Four Wheeler mag winch shootout

[wardrow]

I wonder why you never see a Hydraulic winch put in these test?

[bfdiesel]

I wonder why you never see a Hydraulic winch put in these test?

Because they are better than electric and no one argues about it.

[Master-Pull]

Better as in stronger? Sure but also much slower, require the rig to be running, and can be more difficult to install.

-Alex

[Scott Brady]

Here is another way to do a winch test: Ultimate 12v Winch Test

[cnynrat]

http://www.fourwheeler.com/techartic...out/index.html

That has got to be one of the most biased reviews I've read in a long time. I like WARN and all, but the WARN failed every single test, yet they gave it first place. In fact, the only two winches that didn't have a catastrophic failure were ranked 3rd and 4th place. Most amazingly, the $330 fourth place winch, beat out the $1500 1st place winch across the board.

Is it really a failure when the winch fails at twice it's rated load? Sounds like they may have been deliberately trying to test to destruction. Why didn't they test all the winches to twice their rated load? If they had they might have had some more catastrophic failures.

I think the biggest issue I have is they don't adequately explain their testing methodology, so it leaves me with a bunch of questions about whether it was a well designed set of tests.

Pretty clear they rated the Warn higher across the board in their subjective evaluation, and that made up for a few shortcomings in the performance tests. If you wanted to bias your choice purely towards performance it looks like the T-Max would be worth a look.

[Scott Brady]

Is it really a failure when the winch fails at twice it's rated load?

Destructive testing for review should not be completed past stall. Stall is the indicator of the winch's capacity for 'self destruction'. While it might be interesting or worth the OEM to perform tests at beyond stall, it serves little purpose to the consumer and confuses the result.

If a winch destroys itself even past the rated capacity (i.e. 9000lbs), but before a stall, it is a fail- pure and simple.

[unrealtrip]

Here is another way to do a winch test: Ultimate 12v Winch Test

Wow, now that is a real test.

[I Leak Oil]

Cheesy test in a cheesy magazine yes...but media bias isn't what has made my Warn serve me well for the past 15 years. Long term I don't think you can go wrong with any of the big 3, Warn, Superwich or Ramsey. It'll be interesting to see where some of these less expensive no name brands will be in 15-20 years. Only time will tell.

[Scott Brady]

A winch is a safety device. You are better off not having one than buying a cheap one. As mentioned, buy from Warn, Superwinch and Ramsey. They are the only companies innovating, so if they go out of business, the cool stuff stops being developed.

[wardrow]

Better as in stronger? Sure but also much slower, require the rig to be running, and can be more difficult to install.

-Alex

I am not an expert here so I'm not trying to sound like a pom-pus ****. Can some of you more knowledgeable recovery experts please teach me. Why is having a slower winch a bad thing? every situation I have had to recover, I though a slow steady pace seamed quite safe. Why is leaving your vehicle running a bad thing? I don't really think an electric which is going to run for to long with out an alternator. I here these stories that with an electric winch you can up-right your self even with the engine dead. I can't even imagine how you do that with just one line and how you would have to have several pulleys and just the right anchor points. I do not discount that it could be done but how? If there is a vid some place I would love to see it.

Again, I am just looking to learn from others.