so let me start off by saying. thanks in advance for recommending a warn winch, but its not in the budget.
im currently driving a 2014 jk 2dr and trying to decide btwn 3 winches
smittybilt x2o 8000 w synthetic rope
engo 9000 w synthetic rope
and a recon 10,500 w synth rope

i have heard many times that smitty bilts a shitty company overall, but never heard of any actual failures.
im in ny so i definitley dont want to get a winch that will break in harsh weather conditions or under water.

which would you go with? does anybody have experience with these 3 winches? please tell me how u like them and post pics if you can

thanks

 

Ive used and had my x20 8k for 2 years no regrets.

 

thank you, im leaniong towards that bc it will fit flush with my src stinger bumper

 

I too have been winch shopping and the Smittybuilt is one on my list but also
Rough Country 9500 lb winch with steel cable, and roller fairlead
Superwinch Tigershark 9500 winches with steel cable

I do not have a winch bumper and just may use my stock one for now and upgrade later.

 

The more you take a hard look at winches the more you'll notice that they are the same winch. Different stickers, paint, and handles are slightly different. I think a lot of them come from the same factory. They might be assembled some place different, but I think they have the same parts most of the time.

 

Smitty is a decent winch. I have the xrc 8000. It has served me well. I would recommend getting at least a 10k winch. I wish I had gone bigger on mine. Sometimes that extra power comes in handy.

 

Our trail boss and another friend both have the smitty 8k with steel line. Boss has had his for 10 or so years never failed him. Friend used his to winch up a 60* incline with no problems. Two other friends have harbor freight 12k winches. Not used much yet but hell if they work more than once they payed for its self. I run a recon 10,500 that I got for xmas. Havent used it offroad yet but did pull myself through a deep pea gravel field. Got it for light weight syn line and waterproof.

 

I have the x2o 8k and I really like it, I've put mine through hell.. Lol! I've had to do some really hard pulls and a few times I pulled my buddy's rig across a river while the winch was submerged. Still works great, here are a few tips for it.
1) keep it cover with a winch cover mainly to protect it from the sun.
2) remove your line and condition it at least every other year.
3) spooling it on to the drum properly will make so it can be unspooled easily and keeps it from digging down on to itself

Like I said I really like mine, other people in my local club use the other brands and like theirs as well but I use mine. Ha
Good luck
Augi

 

Massive Multi-Winch Shootout - Four Wheeler Magazine

here is a good read. I personally run the xrc and it has held up very well for me so far. This one was not tested and have always been curious how it would have lasted. I think most of my buddies have different winches and none of us have had a problem (engo,smitty,warn). Of that shootout above the t-max seems pretty awesome.

 

I have the superwinch 9.5 with steel cable and it is a beast. I have used it with double snatch blocks to move very large trees off of trails.