While you probably associate the Viking Offroad brand with synthetic winchlines, they make a full line of recovery products and gear. Today they just announced the missing piece to to their offerings as a total recovery solution – their own winch! Check out the Viking Winch GS-9, a lightweight and powerful self recovery winch with low amperage draw built tough to handle whatever situation you throw at it.
According to Thór Jónsson, “Our motivation with this winch was to both improve performance and modernize it from a visual sense to keep them looking good on modern 4x4s.” Using proven technology from years of research and development, the GS-9 provides a fresh look at the direction of winch design. One of the most striking features is the new Viking TieBridge. Doing away with the traditional chrome tie rods, the Viking TieBridge provides more room for rope length while bolstering overall reliability and safety in an updated modern form.
The GS-9 weighs roughly 58 pounds when outfitted with one of Viking’s Safety Thimbles and Hawse fairleads. Although the winch is lighter weight when compared to some of the other winches on the market from Warn and Superwinch, that doesn’t slow it down from being a true workhorse. “ These winches have been beaten up in Johnson Valley. They’ve been used in Iceland, Russia and Antarctica. They work,” says Jónsson. The lighter weigh reduces load on suspensions and drivetrain, without sacrificing performance.
As a leader in the synthetic winchline industry, Viking designed this winch to be 100% synthetic line compatible. The GS-9 features a patented cone brake that is outside of the drum. By moving the brake outside of the middle of the drum, the design reduces heat build up and increased line longevity. “From the design of the drum, to the type of braking system and the finish of the winch, we integrated design features into this winch from the ground up with the synthetic line in mind,” says Jónsson.“ The traditional issues of heat build up are virtually eliminated by this design.”
Since winching situations don’t take place in a clean room, the GS-9 features a sealed Albright solenoid providing a water and dust tight environment. Packaged in a remote mount housing, the solenoid pack can be mounted behind the grill or under the hood of your vehicle. Traditional winch motor based mounting is also an option as well.
The Viking Winch GS-9 is available in four different configurations, each including a fairlead: Black rope with Viking Safety Thimble, Black Rope with an Excel hook, Orange rope with Viking Safety Thimble, and Orange rope with an Excel hook. The GS-9 is also available as a standalone without the rope and Hawse fairlead. Retail price fully outfitted with a Viking winchline, Viking Safety Thimble, and Viking Hawse fairlead is $1,297.45. The GS-9 can be ordered through Viking Offroad or your local Viking retailer.
When we got the news about the GS-9, we quickly contacted Viking and asked about Jeep applications and if they had some photos available. They said they would be outfitting a Wrangler in the weeks ahead with a GS-9 and an Expedition One DX bumper, as well as an AEV combination. We’ll keep you posted on the details and share those photos with you when we get them!
For more information, or to order a Viking Winch GS-9, check out the Viking Offroad website.