My winch cable snapped on a recovery and it scared the crap out of me

Last weekend I was pulling a stuck Ford F-150 out of a mud hole near Payson and my 3/8 inch steel cable just let go with a bang. It whipped back and sliced through my passenger side mirror before I even knew what happened. Anyone else switched to synthetic rope after a cable failure like this?

3 comments

3 Comments

sarah_hart29d ago

Man, that exact snap sound is something you don't forget. I was pulling a buddy's Ram out of a ditch and my cable let go right at the hook, came back and put a dent right in my tailgate. Switched to synthetic rope the next week and never looked back. It's way safer because if it does break it just drops instead of whipping around like a snake. Plus it's lighter to handle and doesn't rust, just gotta keep it clean and out of the sun when you're not using it.

lucasw8229d ago

Synthetic rope is a game changer for sure, @sarah_hart.

verawhite28d ago

That "just drops instead of whipping around" part is exactly why I made the switch too. I had a buddy lose a winch cable on a trail and it took out his whole rear window, scared the hell out of all of us. Synthetic rope is way more forgiving if something does go wrong, plus you don't have to worry about rust or kinks in the cable. Just keep it clean and dry and it lasts forever.

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