Warn Sidewinder

[kcjaz]

Anyone using one of these? Warn Sidewinder. I was heading down the Factor 55 Flatlink path and then stumbled on this. Looks like these have been out a while so wondering what someone who has used this or maybe both thinks about them. The Sidewinder looks like it would do everything the Flatlink would but would also allow elimination of shackles in some cases.

 

[18Cruiser]

Anyone using one of these? Warn Sidewinder. I was heading down the Factor 55 Flatlink path and then stumbled on this. Looks like these have been out a while so wondering what someone who has used this or maybe both thinks about them. The Sidewinder looks like it would do everything the Flatlink would but would also allow illumination of shackles in some cases.

Thanks for posting this pal!

Just as I am looking at getting a new front bumper with a Warn Winch you have to hit me with another add on.

Sheesh... should have bought a prius at least then I wouldn't constantly be wanting to add stuff to it.

Although not sure how much utility I would get out of something like this over my normal bag of straps and rated attachments.

 

[CharlieS]

I believe warn acquired factor 55, so I suspect you'll see a lot of the concepts move downmarket at a more affordable price point.

They'll sell a thousand to the Jeep market to every one they sell to the Land Cruiser market. I suspect they'll keep Factor 55 as a premium brand for the up market.

 

[kcjaz]

Seems to be about the same price as Flatlink. Appears physically larger too. Maybe too big.

 

[mcgaskins]

I like trying new stuff, so I looked at this when getting the Factor 55 Flatlink. I've also had the Prolink in the past, and both have been solid. I'm sure the Sidewinder is nice, but the reasons I didn't pick it were that it looks pretty bulky and the pin design. It appears the pin is intended to be left in all the time, and I could see it collecting all kinds of dust, dirt, debris, rust, snow/ice, etc. making it difficult to loosen when you need it. I also notice an isolator added in many pics which tells me it likely makes noise and/or scratches the bumper or whatever it rests against, and it appears to add another point where dirt and debris can find it's way in. I'm guessing you could remove the pin entirely and only use the pin when winching, but then it would look unfinished on the front of the vehicle (which also defeats the "advantage" of always having it ready to go without needing a shackle). One last thing - I like recovery gear to be a bright color so it's easier to see when everything is dirty and monochrome, and the Sidewinder is only available in black, dark grey, and chrome.

 

[Tex68w]

I've been running the Factor55 stuff for years without a single complaint, I don't see any reason to change that now. It'll be interesting to see how Warn handles the acquisition going forward but I doubt they change much other than trickle down tech for the Warn line of included recovery points, Factor55 "should" remain the premium brand its always been.

 

[CharlieS]

I've been running the Factor55 stuff for years without a single complaint, I don't see any reason to change that now. It'll be interesting to see how Warn handles the acquisition going forward but I doubt they change much other than trickle down tech for the Warn line of included recovery points, Factor55 "should" remain the premium brand its always been.

I hope so, but I am pessimistic. I've seen so many small organizations get lost in larger organzations post acquisition. Small companies bought for their innovation and unique cultures that get lost in the integration, or over time. And things like quality and customer centricity are often early victims because they are costly to do, with hard to quantify financial outcomes. Fingers crossed.

 

[Tex68w]

It's possible they take all of the R&D and rebrand it as a Warn product, that would suck IMHO. One thing that happens far too often is the loss of QC and CS, I hope those two don't happen here.

 

[kcjaz]

I like trying new stuff, so I looked at this when getting the Factor 55 Flatlink. I've also had the Prolink in the past, and both have been solid. I'm sure the Sidewinder is nice, but the reasons I didn't pick it were that it looks pretty bulky and the pin design. It appears the pin is intended to be left in all the time, and I could see it collecting all kinds of dust, dirt, debris, rust, snow/ice, etc. making it difficult to loosen when you need it. I also notice an isolator added in many pics which tells me it likely makes noise and/or scratches the bumper or whatever it rests against, and it appears to add another point where dirt and debris can find it's way in. I'm guessing you could remove the pin entirely and only use the pin when winching, but then it would look unfinished on the front of the vehicle (which also defeats the "advantage" of always having it ready to go without needing a shackle). One last thing - I like recovery gear to be a bright color so it's easier to see when everything is dirty and monochrome, and the Sidewinder is only available in black, dark grey, and chrome.

The bulkiness of it is probably what I don't like the most. I was trying to find pic of the back side of it because I also wondered about an isolator pad on the back. I think you would need one. There appears to be a plastic protector for the pin you can buy as an extra to keep it clean while its just sitting against the fairlead. In the end, its just a BA shackle.

It's possible they take all of the R&D and rebrand it as a Warn product, that would suck IMHO. One thing that happens far too often is the loss of QC and CS, I hope those two don't happen here.

Maybe, but I would guess that they would want to keep the Factor 55 branding because it is sellable as a premium product. Buying them is probably more about branding/marketing and the elimination of an accessory competitor than it is getting R&D and engineering capability. Warn has plenty of engineers that understand how a shackles and rigging work. The "closed loop system" is the mildly innovative idea here but at the end of the day, there is nothing advanced or magic here from an engineering point of view. IMO, its more "engineering bling" than anything else and there is probably more effort involved in making these product look cool and high tech than what actually goes into engineering their function.

Don't get me wrong, I'll probably go Factor 55 Flatlink and I will admit that it is mostly because I also want to be one of the cool kids, but my inner farm boy knows that a $30 bow shackle mounted on the end of the cable eye would work equally as well with only slightly less convivence.

 

[grinchy]

@Chrisleduc1 has one on his LX. Any comment Chris?