synthetic line vs cable

[cosine]

so lets hear the pros / cons, opinions, comments, etc. on the 2 different lines. beside the basic info like weight difference and cost, i would like to hear about the life of them, maintance, ware n tare, weather impact, etc.

please mention what winch (brand / rating) and line ( including the length / thickness) you are using.

i havent decided on what winch brand i would like to go with but i'm looking to go with synthetic line for weight saving, average 100' line. my brother had a super winch 9k# with cable on his tj and it have done well with the winch. i thought about the 8k# rating, but have seen them "struggle" in conditions, so i would look into a 9 or a 10k# rating. unless the 8k# winches have improved since 2000. i would like to keep the cost down one way or another. as for the brand warn would be a top choice, super winch and ramsey are the best in the winching world. not sure on the other brands, but will listen to all comments. if it was me i'd find a good old warn 8274, but not paying $2700 for one. along with the winch, i'm looking at a winch bumper. i'm currently looking at the smittybilt atlas bumper. just waiting for a good sale.

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[DanW]

I use my winch so seldom that the weight savings is important to me. I also like handling the synthetic line better. I also like the safety factor that synthetic rope doesn't store up energy like steel cable. That said, I've had steel and it works very well, too. I think if I winched all the time, I'd probably go steel. It can handle a hot drum with no ill effect. I do think there are winch designs that don't get as hot, such as the X2O series from Smittybilt. The drum on my old Engo on my JK can get pretty warm even on a short pull. The Smittybilt XRC I have on the JL doesn't appear to get nearly as hot as the Engo. I did several pulls in a row with the XRC with a Jeep club in Kentucky last year and it didn't get nearly as warm as I expected it would. That said, while the Engo can get hot, I doubt it has been worked hard enough to get hot enough to compromise the rope. But I'm not 100% sure, either.

The synthetic does what I need very well, but I'm no pro, so I'm not going to say it is better because I honestly don't know.

 

[cosine]

good to hear dan. i agree on the safety. i rather see the synthetic line drop vs the cable whipping around taking out anything in its path. have seen that not from a winch.

 

[Rudolph Hart]

This is worth a watch....

 

[DanW]

This is worth a watch....

That's pretty scary.

Love Ronny Dahl's channel, btw!

 

[Rudolph Hart]

That's pretty scary.

Love Ronny Dahl's channel, btw!

Sure is, I saw the video whilst I was shopping for my winch... I went with the rope!

Agreed about his channel, I feel like I learn something from most of his videos.

 

[cosine]

saw the video and one reason why i would go with the synthetic.

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