nevada
Senior Member
just another reason to keep using cable.
I can buy a new WINCH for the price of synthetic rope...
This is Why you Don't Buy Synthetic Winch Rope!!
- Thread starter unlimitedFJ4
- Start date
I can buy a new WINCH for the price of synthetic rope...
Ironically.. This is exactly WHY I buy synthetic winch rope.
1) Synthetic rope isn't that expensive. You don't have to buy it from Warn. Superwinch rope is about $230, offbrand is under $100. Even so, it's still cheaper than a windshield or a human if you have a bad steel cable break.
2) It's massively safer when it breaks. It drops to the ground instead of whipping back. This is why I started using it.
3) No effing steel strands get shoved into your hands or arms.
4) It reduces weight on the front bumper.
5) If it does break, you can tie it back together if you have to. Try tying a figure 8 in a 3/8 steel cable sometime. Heck, even re-terminating steel cable with tools can be a bear.
6) I regularly use my winch, especially in the winter. I suggest replacing every 2-3 years. Keeping it covered will help extend the life. This stuff resists UV but sunlight will still do some damage over time.
7) You can toss a spare rope into a bag and store it in the vehicle very easily. This is not trivial with a coil of steel wire.
I will continue to use synthetic rope. The safety is worth it. Not having to carry a pile of burlap bags around is nice. Being able to get setup sans gloves (sometimes they get borrowed or covered in grease) is good. Need a quick pull? It's much easier to setup. Snatch block is easier to setup.
1) Synthetic rope isn't that expensive. You don't have to buy it from Warn. Superwinch rope is about $230, offbrand is under $100. Even so, it's still cheaper than a windshield or a human if you have a bad steel cable break.
2) It's massively safer when it breaks. It drops to the ground instead of whipping back. This is why I started using it.
3) No effing steel strands get shoved into your hands or arms.
4) It reduces weight on the front bumper.
5) If it does break, you can tie it back together if you have to. Try tying a figure 8 in a 3/8 steel cable sometime. Heck, even re-terminating steel cable with tools can be a bear.
6) I regularly use my winch, especially in the winter. I suggest replacing every 2-3 years. Keeping it covered will help extend the life. This stuff resists UV but sunlight will still do some damage over time.
7) You can toss a spare rope into a bag and store it in the vehicle very easily. This is not trivial with a coil of steel wire.
I will continue to use synthetic rope. The safety is worth it. Not having to carry a pile of burlap bags around is nice. Being able to get setup sans gloves (sometimes they get borrowed or covered in grease) is good. Need a quick pull? It's much easier to setup. Snatch block is easier to setup.
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Muzzle of Bees
New member
How hard is it to understand that synthetic has an expiration date?
J.F. Sebastian
New member
On a side note the rep at warn told me that synthetic rope is to be replaced every single year no matter what. does this make sense? 300 synthetic rope needs to replaced yearly?arty::sniper:
Motor oil gets changed in fairly short intervals depending on it's use too... Crazy, ain't it!
50 recoveries and you're surprised it broke!?
do you have a hawse or roller fairlead? lots of use against a hawse can heat and damage synthetic winch rope (although it looks okay in the second pic from what you can see). Consider getting not gray for the replacement since it's harder to see melting or glazing on gray rope
CdaleR4000si
New member
Guys, the OP hasn't logged into this site for about 4 years now.
Muzzle of Bees
New member
That is okay. Since we wont ever run out of dumb people this a good PSA.
Muzzle of Bees
New member
Another PSA for those that do not know how to use that information.
Every transaction you do is logged. You do not need the actual receipt just the transaction details. The processor assigned that information to the card you used. That you can find online or call the card vendor for it.
Sean K.
New member
Probably partly b/c of UV exposure and partly due to simple wear and age...just like most synth rigging has expiration tags.
snow junky
New member
I’d rather not replace my rope every few years. I think wire is more durable that’s why I keep it. Steel Wire is way more difficult to handle tho.
WhiteBoomer04
New member
I have had my wire cable since 2005. Done a ton of recoveries and trail maintenance over the years (pulling logs, boulders etc including using snatch blocks).
Always wore gloves
Always used a weighted blanket that can be filled with water, sand, clothes etc.
Always cleared people and animals before pulling.
Never had a break. Never caught a burr.
Have dragged the cable across dirt, rock and lumber that has cut into all of them. Again, never damaged the wire. Inspect the cable after each use, and at every oil change wind it out and spool it back on.
I have a spare cable in the truck with my other spares. (Cable can be bought cheap from people who switch to synthetic)
Synthetic weights less than steel so that's a bonus. Other than that, I really prefer cable to rope.
Just my 2c in comparison to some.
Always wore gloves
Always used a weighted blanket that can be filled with water, sand, clothes etc.
Always cleared people and animals before pulling.
Never had a break. Never caught a burr.
Have dragged the cable across dirt, rock and lumber that has cut into all of them. Again, never damaged the wire. Inspect the cable after each use, and at every oil change wind it out and spool it back on.
I have a spare cable in the truck with my other spares. (Cable can be bought cheap from people who switch to synthetic)
Synthetic weights less than steel so that's a bonus. Other than that, I really prefer cable to rope.
