I came across this brand on Amazon at 12000lb with a synthetic line for $400 new. Anybody know of them first hand? They have all 5-star reviews. I understand that a lot of people think I should spend $1k on a Warn. But I'm not. So we can skip all that.

 

I can't speak to that brand specifically, but I would say that any winch that fits your budget is better than no winch at all. I'm not a believer that you need a $1k+ Warn either unless you just need that "W" emblem to feel like a stud. I have a Smitty X20 10k synthetic line myself and it works great. That doesn't seem like a bad price for a 12k lb winch with a synthetic line. I would note that looks to be IP67. Likely your not going to be out doing extended submersion water crossings that might require a higher rating. Also going to guess this would be used for typical/routine offroad recovery rather than trying to dead weight dangle your jeep over the side of a cliff. Bit of a gamble in regards to quality and customer service buying something not as well known, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't suit your need.

I would note that having a wireless remote is a nice feature, but not end of the world. You still have to go up to the winch and flip the switch to wireless.

 

How bad do you not want to be stuck?

$575 to my door for a brand new Warn M8000.

Will you be be able to get parts for a $400 Chicom winch in 3 years?

 

This is NOT a chicomie winch like the idiot stated they are a company out of Australia I personally jnow 6 people that use them and I just purchased this for my self .

 

Can you provide more details on the winch- how frequently you use, how long you've had it, etc? I'm intrigued because they've got a 12k lb with synthetic line on Amazon for $336. The cheapest of the cheap synthetic winch lines are $100 and that would leave $230 for the winch, but you've also got to figure in shipping on that thing. I don't see how they're making any money at that price point unless people are ordering them by the pallet. I'll admit that I've got a cheap Chinese winch and if I need parts for it, I'm on my own for sourcing those parts. It would be nice to move this winch to a non-critical position and have a winch where I can easily find parts without digging around too much and without paying for the shiny W across the front of it. Thank you and welcome to the forum buddy.

 

the guys that I know I've had them for a few years and they use them for off-road recovery rescue in northern Arizona my first experience with the 12000 pound winch we were doing an off-road run in Kingman Arizona and one of the guys had to use it three different occasions that day because people can't drive off-road I just personally ordered the 12000 pound winch yesterday and waiting for delivery I've talked to the guys that have had them for a few years and they use them at least once or twice a month and they've had no issues and I purchased the same one that you mentioned yesterday