Carbon Offroad Winches

[nolimits76]

Anyone use them?

Recently discovered and I’m intrigued. On paper seem great — fast, light weight, smaller dimensions, extras like disconnect switch & longer cables for relocating the control box, lifetime warranty and 5 year electrical & submersion warranty & decently priced.

Would love some feedback on actual use in the wild.

 

[80t0ylc]

Never heard of them before, but just skimming some specs on their 12 K winch, it is about half the weight of my Bad Land 12 K winch. (46 lbs vs 87 lbs) Don’t know if that’s good or bad, but it’s interesting. Looks Australian developed, good things come out of Australia. I run wire rope on my winch. It looks like on their winches, they are running synthetic rope, so I don’t know if they’re even capable of running wire rope, especially since they’re that light weight. It’ll be interesting to read any posts by current users.

 

[patride71]

Following...they are aussie made, so that is a plus. I didn't find a lot on them as far as reviews when I did a simple google search.

 

[nolimits76]

@80t0ylc some of the weight variation is wire type. Steel is always heavier than synthetic. The Badlands Apex 12k with synthetic is 67.20#.

Additional some variation could be the way Carbon publishes their weights. Their 12k synthetic is 43.40# for winch & rope only. But with controller, wiring, fairlead, mounting bolts, hook, etc is 58.80#.

In comparison the Warn EVO 12s weighs in at 57.10#. I just don’t know how Warn (and others) report their weights — winch & rope only or the whole enchilada. And some of the usual yahoos don’t report weight at all making it harder to decipher.

 

[jsnow]

Following...they are aussie made, so that is a plus. I didn't find a lot on them as far as reviews when I did a simple google searCarbon is an Australian company

Carbon is an Aussie company, but the winches are made in China.

 

[patride71]

I bought a sherpa winch and I think those are similar - aussie company and winches made in china. I needed a 24v.

 

[nolimits76]

Carbon is an Aussie company, but the winches are made in China.

Confirming this. I spoke to a Carbon rep before ultimately deciding to go a different route. Aussie engineered & tested but China built.

I wanted to try the Carbon but ultimately couldn’t find enough price advantage to make the gamble worthwhile to me.

 

[patride71]

Confirming this. I spoke to a Carbon rep before ultimately deciding to go a different route. Aussie engineered & tested but China built.

I wanted to try the Carbon but ultimately couldn’t find enough price advantage to make the gamble worthwhile to me.

What did you decide on?

 

[nolimits76]

What did you decide on?

I optioned for the Warn Zeon XC 14-s. It is a new design with smaller foot print & sleek control box to help better fit in hidden bumpers.

ZEON XC 14-S - 110514

Big on features, smaller in size, ZEON XC is a top choice for hidden bumper mounts. 14,000 lbs. single-line pulling capacity. Equipped with 80’ of 3/8” Spydura Pro synthetic rope, Epic hawse fairlead, and ruggedized corded remote.

www.warn.com

I was able to catch a special discount on the Warn but it was still about $300 more than the Carbon. Slightly less if you throw a F55 fairlead on to match the Epic fairlead that comes with the XC.

Had I been able to find more real world reviews I may have gambled on the Carbon but most of what I found was marketing reviews/promotions. Even the Aussie group on Reddit didn’t have much feedback.

Some things I like better about the Zeon XC:

- USA engineered, assembled & tested
- Cone brake
- Bus bar electrical connections
- Wasn’t really “that” more expensive w/ discount
- Stronger reputation for reliability & longevity
- Better customer service (talked to them a few times before buying & it’s a night/day difference on finer technicalities) — will say Carbon email response time was fantastic
- Better parts availability at more locations

Still waiting for it to arrive. So will hopefully be able to provide some more useful review once it’s installed.

I might add in both scenarios I liked having the slightly larger 14k+ capacity. Right at 2x GVWR in my case. Gives me a little cushion on the rope layer count without having to complicate rigging trying to get down to the first layer for max capacity.

 

[jsnow]

One thing to keep in mind when choosing a winch is what the bumper can actually handle. For instance, ARB will typically design the bumpers for either a 10k or 12k winch. You are possibly rolling the dice when going to a higher capacity winch.

Comeup also has a winch designed to fit the hidden winch bumpers.

