school me on synthetic line. What changes to recovery gear are the result of using synthetic?

[STW]

Installing a Warn 10-S, my first winch with synthetic line. I'm playing catch up because I haven't paid enough attention to what recovery equipment changes are needed for synthetic line. (Soft shackles are blowing my mind slightly.)

I'm starting realize that synthetic line has something to do with the way people use a thimble style shackle (or sideways hook or shackle) to keep the end of the synth line out of sight and out of the sun. I suppose dyneema fibers get UV damage from long exposure to the sun(?) like nylon does. Old school you'd have a foot or two of wire line exposed where you hang your hook on a shackle on the bumper.

Along with this, so many people seem to not use a hook anymore. Maybe not even carry one. Shackles only, and maybe there are good reasons for this, perhaps related to synthetic line(?).

Synth line may be the reason so many bumpers are designed to mount inside a bumper now, because it keeps the big spool of synthetic line out of the sun. Seems neat and tidy to mount winches this way (my old 8274 with wire line is pretty exposed). There are probably other advantages, but I'm seeing now that keeping synth line out of the sun would be a good reason.

Is this why some people seem fanatic about keeping a vinyl cover on their winch? More sun protection? With all the waterproofing good winches come with today, and with the extra protection inside a bumper, keeping a vinyl cover on it seems like overkill, but maybe it makes sense (apologies to fanatics ;-). I live in dry Utah so my winch doesn't get wet as often, but snowy days abound so if it needs to get covered then I should figure that out. My old 8274 hasn't ever had a cover and seems ok. I'd worry about rust from trapped vapor inside a waterproof cover more than I'd worry about rust from exposure to the elements of a properly waterproofed winch.

I've paid just enough attention when people are using modern recovery set-ups to notice how tough synthetic winch line seems to be. They seem not to baby it like this I might have thought necessary when synth first came out.

I'm looking forward to getting the synthetic line advantages I've noticed. Mainly the easy handling and light weight--not so much the bit of weight you save on the bumper, but carrying line to and from your Jeep during winching set-ups seems so much better than wire rope that just wants to find a way to hurt you. Carrying an armload of muddy synthetic line back to your Jeep is clearly better than wrangling unruly, snaggy, sharp steel cable in the same situation.

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[JasonInDLH]

For my very first winch I’ll be doing synthetic line with an additional cover for the sole purpose to keep it clean of bugs and other debris from driving the roads. I didn’t even think about UV protection. Also, I really like the fact that the synthetic line will drop to the ground if it breaks and not come hurtling towards you like cable will.

 

[areuriding]

Nothing special needed going with synthetic line. Hook or shackle is a personal preference really. never covered mine to protect from sun exposure. Definitely durable and easy to handle.

 

[Kreepin1]

I am lucky enough to park inside most of the time so UV damage hasn't been an issue. I get my line from Custom Splice and he always includes includes a 10' sleeve for protecting the line from rubbing on logs, rocks and such. I have the habit of keeping this sleeve at the end of the line and it provides some UV protection.

I've always run hooks but recently started carrying a soft shackle for attaching to roll bars and such. Haven't used it yet

You need a new fairlead and to replace your snatch block. Wire leaves little burs on them that abrades the synthetic line.

 

[RubiBlueJLU]

You need a new fairlead and to replace your snatch block. Wire leaves little burs on them that abrades the synthetic line.

Interesting factoid. Nice to know.
Luckily, I never used my snatch block with my steel line. Now that I changed to synthetic, I can use the one I have. Old fairlead was a roller, no more!

 

[jaymz]

For my very first winch I’ll be doing synthetic line with an additional cover for the sole purpose to keep it clean of bugs and other debris from driving the roads. I didn’t even think about UV protection. Also, I really like the fact that the synthetic line will drop to the ground if it breaks and not come hurtling towards you like cable will.

Synthetic line will absolutely come at you just like cable will. The only saving grace is that it’ll come at you with a force that’s only likely to hurt you bad instead of kill you.

 

[Sheepjeep]

the 3 really big synthetic line kills are sun, dirt, and rough rubbing

the the uv rays from the sun will breakdown the rope so a winch cover will help with that

dirt can get into the fibers either from just driving down the road (cover can help with that) and just from being using in the dirt, so besides a cover you should just wash it when needed, similar to tow straps

rough rubbing, can come from the line contacting a tree or rock while pulling, but many synth line will come with a protective sleeve that you should use, but also can some from thing that were used with wire which ropes that have be gouged by the wire, like fairleads snatch blocks and the winch drum. You can use the standard equipment that you have been using for ever just just make sure that it does not have sharp edges that the line will get cut by

also use hawse fairleads not rollers because the line can get caught in the rollers

for the new stuff out there like soft shackles and alluminum pulleys a lot of them come from the maritime world just the rope have gotten better and smaller, but they are not needed as the stuff you are use to will still work

 

[VKSheridan]

I run synthetic rope on my ride and have used it several times when my stupidity was greater than my skill. I’ve got steel rope on our PowerWagon and have only used it twice. Probably because I’m less brave but still stupid in the Ram.

