How many have you seen and what type of failures. Must not be very many becuse what stats are available show verly little failure. I know of a LOT of SB winches being used and I know of 3 fails, all three were workable and did not stop the use, just had to work at it a little and then when called, Smittybilt sent parts next day. And yes, the 1st gen units had some issues but worked, mine had a lot of puls on it and is still going.
Another difference is how the manufacturer responds. SB, like Warn, sends repair parts out imediately, no problems. They ask a bunch of questions so they know what and how and then if they have multiple fails for that, they fix it. Not like Harbor Freight winch that you can't get help, can't get parts and they don't care as long as it sells.
I know several guys that are on the Warn band wagon and that is fine but I will never understand it. The specs for the SB match the Warn, the customer service is basically the same but I have heard the SB folks are nicer on average. But the Warn runs $540 and up where the SB runs $280-$299. Everything in the Warn stable is higher priced because of the name and I am just not willing to pay for that name. The SB has proven it self to be just as good but less expensive, I choose to save the money, quality is not in the name, its in the material and workmanship.
That said I think before people take the word of others on a product, they need to do some real research and, if possible, get some hands on. I rarley take the word of someone who has never had a product but has seen "others" fail. I find that when you get right down to the details, most of those come out that the person never "saw" the fail, only heard about from someone else that heard about it....... Anywone wont to have hands on can use my winch too. I bought one of the first SM SRC8's to hit this area as a test case because people were asking me about them. Glen at 4 Wheel Parts of Mesa got it for me and I commenced to beat on it. I had an intermittent issue with the remote and SB sent me a new one that I got the NEXT DAY. I have had a SB winch on my jeep everysince and used it in SAR recoveries, assistance calls and everything, I have more pulls on the newest SB winch already, that average Jeepers will put on their winch in a lifetime.
That is real world experience with an SB winch, not what I heard from a friend of a friend so I bash a product.