Synthetic vs. Wire

[jscusmcvet]

Having used a Warn HS 9500 for years, that now resides on my son's jeep I have just begun shopping for a new winch. I understand the benefit of the Synthetic rope vs. the wire in regard to safety, ease of handling and weight. I use my winches and jeeps on a nearly weekly basis around my land, skidding logs, helping with tree cutting, moving heavy objects, etc...

In that regard, it seems like sticking with steel cable is the way to go for durability. I have no idea if I am right. Anyone who can help me with this?

 

[Stumpalump]

My axe is more durable than my chainsaw so should I go back to using an axe? Synthetic is so much easier to use and if you start with a thicker line than recommended then small nicks won't be bad.

 

[1stDeuce]

I'll agree that synthetic is WAY easier to handle. I just switched my XD9000 over this spring, and so far so good. I did manage to cut it on the fairlead on my first trip out with it though, so make sure you don't have any sharp edges that will get to the rope. Mine was only touching with no layers on the drum, but a hard pull resulted in about 6' of rope getting cut off the end. It doesn't just fall to the ground when you cut it under tension either, it piled up 125' away against the tree that I had it attached to. BUT I don't think it would have hurt much to have it hit you, as it's very light compared to steel, which recoils much more violently from what I've seen. (1/2" steel breaking close to 50klbs is not cool...)

If you're going to work it, I'd opt for a little less rope on the drum and use the next size larger than the steel cable that the winch came with. And for dragging trees and stuff, use a choker chain to do the grabbing, and the rope to just pull. The rope won't like getting dragged over rocks, through trees and dirt, etc.

Chris

 

[Hill Bill E.]

I use my winch a lot around the cabin and house, always dragging/hoisting/moving something.

I switched to the Master Pull Supper XD Line a few years ago, haven't had any problems with it.

I do carry a couple of grade 70 5/16" chains, a 10' and a 15'. Used them with the wire rope also, for choking logs/brush/etc.

After running synthetic, I'll stick with it. (the XD line has a dyneema sheath over the synthetic rope, helps with abrasions)

 

[Antichrist]

I've always used my winches for what you describe, that's one of the main reasons I still use wire rope.
In 35+ years of it, never had one break.

 

[Warn Industries]

As you probably know, we offer winches with both, and we also now offer our Spydura Synthetic rope as a stand-alone item.

I wrote a bit on our blog site about wire vs. synthetic. It might help clarify things.

http://www.warn.com/blog/2011/11/18/synthetic_rope_vs_steel_rope_which_one_is_best.shtml

My thoughts on the matter are that if you're using your winch in high abrasion situations or for utility use, wire is still a good choice. This is mostly because you don't have to worry about the abrasion.

Synthetic is great stuff. However, it is easier to abrade than wire, so make sure that abrasion sleeve is down across objects you may be winching over.

- Andy

 

[jscusmcvet]

All great input and much appreciated. I am going to put some serious thought into the abrasion issue. If I examine the way I work on a task, I may not always take nough time to check for the potential for abrasion... that makes me lean towards wire. Would not hurt to lose the weight up front, but I will have to try and balance those two things out.

Thanks for the input.

John

 

[I Leak Oil]

I love my synthetic for vehicle recovery but I have yet to see a single piece of logging equipment around here that has synthetic instead of wire rope.

 

[emmodg]

We have over 15 different trucks with synthetic lines - XD, non-XD, and some Viking....our trucks are used to train military groups every month for multi 5-day programs. We have never regretted using UHMPF of one form or another. you will not regret using poly line!

 

[Antichrist]

All great input and much appreciated. I am going to put some serious thought into the abrasion issue. If I examine the way I work on a task, I may not always take nough time to check for the potential for abrasion... that makes me lean towards wire. Would not hurt to lose the weight up front, but I will have to try and balance those two things out.

Some other things to take in to account are winch load capacity, type of winch (electric, hydraulic, PTO) and how many layers are on the drum when pulling the heaviest loads.

...I have yet to see a single piece of logging equipment around here that has synthetic instead of wire rope.

Yup. On a skidder was the only place I've ever broken a wire rope. And that was from improper dropping of the load when I was a noob operator.
Even though you'd have to be nuts, or love spending money, to run synthetic on a skidder, skidding logs is pretty different even from dragging logs with a vehicle winch. I still wouldn't use synthetic for it though.

 

[Master-Pull]

Obviously I am a bit biased towards synthetic, but I try to give out as much non biased information and allow customers to make informed decisions instead of trying to push a product. With that being said synthetic lines can last a very long time. My Superline XD is almost a decade old and is still in working order, I have seen a few customers send theirs back after 7 or 8 years to have a new thimble or hook put on and the rope is still in good shape.

Basically when it comes to synthetic you have 3 choices for Dyneema and a few others. You have your open weave 12 strand ropes (MP Basic, Amsteel Blue, Viking Trail Line, Spydura, and so on), then you Superline (which has been heated and stretched to give increased strength and abrasion resistance), and finally Superline XD (this has a core of Superline with an outer braided cover along the entire rope). The braided cover on Superline XD helps with abrasion resistance, but more importantly it keeps the dirt and grit from tearing up the inner load bearing core. We have seen multiple failures due to age on our basic series that are caused because the rope is dirty on the inside and the grit has been working like sand paper on the rope.

-Alex

 

[verdesardog]

I have synthetic line on myhydraulic winch and have several wire chokers to use on the end of it.