Steel winch cable vs synthetic rope

[rho]

So I've seen a bit of back and forth on folks preference for winch rope... Not really saying which is better or not, but just throwing my experiences out and I'm curious what other experiences people have dealt with different cable types and with other winch tools. Blocks, clevises, slings, etc.

A lot of my wheeling is in the rocks in the Sierra Nevada so I tend to favor using steel cable as it tends to hold up better in those high abrasion environments than rope that I've seen. Additionally the winch on my truck gets used for a lot of utility things around our property in the mountains, clearing brush, dragging logs around, etc so I've always felt that the extra durability is worth the additional weight. I need to get a new cable here in a bit, but I'll be going with steel again given my use and where I use the thing.

 

[Plasmajab]

Personally, I preffer rope over cable. If it breaks its less deadly and i hate, hate, HATE metal slivers.

But what your saying is true, steel is stronger in high abrasive enviroments. IE, sharp angles, rocks.

 

[Billiebob]

I think if you are wheeling and using the winch often with a group of 4 wheelers the synthetic wins hands down. Just the fact it throws like a rope is a huge advantage over steel. But if you use your winch for a lot of other things including hauling logs, clearing trails, steel is the clear winner since you won't have to worry about abrasion or pinching it.

Synthetic is delicate, steel is care free.

The other consideration is sun and weather exposure. An oiled steel cable will still be like new 30 years later. Synthetic I would not trust on the bumper of a work truck after 10 years.

All our tow trucks use steel cable.

 

[rho]

I think if you are wheeling and using the winch often with a group of 4 wheelers the synthetic wins hands down. Just the fact it throws like a rope is a huge advantage over steel. But if you use your winch for a lot of other things including hauling logs, clearing trails, steel is the clear winner since you won't have to worry about abrasion or pinching it.

Synthetic is delicate, steel is care free.

The other consideration is sun and weather exposure. An oiled steel cable will still be like new 30 years later. Synthetic I would not trust on the bumper of a work truck after 10 years.

All our tow trucks use steel cable.

Great point about synthetic throwing like rope. I'm usually out solo so something like that hadn't ever occurred to me, but then again I've been using steel for over a decade now on my trucks...

 

[M Rose]

I have been tossing this debate in my head for several years, and steel cable wins out for me because I too use the winch for more than just a recovery tool.

 

[DrivingTacoLoco]

I think if you are wheeling and using the winch often with a group of 4 wheelers the synthetic wins hands down. Just the fact it throws like a rope is a huge advantage over steel. But if you use your winch for a lot of other things including hauling logs, clearing trails, steel is the clear winner since you won't have to worry about abrasion or pinching it.

Synthetic is delicate, steel is care free.

The other consideration is sun and weather exposure. An oiled steel cable will still be like new 30 years later. Synthetic I would not trust on the bumper of a work truck after 10 years.

All our tow trucks use steel cable.

Is there a specif method of oiling a steel cable?

 

[oldmopars]

This is one of those things that is like "what oil is best?" it all depends on your use and requirements.
I like both. However I have a slight preference towards synthetic. Steel is heavy and gets burs, but is very durable and kept oiled, it is impervious to weather and sunshine.
Synthetic is light, easy to work with, but will need to be kept covered as it get destroyed by the sun, and is less abrasion resistant. You also need to keep it cleaned.
If you are running a smaller or lighter rig, I would almost always go synthetic. For heavy work trucks where 20#'s is no big deal the steel is hard to beat.

 

[MidOH]

Rope is best.

Use the 30 foot chain from your Highlift kit for moving trees and illegally parked Prius's.

 

[Billiebob]

Is there a specif method of oiling a steel cable?

I get it from a local heavy truck shop, they buy it in 50 gallon barrels, but I think it is just a light oil.

 

[rho]

Deffo learned a bit regarding proper care of steel cable, woo. Added to my annual maintance check for the winch now.

 

[Billiebob]

Rope is best.

wire rope ? or
synthetic rope ?

 

[rho]

wire rope ? or
synthetic rope ?

Just. Rope. In general. As a tool, as a object as an underlying concept that ties us together as a.... ahh who am i kidding. I just use the stuff to pick up satellites.

 

[M Rose]

I use 10wt to oil the cable,

 

[MidOH]

wire rope ? or
synthetic rope ?

Synth rope.

I call wire.........cable.

 

[Smileyshaun]

One advantage of a rope winch line is if it does break you can tie it and continue with your recovery .

 

[Dilldog]

I just went with steel cable on my winch, mostly because I tended to be a bit careless with routing and like said above steel cable does tend to be more durable. For safety I always used a cable weight, so if the cable broke it was less likely to cause damage and injury ( it was explained to me that a weighted cable was more likely to simply fall to ground or whip back very little). For maintenance I would just oil the cable every time I changed transmission fluid. In the old Isuzu that was about once a year and the oil it used was straight 30weight and I always about 1/4quart left over. For other tools like blocks and clevises I just used clevises from industrial rigging shops and got ones rated for 2 times what my rig weighed. The rig I had the winch on was extremely light (2800 lbs ready to run) so never really needed a snatch block even with just 5k rated winch.
Also to add, my winch was used far more as shop utility tool than it ever was for recovery. I ended up making an A frame that hung off of my bumper and would use it to pull engines and move heavy parts around and load and unload stuff. So realistically my winch use was light duty stuff.

 

[slomatt]

For me it came down to weight and safety. Synthetic line reduces the weight that is cantilevered out over the front end, and it allows me to carry a lighter snatch block designed for synthetic rope. The light weight also makes it easier to spool/unspool the rope and to run it out to whatever I'm attaching to. I don't have to worry about metal splinters, and the synthetic rope has less inertia than wire.

That all said, I do have to think about abrasion, UV damage, and cleaning dirt/mud out of it.

For anyone who needs the utmost in durability and/or limited maintenance steel cable makes a lot of sense.

 

[Boostpowered]

I switched to rope because my cable kinked and became unsafe and i wanted to drop 80 lbs off my winch, original cable was only rated for 10k on a 13k winch so i went up with syn to 22500lb. Syn rope a few years back was kindof crappy but now you can get em with a full rock/heat guard layer. I also went up in length by 10 ft with syn cuz it fits and im usually stuck just outside an easy anchor point.
If cable snaps it will cut hoods smash windows and likely kill you and good luck splicing or tying one in the bush, if rope snaps you might get a smack on the ass thats about it then you tie the ends back together and continue winching.

 

[bgenlvtex]

Synth rope.

I call wire.........cable.

The people who sell it call it wire rope

 

[MidOH]

Don't care, as long as crane operators and everyone else I deal with calls it cable.