I was just in the market for a budget winch and snagged up the prior model (gen 2 ) Smittybuilt 9500 for $260 off amazon.

As a general rule, you want your winch rated at at least 1.5x the gross weight of your vehicle, but doubling it is ideal. Remember they are rated at 0% grade pulling weight, so if pulling out of mud, over rocks, or just uphill, will add strain. At a 10% grade, most winches pulling power is reduced by half!

Sure a snatchblock will help, and effectively double the power (while cutting speed in half), but there are situations you may need a snatchblock with a larger winch because it's not quite enough. Just imagine climbing a ledge, needing your winch, and that little 4k snaps half way up...could be nasty! I'd rather have the security of a properly sized winch, than save a couple lbs, it's not like we are building race cars here.