synthetic winch lines

[DefcoL]

A General thread on synthetic winch line.

As per topic title I was wondering which line is best and have been told that all have their faults and good points.

There are a lot of very experience competitors on this forum So..

What is most important to you, certified, brand, durability, price, or what your mate recommends?

Are there any comparison charts available?

How do you care for your line? What are the best ways to keep it in good shape?

What are your do's and don’ts regarding maintaining its durability?

Are there any recommendations for truck weight, wheelbase, tyre size or dose that not matter?

For many beginners it is a minefield so what do you think?

[SteveG]

A General thread on synthetic winch line.

As per topic title I was wondering which line is best and have been told that all have their faults and good points.

Unbreakable ones are best imho

There are a lot of very experience competitors on this forum So..

What is most important to you, certified, brand, durability, price, or what your mate recommends?

Price as I don't have any mates

Are there any comparison charts available?

Nope

How do you care for your line? What are the best ways to keep it in good shape?

Plenty of love, plus also regular exercise, good balanced diet, vitamins and only moderate binge drinking

What are your do's and don'ts regarding maintaining its durability?

Don't break, cut it, burn it, destroy it - I think that's it

Are there any recommendations for truck weight, wheelbase, tyre size or dose that not matter?

Keep weight down, 100" wheelbase, big tyres and nope it doesn't matter, it's how good your winch bitch is what really counts

For many beginners it is a minefield so what do you think?

Don't bother, sell the winch and drink the proceeds

[white90]

Steve covers it

but

I have 3 Varieties of rope

The one I would buy again every time if available would be Amsteel Blue.

I wash the ropes meticulously after each event and to date they have lasted me well.

[Nobbymogs]

i use Plasma 12 strand 11mm available from Andy T @ Ruftraks

the rope is used hard at every event but it is well looked after as well after every event i wash each rope by hand that is after i leave it in a bucket of water with a little washing up liquid or clothes washing liquid, it can and will take a long time to clean but it will prolong the life span of the rope, we are always very mindful of winching over and around trees and rocks as this dont help the rope at all.

when the rope dries i check it for damage and if it is that bad you will be able to remove the hook and reverse it so you are basically doubling the life span of the rope, but all ropes will snap eventually some quicker than others, some will say that they snapped their rope on their first event but they forgot to tell you that half hour before they were winching over a 6 ft rock and the rope was snagged over the top

if you want any more advice im sure that a crazy Scotsman would love to tell you any thing you need to know about synthetic winch lines what he dnt know aint worth knowing

give him a bell on 0141 563 7972 or check out Ruftraks Web Site

we used the same rope all year but it did snap on the last event but that was our fault for getting it caught on a bloody rock and didnt see it

[roguevogue]

I use Bowrope from Goodwinch, used the same ropes for all 8 rounds of Howlin Wolf last season and 3 other non HW events.

I've no idea how we care for the ropes, that's James' remit i'm afraid.

[Boothy]

12mm Marlow competition rope,

Wash in the machine on No4 soft wool and delicates 40* with rinse hold after every event.

KEEP THE ROPE OUT OF THE SUN WHEN NOT IN USE, OR COVER IT, it hates UV and it gets seriously degraded by it.

But the best tip by far with any type of rope is, get the bitch to go halves on it, and just watch how much longer it lasts now.

[Orange]

...get the bitch to go halves on it, and just watch how much longer it lasts now.

Genius...........pure f-in genius!!!!!!! Mark..........

I have used Rockstomper and it snapped continuously on our first serious competitive event.

Now I use Bowrope. Snapped the back one after several short sharp nasty pulls on one section in the 6th event of the Challenger series, but that's it (and I think that's only because I put the wrong rope back on.......9.5mm isn't man enough for that sort of treatment!!). Otherwise they have stood up well to the competitions we have done.

WRT cleaning... Soaked in a bucket of rainwater for a few days, then rinsed thoroughly and hung to dry. No detergents. All checked for tears/frays before respooling for the next event.

The cleaning of ropes is somewhat debatable, though, as after the first pull in the next competition, the rope is full of cr@p again, so I'm not sure they benefit much. However, I use the theory that cleaning them can't do any harm.....

[rusty_wingnut]

I have just taken delivery of a 10mm Bowrope I'm hoping it's as good as RV says

[Orange]

You shouldn't be disappointed!!

[DefcoL]

...get the bitch to go halves on it, and just watch how much longer it lasts now.

Genius...........pure f-in genius!!!!!!! Mark..........

Just got to try that one on my mate

Any one got any info on the marlow rope?

[SteveG]

In my experience it didn't seem to take hard use as well bowrope and plasma 12. Any contact with an edge like on a tight side pull and it would let go immediately. I ended up using mine as an extension.

Nick, RV, should have a better idea as he's had a lot more use and experience of Marlow in comparison to others.