Synthetic Winch Line

Why synthetic? Superwinch engineers will tell you! And yes, obviously this is Superwinch biased based information, but you get the idea of the benefits of synthetic winch line



Here are a few reasons why you might want to upgrade to the synthetic rope:

• Safety
  

Synthetic rope is much safer to handle than wire rope.  You won’t have to worry about metal wire cutting into your hand, and, if it breaks, there is much less energy released, helping to prevent personal injury and vehicle damage.

• Weight
  

Synthetic rope is much lighter than wire rope.  You can easily remove over 20 pounds from the front of your truck by switching to synthetic rope.  This improves vehicle performance and fuel efficiency, while also being easier on your suspension.

• Your winch can handle it
  

If you are using a winch with a brake mounted outside the drum and a heavy duty steel drum, like a Superwinch EXP or Superwinch Talon, your winch was built with synthetic rope in mind.  These winches can withstand the extra forces on the drum from a synthetic rope.  Their brakes are mounted outside of the drum, at the end of the gearbox.  This keeps heat away from the synthetic rope on the drum, preventing premature wear from heat degradation.  This also means you won’t need expensive synthetic ropes with fancy coatings or coverings on the drum side of the rope.  We’ve already planned ahead for you!

Written by Jacob A. - Superwinch Engineer II

I have switched to synthetic line on my Warn M8000. I chose to go with a kevlar line (Instead of dyneema) due to a higher melting point... I'm a firefighter and often park near fires. I didn't want to risk having a stray hot ember land on my winchline and damage it.

One of the downfalls is that synthetic line needs mire maintenance. It needs to be kept clean as the dirt/sand in the rope can damage it,  as can abrasion over rocks. It also needs to be stored out of sunlight under a winch cover, inside an enclosed winch bumper.

Steve

Hamilton Marine is a good source for synthetic line but you do have to splice your own ends. I scored 130 feet of 3/8" spectra for less than $70 during one of their sales.