This Guy Thinks Harbor Freight Winch Better Than Warn

[Wabujitsu]

He says he owns an off-road recovery business, and swears by Badland winches because they never break, but the Warn winches he’s used ALWAYS break. Disclosure: I only use the Badland Apex winch.

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[Caveman044]

 

[SH556JL]

Classic case of what I have installed (afford) is the best, everything else is stupid.

Disclaimer: I didn’t watch the video and own a Warn winch.

 

[Cajun21]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and if that works best for him/her-it works; most of us will swear by the one we have and be damned about the cost yeah warn winches are not for everyone I had one on my TJ and when I sold it I went with something else, and it works well for me.

 

[JSFoster75]

My Rough Country 9500S has performed flawlessly the 1 time I used it...

Disclaimer: I've only used it once and never owned any other brand...

 

[Jhawth]

Don't need a winch if you know how to drive...











?

 

[OSCAR II]

Is that a 24 volt winch?

 

[aldo98229]

I’ve watched several of his videos; that guy lives in an alternative reality.

Having said, Matt’s Off-road Recovery use Harbor Freight winches

 

[redsyphon]

The video creator in question (I believe) knows his stuff and does state that this is his opinion/what works for him, etc.

If what works for you is Warn, then that's awesome. If what works is Harbor Freight, or some other brand... That's great too. I personally run a Smittybilt, and have had zero issues for 4 years.

 

[Pinky Tuscadero]

Oh yeah, that Harbor Freight stuff is the King for sure ?
With that fancy dancy stuff at the other retailers I can't use my coupon to get yet another 25' free tape measure at so.......
Harbor Freights the best !
The Wang-Foo brand is second of course
Then Menards "Tool Shop" brand
Seriously, check this stuff out yourself and use your own judgement on a price and quality mix but most of all help out your fellow Jeepers if their winch fails regardless of brand and you'll do great.

 

[smokeythecat]

He says he owns an off-road recovery business, and swears by Badland winches because they never break, but the Warn winches he’s used ALWAYS break. Disclosure: I only use the Badland Apex winch.

For me getting a winch was more of a "just in case" item. I have yet to use it (and I know I need to go practice recovery with it). I saw those winches during a trip to HF and I was tempted. But I just could not overcome the previous HF reputation I had in mind. So I ended up with a differennt non-Warn winch.

 

[Deleted member 59498]

Got it for free to advertise it as better?

 

[entropy]

Lol they are probably all the same. Warn, SB, HB, you name it. All the same crap more or less.

"Warn" looks fancy tho. I see a lot of SB,HB and even RC winches being used by heavy offroaders and a lot of Warns on the pristine Jeeps from the "Overlanding" community. More of a brand thing tbh.

 

[jessedacri]

Lol they are probably all the same. Warn, SB, HB, you name it. All the same crap more or less.

"Warn" looks fancy tho. I see a lot of SB,HB and even RC winches being used by heavy offroaders and a lot of Warns on the pristine Jeeps from the "Overlanding" community. More of a brand thing tbh.

This. It's a big dumb electric motor and a big metal gearbox with an on-off switch. Not exactly rocket science. I'm sure the high end Warn units are better but I'm not sure ultimately how much it matters or if it's worth triple the cost every time.

Edit, should add that I bought a Warn VR Evo 10S over the Badlands and Smitty options in the price range because of the brand name and simple non-gaudy logo and winch body design. I figured it may have a better warranty, but I knew they were all going to pull my 3800lb jeep out the same either way and I didn't want the huge BADLANDS logo on the front of my Jeep.

 

[XJfanatic]

I have one of the Apex winches on my JL and will throw one on the JT eventually. Cost is a benefit but I like having key things like winch controllers being the same.

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