synthetic line=good
even if it does wear out sooner than steel, I'm impressed. Last week we pulled through a few miles of goopy mud. It meant re-rigging the line at least 10 times. Each time was a breeze, just grab the line, coil it up quickly, throw it over the shoulder to trudge through the mud, then re-rig. With steel cable it would have taken much more time and sure resulted in some cut hands/shoulders. not to mention the time when we crossed a river and simply threw the line across the first time -it floated downstream, the one "problem" with synthetic line. The second time, I tied it to the dog's collar (loosely) and she swam it across to my buddy on the other side. I wouldn't try that with steel.
In between recoveries, we could coil the line and tie it to the front bumper with a little bungy cord. If it tangled a little... no big deal, just untangle on the next rigging. With steel line, if you introduce some weird warps, it all goes to crap when you try to pay it out and you've got to get the potential kinks straightened out before you pull or you'll get a permanent kink in the cable that is a potential failure point.
The winch line did gouge a small depression into the plastic hawse fairlead on one very hard, very not-straight pull. But I figure I can grind it out if needed. Polishing the delrin is really easy-- a little sandpaper and maybe a light kiss with the torch to flame-polish it to perfection.
The rope was also pretty full of mud and grime. I hosed it off pretty well, which seems to have cleaned it up a bit. I think that I'll run it through the washing machine with some mild soap, in a pillow case, just like I used to do with my climbing ropes. I wouldn't try that with a steel cable either!
One thing that I don't like very much with the synth line: when powering the winch-line out, the drum gets hot (in-drum braking). It gets hot enough that I worry about the synth line, so instead of doing longer power-outs, I exit the vehicle, disengage the clutch, then manually spool it out. It is probably a lot better for the charging system on the cruiser as it gives the winch motor time to cool (less resistance) and it gives the alternator a little time to recharge the battery. It does mean I've gotta get my feet wet.... but I can live with that! Besides, most of the time there was plenty of line out anyway as we were too lazy to spool it all onto the winch and instead just coiled it up real quickly.
The "coiling it up quickly" really is, to me, the big advantage of the synth vs. the steel. If you haven't used a winch much and want to get an idea of the difference-- go to the hardware store and ask them to spool out 20 ft of steel cable that is about 1/2" in diameter. Try to coil that up (you might want gloves) in a circle around your elbow. Then grab some nylon rope that is 3/4" diameter (way bigger than you would use). Coil that around your arm. The difference is huge. Not just the comfort- new steel line shouldn't have many stray wires yet, but will eventually- but also the weight.
All said: I can afford to replace the line every 2 years vs. every 10 years if that is the "major drawback" to synthetic. Based on the lack of visible wear and tear from this last trip, I'm guessing that it'll last more than 2 years anyways. The convenience and ease of use of the synthetic is wonderful. From what I read, the synth line is also much safer in the event of a break in the line, which is a nice plus as when I'm out in the muck with my friend, my dog, my wife, and my cruiser..... I'd really rather none of the above suffered injury from flying steel cable.
and much closer to the body than the rollers
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