For example, in the Northeast, we have a lot of trees, rocks, woods, etc. It’s very possible that as you winch your Jeep, the path of the cable will change due to the Jeep sliding side to side in the mud or off a rock. If the synthetic cable gets dragged over a rock or against a tree, it could certainly snap, whereas the steel line will not. I’ve also learned that it is extremely hard to snap one of these cables. Warn told me they only snapped one, ever. And that was in the lab when they were trying to break it. And it took considerably more load than expected and advertised to do so.
As long as you put a heavy blanket (I keep a mover’s blanket in the Jeep for off road trips) or coat or buy a cable dampener. Oh, and buy a winch accessory kit. You do want to use a snatch block often, you’ll need the gloves and tree saver always, so just bite the bullet and get the accessory kit. You’ll be glad you did when you’re on the trail.
Related – Sideways Winching Recovery Techniques
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