I love my winch and am happy to have it, but you can do a lot with a good come along (not a cheap one). When I was a kid we used a come along all the time with no real issues (other than the short pull). We pulled full size Chevy Blazers, Broncos, and full size trucks with no issues. We were mostly in snow or mud so another vehicle typically didn't even have traction to pull the other vehicle, but the come along always worked. It was not a cheap cable come along, it was a chain. Not sure of the make, but it was "old" 35 years ago, and my Dad still has it in his shed 35 years later. We also used chains and not tow straps back then, and boy were they heavy to lug around. We didn't even know tow straps existed (if they did). Chains kind of took care of the short pull issue, you just pulled as far as it would go, then adjust the chain, pull, adjust the chain, pull.......... Back then I "heard" of a winch and saw them in magazines but no one had one, I actually never saw one in person until I was in my late teens. I admit the first time I personally saw one in use, I wanted one.
35 years later, I just used a come along to pull my buddies JKU a few inches. His winch broke and wouldn't pull or release and he was fed up and just wanted to back down the hill and take the bypass. His jeep wouldn't climb and his winch wouldn't unwind and it was under load so we were stuck on the side of hill, couldn't go fwd or back, I hooked up the come along and pulled enough just to relieve the tension on the winch line and disconnect from the tree strap. I was happy to have it that day (only reason I threw it in the jeep was because we were in my son's jeep and it doesn't have a winch, if I was in my Jeep I would have just winched him up the hill because the TJ climbed the hill with no problem and we were sitting at the top looking down
).
So yes, as most others already stated, get a winch. But if you are going to go offroad and there is a possibility that you may get stuck a come along is better than nothing.
35 years later, I just used a come along to pull my buddies JKU a few inches. His winch broke and wouldn't pull or release and he was fed up and just wanted to back down the hill and take the bypass. His jeep wouldn't climb and his winch wouldn't unwind and it was under load so we were stuck on the side of hill, couldn't go fwd or back, I hooked up the come along and pulled enough just to relieve the tension on the winch line and disconnect from the tree strap. I was happy to have it that day (only reason I threw it in the jeep was because we were in my son's jeep and it doesn't have a winch, if I was in my Jeep I would have just winched him up the hill because the TJ climbed the hill with no problem and we were sitting at the top looking down
).So yes, as most others already stated, get a winch. But if you are going to go offroad and there is a possibility that you may get stuck a come along is better than nothing.