Synthitic cable is manadtory on most off road jeep safaris. And on most off road challenge coarses. It is safer and easier to use. And if you do break it you can pick up the hook and retie it back on and keep going. It works better than steel in every way except, plowing snow. It puts alot of wear on that first foot. And for that they sell 8 foot lengths of the thicker cable. It will last longer than the plow.

 

it does NOT work better than steel around any sharp or abrasive edges. rope under tension is very easily damaged. an edge that kinks steel would likely cut rope.

steel cable can also be tied into a knot and used in an ememgency.

synthetic is safer when it does break, but synthetic rope will wear itself out just spooling and unspooling on the drum. even if it is babied. i'm not talking about plowing, i'm talking about a straight pull with no contact with a fairlead.

synthetic rope can degrade when exposed to common chemicals. cable can too, but it is obvious when cable corrodes while a rope may look fine but be weakened.

i am not against synthetic rope. it has advantages, but it also has disadvantages. it is not better just because it comes in purty colors and looks cool. i have too much rock around here to trust rope.


monty

 

Every steel cable I have ever used- right from new-- has frays. Sooner or later it will get kinked. Sooner yes sooner it will cut your hand. I had my first amsteel cable for over 2 years with hundreds of heavy mud pulls. I have never had a steel cable last longer than two months. Yes the amsteel cost 2x the steel but it is well worth the money. Most guys- I said most not all- that have used amsteel will never go back to steel. If you are useing it to drag logs out of the woods. No it will not out last steel. I for one and the entire group that I ride with- 22 atvs- won't even use the winches on the ATV with steel cable. I guess the slight extra cost far out weighs the safty hazzard with the frays and the snap back. This is my last post on this subject so feel free to bash or what ever you guys do because I will not try to defend myself. If anyone else has a question, please feel free to PM me.

 

no bashing here. you have valid points and post them thoughtfully.

monty

 

i dont consider my opinion "bashing" so plesae dont take it as it. i have my own idears or what works for us. i have yet to break a cable, but thats not to say it wont. have a good one.

 

I swear this subject has been debated more than the chicken and the egg. The conclusion is always the same: those who prefer cable are going to continue to use it, and those who prefer rope will do the same. Same old argument, same old conclusions...

 

Amen to that!

 

pretty much the same as almost every topic on these boards, huh? like tires or machine x vs. machine y...

monty

 

Yeh, everyone has their own preferences for sure. Only thing we all can agree on is PB&J is the best samwich. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

I hate when people compare machines, its obvious what you ride is what you like. I believe rope is strong and safe but can be cut, steel cable is strong but could be dangerous if it snaps, and it could kink. They each have there purpose for certain jobs.