Winch better than warn?
JK Jedi
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 11,363
Likes: 2,089
From: Willow Park, TX
LOL, resounding "NO". Badland will never be better than Warn. Will Badland be good enough for your application? Very well may be. It's hard to justify the cost of a Warn. Smittybilt X20 10k synthetic has been perfectly acceptable for my use over several years now. If someone wanted to give me a comparable Warn I'd surely accept it, but I couldn't justify spending that much myself.
JK Newbie
Joined: Mar 2017
Posts: 68
Likes: 3
From: Beckley, WV
Looks don’t really matter. What matters is that the winch works when you need it to work. Here is my Warn M8000 in action yesterday. One of the other guys in the group had an “offshore” winch that was totally dead, and one of the others in the group stated he called the company that made his offshore winch about getting some parts and the company said tough luck, not available.
Warn only for me.
JK Jedi
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 11,363
Likes: 2,089
From: Willow Park, TX
A low priced winch that you can afford is going to be better than no winch at all. One thing I would say regardless of brand, is you should really consider a synthetic line. They're going to cost a bit more, but they are a heck of a lot safer for most people to use. I see a lot of stupid stuff out there on the trails.....and a lot of them have to do with people using steel cable winches without using common sense precautions.
JK Junkie
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 3,068
Likes: 116
From: Bunnlevel, NC
Another option is SuperWinch... I think Northern Tools carries them... they are probably a mid-priced winch.
I agree with resharp001.. synthetic is really worth considering. I've even switched to soft shackles.
I still think WARN makes the best winches, but I can see how their pricing is prohibitive...
I agree with resharp001.. synthetic is really worth considering. I've even switched to soft shackles.
I still think WARN makes the best winches, but I can see how their pricing is prohibitive...
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JK Newbie
Joined: May 2018
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
From: Fredericksburg
I will be giving it a go, for $299 plus $129 for the no hassle warranty (warranty gets huge positive reviews) I don't mind trying it out. If it holds up a few years, maybe past the warranty I think it paid for itself. Otherwise I will get them to replace it under warranty and sell it. Then I will get a Warn.
Probably use it more around the house than out on the trails. Got plenty of projects I could use the winch for... give it a good test for sure.
Probably use it more around the house than out on the trails. Got plenty of projects I could use the winch for... give it a good test for sure.
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 253
Likes: 17
From: Portland, OR
It's really a great deal at $299. A friend I wheel with has run those winches on his last 3 rigs and never had a problem. I have been running my Quadratec 9500i for the last 5 years with no issue and my wife runs the Smittybilt x20 on hers. We all wheel hard and have winched hundreds of times without any issues at all. Hard to justify the crazy price point of a warn. You can just remove the tensioner of the BL winch and drop a synthetic line on it.