Just my 2c in comparison to some.
Jetboy
New member
I don't think there's much debate that dyneema rope of similar size has a higher failure load than steel. It's safer when it breaks (I've broken both - more times with steel). And it weights a lot less.
Dyneema is far easier to splice in the field or at home. Few offroad tool/hardware kits include the cable splice hardware. Everyone who has wire rope should have them along IMO. It almost always breaks within a foot or two of the end, where it bends on the fairlead for storage. If you know what you're doing anyone with something as simple as a pen or a sharpened wood stick can make a brumel splice in dyneema rope. If you are really in a pinch and familiar with working with ropes - you can easily cut off the end of your winch rope and make soft shackles in the field and also still use the shorter winch rope. Never had to - but a bare length of dyneema in your recovery bag is a heck of a lot more useful than a length of wire rope or a chain. But it does require that you learn how to tie knots and how to splice it.
The down sides are cost, heat sensitivity, and sensitivity to UV in low quality ropes, and lower resistance to cuts or abrasion on sharp objects.
For me - I have winches with both. I think they both work fine. But I would probably not buy a new winch that didn't use synthetic rope and likely will not replace any wire rope with anything but synthetic. I do still use stainless wire rope for some standing rigging on my sailboat because of the resistance to abrasion. Outside of that use - synthetic rope is just so much easier to live with it's worth the small price premium. I even own a hydraulic crimping tool for making crimped cable ends, but I still generally prefer synthetic ropes for ease of use. Not for safety or longevity. I still think longevity goes to steel in most cases outside of marine use. I'd much rather use a 20 or 30 year old steel cable than a 20 or 30 year old synthetic one.
Dyneema is far easier to splice in the field or at home. Few offroad tool/hardware kits include the cable splice hardware. Everyone who has wire rope should have them along IMO. It almost always breaks within a foot or two of the end, where it bends on the fairlead for storage. If you know what you're doing anyone with something as simple as a pen or a sharpened wood stick can make a brumel splice in dyneema rope. If you are really in a pinch and familiar with working with ropes - you can easily cut off the end of your winch rope and make soft shackles in the field and also still use the shorter winch rope. Never had to - but a bare length of dyneema in your recovery bag is a heck of a lot more useful than a length of wire rope or a chain. But it does require that you learn how to tie knots and how to splice it.
The down sides are cost, heat sensitivity, and sensitivity to UV in low quality ropes, and lower resistance to cuts or abrasion on sharp objects.
For me - I have winches with both. I think they both work fine. But I would probably not buy a new winch that didn't use synthetic rope and likely will not replace any wire rope with anything but synthetic. I do still use stainless wire rope for some standing rigging on my sailboat because of the resistance to abrasion. Outside of that use - synthetic rope is just so much easier to live with it's worth the small price premium. I even own a hydraulic crimping tool for making crimped cable ends, but I still generally prefer synthetic ropes for ease of use. Not for safety or longevity. I still think longevity goes to steel in most cases outside of marine use. I'd much rather use a 20 or 30 year old steel cable than a 20 or 30 year old synthetic one.
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04rnr
New member
Did you ever clean it?
Did you ever inspect it?
Was the rope ever covered/protected?
Jetboy
New member
The OP hasn't been on in a very long time. But interesting discussion. As best I can tell he bought a used winch with used synthetic winch rope and then it broke. So I kinda doubt he has any idea what had happened to it before his ownership and use.
One thing that is worth learning from it is that damage to wire rope is usually a lot easier to visually identify than damage to synthetic rope.
Boconnor303
New member
People seem to forget about this lovely little concept that we call cycles to failure. I'm an Arborist and literally live on a rope every day, every day my rope fibers are used/stretched they get 1 cycle closer to failing under a normal load. This is why safe working limits are usually a fraction of the minimum breaking strength. This means that 18,000lb rope is good for ONE 18,000lb pull before it cant be trusted at that weight anymore. It's pretty simple and makes a ton of sense... when ropes are used they lose strength. No rope will last forever in any circumstance.
Now, I'm not sure how long Winch lines usually last, but we use the same type of hollowbraid or doublebraid ropes in rigging operations..... they snap all the time because of the history of use combined with a big ass load being applied..... not surprising at all this happened to a Winch line.
Oh and "checking" your synthetic line (or any rope) means feeling every inch of the rope for irregularities and issues.... BEFORE EVERY USE.
Now, I'm not sure how long Winch lines usually last, but we use the same type of hollowbraid or doublebraid ropes in rigging operations..... they snap all the time because of the history of use combined with a big ass load being applied..... not surprising at all this happened to a Winch line.
Oh and "checking" your synthetic line (or any rope) means feeling every inch of the rope for irregularities and issues.... BEFORE EVERY USE.
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JAXJeremy
New member
came from wire, switched to synthetic on my off-road rig (6K lb Bronco).. never broke the wire, but got tired of kinked lines and cutting my hands..I've only used the synthetic maybe 1/2 a dozen times, and my winch is behind my bumper so I don't have to worry about the UV issue. However, like any other piece of off-road equipment you have to periodically check it and keep it in safe working order.
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