winch cable vs rope

Ok so I need to replace my kinked and frayed cable on my t-max ew10. I have read a lot of good things about master pull on how it is stronger, lighter, safer, and it floats. But a lot of the local guys are telling me to stay away from the ropes because a couple drags over a rock and you have two expensive tow straps. If that is true I'm ok with it as long as the warranty will cover it but if I'm crap out of luck when my strap cuts in two then I rather just pay $60 for 5/16" 100' cable then the $200+ for a good rope + the new hawse

So cable or rope????

The rope comes with an abrasion shield, about 6-8 feet long. If you're going to be dragging it over anything, use that. But then when winching yourself, the rope will be largely stationary while it's you who will be moving. I have a Viking line rope in my Smittybilt XRC-10 with their Hawse fairlead. I've used it a few times to move a couple vehicles so far and it's been good. I figured it was worthwhile to save the weight and to avoid frayed wires cutting my hand open and to lessen the likelihood of it it snapping and doing serious damage.

How much do you trust the abrasion shield? What is the warranty like if you do cut it? I have been told the "shield" is to wrap around the drum to keep the heat from melting the rope.

I'll have to look into the warranty. It seems as though it was lifetime unless I deliberately cut it with a knife or something though. The shield is pretty much just a tube of stiffer fabric. If the rope was rubbing against a rock hard enough to worry about, the shield would stay put while the rope slid through it, so I think if used properly the shield ought to be pretty good.

Hopefully Alex, "Ba-Reido" or Matt "IXNAYXJ" will chime in (both are Masterpull guys now) but FWIW I do believe you can splice the line back together IF you do break it. Emil, I believe was his name (the guy who owns Masterpull), had a nice discussion with us at NWFest about the benefits of Synthetic Winch line and I believe it's fair to say he sold everyone of us on it. Just a matter of gathering the funds. I'd say that a good chunk of the NW chapter guys are running Synthetic winch line (including tons of local buggies and such) with great success even in the rocks. You just have to make sure you use it properly, much like anything else.

~Scott

If your mindful about how you use the rope you will have no problems. I loved my synthetic line on my xd9000.

Muddy Beast said:

I do believe you can splice the line back together IF you do break it.
~Scott

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You can weave the line back together where it break. For sure.

I don't weave so do you send it back and they fix it? Is that part a weak spot then?

POLAR_JEEP_04 said:

I don't weave so do you send it back and they fix it? Is that part a weak spot then?

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Not weaving in the traditional sense. You open (widen) one end of the rope up, stuff the other side inside of that and pull tight. Both ends then cinch together and away you go. Something you could easily do on the trail. In addition, that is the same way they attach the hook, so "no" it doesn't create a weak spot.

There are too many positives to owning a synthetic line.
-Weight
-Strength
-Saftey
-You can replace that "God awful" heavy, ugly roller fairlead with an aluminum piece.

All in all (between cable and fairlead) that's about 30-35lbs. of weight saved hanging over your front end.

But ultimately the decision is yours. Cheers friend! :cheers:

After going with synthetic(Amsteel Blue) a few years ago there's no way I'd ever go back to steel wire rope. I cringe when I have to help winch someone that has steel wire rope, it's heavy, cuts up your hands, and is dangerous.
I've used my Amsteel blue a bunch and have had no issues with it.
If you go with synthetic rope go with two shorter sleeves instead of one long one and remember to always have them all the way out at the hook end when winching your rope all the way in.

I vote rope, its lighter and if it snaps it just falls to the ground insted of whipping like cable

POLAR_JEEP_04 said:

Ok so I need to replace my kinked and frayed cable on my t-max ew10. I have read a lot of good things about master pull on how it is stronger, lighter, safer, and it floats. But a lot of the local guys are telling me to stay away from the ropes because a couple drags over a rock and you have two expensive tow straps. If that is true I'm ok with it as long as the warranty will cover it but if I'm crap out of luck when my strap cuts in two then I rather just pay $60 for 5/16" 100' cable then the $200+ for a good rope + the new hawse

So cable or rope????

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Rope all the way! Talk to Ba-reido He can Help you out. Like Darky said there is an abrasion shield on the rope and it will do just fine at protecting the rope from abrasion.

