Synthetic Rope for Winch Cable ?

It is simple, if you can't keep it wet or expose it to sun for long periods of time what good is it?

Well, I use my atv for ten weeks out of the year. Perhaps it will rain 25% of those ten weeks, say a total of 2 1/2 weeks a year. During most of that 2 1/2 weeks, I keep it stored in a shed, or covered with a Cabellos cover.

Maybe it gets exposed to rain a total of 3 or 4 times a year. I DOUBT that would hurt it.

Same specs for sun.

My original post included the words:

Harry, have you USED a rope cable on a winch, and what experience did you have ??

--James--

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It is simple, if you can't keep it wet or expose it to sun for long periods of time what good is it?

Plastics/synthetics can hold up far better than metal in some conditions so I'm curious about those who've tried it too.

-John

Bill, that isn't true. I ruined it by not keeping tension on it as I reeled it in (my teenage boys), and over time, the cable wound uneven, etc, and got kinked, frayed, etc. I see it as a bit of a problem to keep a cable wound even as it is wound up.

I am just looking for other's experiences. My own gut reaction is much the same as yours.......... I was doubtful, but I know there are some Jeep fellows that love em.......

Thanks !!

--James--

Well, yes but not on a winch. Our unit was part of a pilot program to test every thing from Samson Braid to wire rope (steel cable). The best product by far was the wire rope. We tested some supposed high tensile strength Kevlar and it was garbage. It does not take sharp bends very well and frays way to easy. I would not but my life especially my jeep in a situation that would render either useless on the clone cabling. If the stuff is so god why doesn't the military use it and where is the UL listing? Food for thought.

To my knowledge (and I know the kind folks on this board will say so if I'm wrong here), many, if not all, of the rock-crawling competitions are now requiring the synthetic winch line. One of the very good quality ones is X-Line.

One of the major benefits of the synthetic winch rope is that it weighs next to nothing as compared to steel cable. Yes, you need to make sure you don't drag it over rocks (which is why you get a long snake-like sheeth that will go over the rope that you can slide into place where the rope may contact a rock). But, if the rope should ever break, there won't be near the stored energy as with a steel cable, and the resulting whipping of the rope won't be so catastrophic to person nor vehicle.

I have a friend with a Warn who had the same problem as you; hardly ever needed to use his winch, and when we needed it last year, found it had a bad kink in it; apparently he hadn't reeled it in perfectly the last time, and didn't realize it. So, he replaced it with the synthetic rope, and it works great. Plus, there is no danger of kinking this kind of rope, so it's not as imperative that the rope lay JUST SO when reeling it back in. He's already tested it a couple times, once pulling a fullsize truck equipped with a plow up out onto a driveway it had slid off of at a friend's backwoods mountain house.

One thing you have to remember to look for is a rope that has a high-temp treatment or material for the first x number of feet (depending on the size of your winch, this requirement of length varies) so that the minimum first wrap of the line has this material/coating. The regular rope used for the rest of the winch line would melt if it was the first wrap, due to the intense heat that builds up on the winch drum during operation.

Hope that helps you with your decision. Were I in your shoes and I could afford the more expensive synth rope, I would definitely get it. I've seen it in action, and it is great. SO much easier to work with than the steel crap.

/Bob

Very helpful post Bob, thanks a lot !!

--James--

I haven't used one, but I know of them and have seen them in use. I can't think of any reason to not use them.

That's very much in line with recent applications of synthetics in other fields, for example Glock revolutionized the handgun industry in the 1980s with a largely plastic pistol. Now they are carried by many/most police and dominate the market. They are lighter than metal, totally reliable and resist bumps.

Every material has trade-offs. Metal cables resist cutting relatively well (such as pulling across a sharp stone), but synthetics are much more flexible. Metal doesn't like repeated bending--it'll work harden and crack. Synthetics don't like heat or sunlight, but metals rust or corrode in water and salt spray.

You can't judge modern materials by cheap nylon rope and stuff from 30 years ago.

-John

Name one rope that has that high-temp resistant x-number of feet at the beginning aside from Warn's new $700 winch rope. ;)

On top of that, the only (!) time heat becomes an issue for synthetic rope is when you're using the winch's brake to spool rope out... heat is NOT an issue for normal inward winching.

Jerry

-- Jerry Bransford PP-ASEL N6TAY See the Geezer Jeep at

Name one rope that has that high-temp resistant x-number of feet at the beginning aside from Warn's new $700 winch rope. ;)

On top of that, the only (!) time heat becomes an issue for synthetic rope is when you're using the winch's brake to spool rope out... heat is NOT an issue for normal inward winching.

Jerry

-- Jerry Bransford PP-ASEL N6TAY See the Geezer Jeep at

Jerry Bransford proclaimed:

Do the newer synthetic ropes stretch as bad as the old nylon ones from the 60's and 70's? We used to use one to bungee off the staging platform of a 500 foot instrumentation tower... Twas roughly one inch diameter.

I would expect it to be strong in compression but not in tension. Pulling is tension.

Tension.

Bullet and shrapnel impacts are compression.

Does that apply to non-electrical items?

-- W§ mostly in m.s -