Slim 12.5rsi [Trail Edition]

Part Number 295080 The Slim 12.5rsi Trail Edition is here. We engineered an integrated control box and motor, creating a single, radically compact unit. The result is a winch that disappears into your vehicle with a seamless, low-profile installation. It’s not just how it looks. It’s how it...

comeupusa.shop

 

[nolimits76]

One thing to keep in mind when choosing a winch is what the bumper can actually handle. For instance, ARB will typically design the bumpers for either a 10k or 12k winch. You are possibly rolling the dice when going to a higher capacity winch.

Comeup also has a winch designed to fit the hidden winch bumpers.

Slim 12.5rsi [Trail Edition]

Part Number 295080 The Slim 12.5rsi Trail Edition is here. We engineered an integrated control box and motor, creating a single, radically compact unit. The result is a winch that disappears into your vehicle with a seamless, low-profile installation. It’s not just how it looks. It’s how it...

comeupusa.shop

The ComeUp Seal Slim 9.5rs is the official GM/AEV part for my truck. It was modified to include a longer wiring kit for controller relocation, modified fairlead & longer free spool handle. Around $1,850 to $2,150 depending where you source.

I just don’t believe it was properly sized for a 7,300# GVWR. It should have been the Seal Slim 12rsi you noted. Ironically that is the winch they use on the heavy duty 2500 version of my truck — with similar modifications to qualify as the official GM/AEV part number.

ComeUp has a pretty good rep & quality from what I can tell — haven’t personally ran one yet. As you probably know, the parent company (ComeUp) is located in Taiwan which is where all the winches are also made. Their US presence (aka ComeUp USA) is located in the same town as Warn which is Clackamas, OR. I spoke with Rob, their general manager, when I was considering them and he was a wealth of information. He had been with ComeUp for about 30 years and helped start the US operations. A genuinely great guy all around. No idea about the rest of their operations but he impressed.

I just had a hard time justifying spending more dollars on the ComeUp winches than the Xeon XC I got. And had I went with the smaller XC-12s it would have been another $120 cheaper.

Admittedly I could have been okay with a 12k. My only thoughts with the larger 14k was layer count. Depending which layer I’m on I get about 1,100 - 1,700# extra pull strength. This just gives me more flexibility to not have to spool all the way out to hit 12k. For instance the winch is rated for 11,544 on layer 2 as opposed to 9,895 on the 12k version.

I use the Safe Xtract app to enter grade angle, soil type, number of wheels buried, GVWR, etc to determine total pounds of resistance. While I am sure it’s not perfect it gives me a really good idea how much resistance I am tackling and gives me a shot of setting up my rigging appropriately. I won’t be just blindly trying to do 14k pulls for reasons you already noted.

Below is an example of rigging needed for a 9,500 winch under select conditions. With mechanical advantage it’s possible but even puts you in the caution zone on a double line pull. A Spanish Burton gives you some overhead but is more complex.

The 12k or 14k winch simplifies rigging.

 

[patride71]

I bought a sherpa winch and I think those are similar - aussie company and winches made in china. I needed a 24v.

Sherpa arrived yesterday and at least looks great and was packaged very well. I bought the 9500LB for my BJ74. Waiting on my new bumper and we'll see from there. I don't expect it to get heavy use, so not overly concerned about it overall.

 

[nolimits76]

Sherpa arrived yesterday and at least looks great and was packaged very well. I bought the 9500LB for my BJ74. Waiting on my new bumper and we'll see from there. I don't expect it to get heavy use, so not overly concerned about it overall.

I’ve heard a lot of good things about Sherpa winches. Interested to see you get it mounted & your thoughts once installed.

Kudos!

 

[jsnow]

The ComeUp Seal Slim 9.5rs is the official GM/AEV part for my truck. It was modified to include a longer wiring kit for controller relocation, modified fairlead & longer free spool handle. Around $1,850 to $2,150 depending where you source.

I just don’t believe it was properly sized for a 7,300# GVWR. It should have been the Seal Slim 12rsi you noted. Ironically that is the winch they use on the heavy duty 2500 version of my truck — with similar modifications to qualify as the official GM/AEV part number.

ComeUp has a pretty good rep & quality from what I can tell — haven’t personally ran one yet. As you probably know, the parent company (ComeUp) is located in Taiwan which is where all the winches are also made. Their US presence (aka ComeUp USA) is located in the same town as Warn which is Clackamas, OR. I spoke with Rob, their general manager, when I was considering them and he was a wealth of information. He had been with ComeUp for about 30 years and helped start the US operations. A genuinely great guy all around. No idea about the rest of their operations but he impressed.

