I understand your opinion, but what I read here is that regardless of manufacturer winches are prone to failure to some degree. I have a two year replacement plan with my badlands and I've already used it numerous times in less than 6 months without failure. If these winches were breaking they'd probably be off of the market because harbor freight is like Wal-Mart used to be, they'll take pretty much anything back no questions asked and since there isn't a hugely inflated price to cover replacement I'm guessing that few come back broken. So in this case I think you can get a very reliable winch for a fraction of the cost of a more popular brand, and the phrase "you get what you pay for" doesn't really apply. I could have bought two badlands 12k winches with two year warranty, and a second battery for about the same price as one 8k winch alone. So I could have winches front, and rear, more power and more green in my wallet with peace of mind that if I've breaks I have a backup until I get home to replace the faulty unit. I agree that skimping should not be done, but rather than focusing on the price it's the weight rating that really matters most in my opinion.