Jes said:

After going with synthetic(Amsteel Blue) a few years ago there's no way I'd ever go back to steel wire rope. I cringe when I have to help winch someone that has steel wire rope, it's heavy, cuts up your hands, and is dangerous.
I've used my Amsteel blue a bunch and have had no issues with it.
If you go with synthetic rope go with two shorter sleeves instead of one long one and remember to always have them all the way out at the hook end when winching your rope all the way in.

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Yep. Nearly all of our club runs rope and not many treat it very good. It holds up awesome for the abuse they go through.

And splicing a broken section is simple once you practice a few times.

I've been running the stuff from offroad only though.

99xj4x4 said:

My vote is stick to cable, its just a lot more practical.

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What makes cable more practical?
I switched to rope earlier this year and won't go back to cable. I pretty much agree with the benefits everyone has already mentioned. I have witnessed the rope breaking and it just falls to the ground. It took a few ties, but we were able to tie a knot in it to finish the pull. Try that with a cable.

Like many have said in here there are many positive features and benefits of running synthetic rope. In order for a synthetic rope to work properly you must use it properly, this means that you cannot drag it over a sharp edge and expect it to stay in one piece. Our rock guards are the toughest and (I think) best designed on the market today. http://www.masterpull.com/item.cfm?itemid=9132

Unlike some companies that put a sleeve on the line this piece is removable so you are able to place it where ever you need a chafe guard. If you do manage to break one of our ropes we will splice it back up for you, just send it out to our shop, we cannot offer a "warranty" on the ropes because if you try hard enough it is possible to break anything.

If you have any other questions let me know or give me a call. I will be at the MP shop all day tomorrow (saturday) and can chat for a few minutes to help you make a decision, our number is 360 714 1313.

-Alex

Ba-Riedo said:

If you do manage to break one of our ropes we will splice it back up for you, just send it out to our shop, we cannot offer a "warranty" on the ropes because if you try hard enough it is possible to break anything.

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Well that isn't a good reason not to have a warranty if you ask me. Aftermarket axle and u-joint company's have life time warranties and those are part I see most likely to break. BUT if you are willing to fix it for FREE if it does ever break that is warranty enough for me.

POLAR_JEEP_04 said:

Well that isn't a good reason not to have a warranty if you ask me. Aftermarket axle and u-joint company's have life time warranties and those are part I see most likely to break. BUT if you are willing to fix it for FREE if it does ever break that is warranty enough for me.

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Some items are far more subject to user abuse and because of that it is not feasible to offer a lifetime warranty. Some people will break stuff intentionally when it gets dirty or worn a little bit just to get a new part. I think that a shop that will splice your rope back together for free is offering a great service. It takes some significant time to properly splice a rope back together.

From what I've read and seen, synthetic line is safer when it breaks, but it also breaks much more often the steel line. Every other post here talks about how easy synthetic rope is to splice and how it doesn't whip when it breaks. How many people have broken a steel cable? Any personal stories? I've done a bunch of pulls with steel, and one with synthetic. The synthetic line broke at the eye, and had to be spliced to complete the pull. That's not a fair report because the synthetic line was already frayed at the eye before he tried to use it. The synthetic is a good product, but it requires as much or more care then steel, and you have to be careful handling it to prevent damaging it. If you don't take care of it, it WILL break, same as steel. The difference is, steel will tolerate a lot more abuse, and be much more dangerous when it does let go.
As for handling safety, the synthetic is easier to handle, but if you're winching, and not wearing heavy leather gloves, you're doing something wrong.:looney:

Personal opinion:
What do you use it for/how often? On a dedicated trail rig that runs every weekend, or a dd/trail rig that might get stuck and winch once a year? If you hardly ever use it and it just sits in the sun and rain, go steel.

Do you have a lightweight 3800lb XJ or a 5500lb behemoth? If you went to the trouble to build a lightweight rig, the extra 30-40 lb off the front will be noticeable. On the other hand, if your front bumper weighs 250lb bare, and the front axle weighs 700 lb. the weight reduction isn't going to help much.

The abrasion shield can be bought at REI, it is just hollow strap. I prefer rope over cable for these main reasons:
1. Weighs nothing compared to steel. 2. Doesn't cut peoples arms and legs off when the cable snaps. 3. No splinters or cuts. 4. More flexible. I put about 30 feet of additional abrasion guard over my rope. If you drag wire cable over rocks you also get splintering abrasion etc. I use a lead rope hooked to my winch cable to protect it and extend it. I run 85 feet of synthetic rope and have 35 feet of extension or lead rope as well. It stores easily compared to wire.