I just had a hard time justifying spending more dollars on the ComeUp winches than the Xeon XC I got. And had I went with the smaller XC-12s it would have been another $120 cheaper.

Admittedly I could have been okay with a 12k. My only thoughts with the larger 14k was layer count. Depending which layer I’m on I get about 1,100 - 1,700# extra pull strength. This just gives me more flexibility to not have to spool all the way out to hit 12k. For instance the winch is rated for 11,544 on layer 2 as opposed to 9,895 on the 12k version.

I use the Safe Xtract app to enter grade angle, soil type, number of wheels buried, GVWR, etc to determine total pounds of resistance. While I am sure it’s not perfect it gives me a really good idea how much resistance I am tackling and gives me a shot of setting up my rigging appropriately. I won’t be just blindly trying to do 14k pulls for reasons you already noted.

Below is an example of rigging needed for a 9,500 winch under select conditions. With mechanical advantage it’s possible but even puts you in the caution zone on a double line pull. A Spanish Burton gives you some overhead but is more complex.

The 12k or 14k winch simplifies rigging.

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That app is a great tool for recovery options and I have it myself. The scenario you used is definitely the one of the worst case scenarios you can find yourself in though, and why I generally try to stay out of deep mud!

 

[nolimits76]

That app is a great tool for recovery options and I have it myself. The scenario you used is definitely the one of the worst case scenarios you can find yourself in though, and why I generally try to stay out of deep mud!

100% agree.

My mud days are over, but trouble tends to find me so I try to prep for the worst & hope for the best. I’d rather have it & not need it then the other way around.

By the way my Zeon XC arrived last Friday. And just got word the AEV install kit made it & is ready to pickup up this afternoon. Now I just need a few days to turn some wrenches.

 

[discoverydave]

Good thread. The Zeon XC is a solid choice — I've had a few clients running the older Zeon 10s and they've held up well under serious recovery work. The cone brake is the thing I always tell people to look for on a Warn; it's what keeps the drum from freewheeling under load when you take your hand off the switch, and it's one of the reasons the older 8274 guys swear by those units.

On the layer count / capacity point, couldn't agree more. Nominal rated capacity is always on bare drum (layer 1), and most of us are recovering with 40-60 feet of rope out, which puts you well into layer 3 or 4. I've seen 12k winches struggling to do what should be a straightforward pull because the guy had most of his rope on the drum and didn't account for the drop-off. The math isn't pretty at layer 4 on a 9.5k unit. Going one size up is cheap insurance.

The bumper-rated capacity point from jsnow is spot on and often overlooked. If the mount is only ARB-certified for 10k, running a 14k winch through it on a real load puts your bumper hardware in a gray zone. Not saying it'll fail, but it's worth getting confirmation from the bumper manufacturer if you're planning anything serious. Most good bumper makers will tell you what they've tested to.

 

[discoverydave]

Had a client bring in a Carbon 12k-S last year after it seized up on him mid-pull, drum locked solid and wouldn't pay out. Turned out the brake pawl had gotten gummed up with mud — they run a pretty tight tolerance in there compared to Warn or ARB. Easy fix once you know what to look for, but it did make me wonder about long-term durability in really heavy use. That said, I've seen worse from Warn on the same kind of job. The Sherpa comparison is apt — same idea, aussie brand with Chinese manufacturing, and Sherpa has been around long enough to have a decent track record. My take: Carbon is probably fine for a cruiser that sees weekend trails, but if you're doing serious recovery work with double-line pulls and beating on it regularly, I'd still lean toward a Warn Zeon or the ARB. The warranty is nice on paper but you're usually a long way from a warranty claim when things go sideways in the bush.

 

[discoverydave]

Had a client bring in a Carbon 12k-S last year after it seized up mid-pull, drum locked solid and wouldn't pay out. Turned out the brake pawl had gotten gummed up with mud — they run a pretty tight tolerance in there compared to Warn or ARB. Easy enough fix once you know what you're looking at, but it made me think twice about long-term durability in serious use. That said, the Sherpa comparison is apt — same concept, aussie brand with Chinese manufacturing, and Sherpa's been around long enough to have a decent track record. Carbon is probably fine for a cruiser that sees weekend trails, but if you're doing real recovery work with double-line pulls and you're putting it through its paces regularly, I'd still lean Warn Zeon or ARB for peace of mind. The warranty is nice on paper but you're usually a long way from a warranty claim when things go wrong out in the bush.