Weight and flexibility are the two things that instantly come to mind but not my number one. Unspooling synthetic feels much easier to drag to the anchor way too far away. It doesn’t have a “storage coil” when you unwrap it and I think it’s easier to re-spool when you’re done. Some might have a different opinion, this is just mine.

Cleaning before wrapping - If you’ve ever had to drag your rope through the mud, this is where synthetic takes the cake. You can “grip clean“ synthetic with zero fears of getting a cable spur injection. Even with gloves, only a fool would try to wipe steel cable as you’re pulling it back. Nope, you have to spool it dirty, unwrap it and clean it later (unless you carry a power washer).

As for dirt, bugs, UV damage, I’ve heard synthetic can lose up to 20% of its strength in the first year. Quick math says one might want to replace the rope every other year if they go places they’ll need it. I’ve also heard that if you purchase rope with a protective sheath and wrap it so the protected rope covers the rest of the rope, you can extend rope life to 10% degradation per year.

Would I convert the PowerWagon to synthetic or the Jeep to steel cable? Nah, a small and light Jeep will usually be okay with a slightly weakened rope, a big heavy truck is unlike to be okay with any compromises….

 

[Vinman]

Synthetic winch rope originated in the sailboat industry. How did they keep the rope protected from UV damage? In my opinion, the UV myth damaging the rope is just that, a myth.
I think people assume because the rope colour fades so fast if left exposed it must drastically damage the rope, I just don’t believe it.

 

[STW]

Synthetic winch rope originated in the sailboat industry. How did they keep the rope protected from UV damage? In my opinion, the UV myth damaging the rope is just that, a myth.
I think people assume because the rope colour fades so fast if left exposed it must drastically damage the rope, I just don’t believe it.

Good point.
Is it true that synthetic winch line is Dyneema and Spectra fibres? [update from my checking: probably not Dyneema itself, but synth winch lines are certainly UHMWPE ropes. Warn uses a UHMWPE fiber called Sydura for soft shackles.]
Here is the Wiki page that includes a section on these kinds of UHMWPE rope:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-high-molecular-weight_polyethylene#Fiber
Sailing lines I've used have had a sheath of some kind around the core strength bearing line. Like climbing line, both static and dynamic, the round sailing line you see is the outer sheath which is something like polyester that's not degradable in UV exposure. If UHMWPE ropes like Dyneema, Spectra, and Aramid, are UV sensitive like the Wikipedia page says, then sheathing may be a way that UV intensive applications like sailing and climbing are able to use them. I don't know myself--It's been years since I've been around sailing line, and I haven't looked into the composition of the climbing lines I use.

"The use of UHMWPE rope for automotive winching offers several advantages over the more common steel wire. The key reason for changing to UHMWPE rope is improved safety. The lower mass of UHMWPE rope, coupled with significantly lower elongation at breaking, carries far less energy than steel or nylon, which leads to almost no snap-back. UHMWPE rope does not develop kinks that can cause weak spots, and any frayed areas that may develop along the surface of the rope cannot pierce the skin like broken wire strands can. UHMWPE rope is less dense than water, making water recoveries easier as the recovery cable is easier to locate than wire. The bright colours available also aid with visibility should the rope become submerged or dirty. Another advantage in automotive applications is the reduced weight of UHMWPE rope over steel cables. A typical 11 mm UHMWPE rope of 30 metres can weigh around 2 kg, the equivalent steel wire rope would weigh around 13 kg. One notable drawback of UHMWPE rope is its susceptibility to UV damage, so many users will fit winch covers in order to protect the cable when not in use. It is also vulnerable to heat damage from contact with hot components."

This may not be the last word on it--Wikipedia doesn't always get it right ;-) but it bears looking into I guess.

 

[STW]

Installed a 10 foot long protective polyester sleeve on the Warn synthetic winch line. Not necessary of course, and maybe now I know why such a winch sleeve seemed hard to find.

They are not easy to install. You have to remove the winch line to put them on and slide them up from the Jeep end, but this is not easy with two very flexible things.

The way I managed was to tie a small socket to a strong thin parachute cord. Then tie the other end to the Jeep end of the winch line and fish the socket all the way through the sleeve. Then it was easier to pull the winch line through. I tried hemp string first, which is plenty strong but it broke as I was trying to get the socket through so I started over.

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