, go to amazon, and buy the cheapest danforth anchor
you can get put a long 1" mule tape lead on it. stick it in your oops bin. if you get
suck way far out in sand, and there is nothing to attach to, like when i buried it to the
axles in a bowl at the back of sand hollow utah on a rainy tuesday morning, with nobody
around, you can run out your rope 100, use another 100' of mule tape attached to the
danforth, set the anchor 200' away, and pull yourself out of the bowl. or wherever.

you put the danforth on a long lead, as if it's a sucky pull, by the time you get pulled 100'
and have to reset your rope, that danforth will be 4' deep in the sand often. i've left a couple
of them behind, thank you. assume the danforth is going to be left behind, and don't attach
your winch rope directly, unless you like digging a hole in the sand to get your winch lead back.
thinking about setting a danforth anchor by myself a long way from the jeep is why i opted for
the wireless controller.

muletape is an excellent thing to throw in the oops box. the 3/4" wide stuff is 6,000 lb
working strength, and is pretty awesome when you don't have enough winch line to reach
the mothership. don't buy the chinese stuff. it will break.

www.nepco.com makes the good stuff. buy a 1,000' roll and split it up with your buddies. i've
never broken 3/4" muletape pulling feeders, ever. and i've had strain guage readings of 8,000#
on a #6,000 tape.

lastly, safety. lest i sound like your gramma or something, storing energy in a cable, synthetic
or steel, is inherently hazardous. you need something tossed over that rope to dampen it if it
parts on you. assume the rope will magically find you or anyone nearby if it breaks.

that 150# winch at the top of this endless post? the one that went 50'? it only had 3,600#
pull on it when it let go. i had a strain guage monitoring the pull. that was the peak reading.

enjoy the ride. have fun.

ps-

and if you ever have to pull someone up over a snarfy edge that will eat that rope, this little thing is a lot stronger than it looks...... you don't need it if you are pulling yourself, but if you are pulling someone else.....

download.jpg
Great info. Where can you buy a winch line made out of that? I did some searching, but didn't really find a place to purchase it.
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