Difference Between Cheap and Name Brand Winch Rope?

Nordic

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So, I know that with anything recovery related, it's usually best to source things from a well known, well respected supplier, but what exactly is the difference between something like this cheap rope and this Warn rope, besides a $300 price difference?

Quality control? American made + Branding? UV Resistance? Is all Dyneema created equal, or are there certain "grades" to it?

Again, will probably go with someone like TRE when purchasing a rope for the peace of mind, just interested to know what the difference may be.
 
So, I know that with anything recovery related, it's usually best to source things from a well known, well respected supplier, but what exactly is the difference between something like this cheap rope and this Warn rope, besides a $300 price difference?

Quality control? American made + Branding? UV Resistance? Is all Dyneema created equal, or are there certain "grades" to it?

Again, will probably go with someone like TRE when purchasing a rope for the peace of mind, just interested to know what the difference may be.
There are many grades of Dyneema. You can jump on their website and try to learn about the differences. Generally what you are looking for is a breaking strength to diameter rating to help you compare apples to apples. That cheap is suspiciously low in price. I have no way to refute their claims but I strongly suspect it is not SK75.

The best part of going to that link is what showed up when I added it to the cart. Could not have happened to a nicer bunch of folks.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GSIKODQ/?tag=wranglerorg-20
 
Are there lots of synethic rope knock-offs coming out of China these days? I would have to imagine the answer is yes. Just not sure if they've come along and infiltrated that market yet.
 
Are there lots of synethic rope knock-offs coming out of China these days? I would have to imagine the answer is yes. Just not sure if they've come along and infiltrated that market yet.
That is a quandary of sorts. The Dyneema fiber is used by many manufacturers to weave various rope and line products. All other things being equal, it is hard to tell if a line has been woven on a machine in China or a machine in Georgia. The main differences that I can spot are the UV coating which affects the hand of the rope when new but breaks in fairly well after use. Given that Dyneema started as an import product, (spun here in the US now) it is hard to break that one down into a "Buy US" category.

To directly answer the question, the market is absolutely flooded with import recovery gear.
 
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There are many grades of Dyneema. You can jump on their website and try to learn about the differences. Generally what you are looking for is a breaking strength to diameter rating to help you compare apples to apples. That cheap is suspiciously low in price. I have no way to refute their claims but I strongly suspect it is not SK75.

The best part of going to that link is what showed up when I added it to the cart. Could not have happened to a nicer bunch of folks.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GSIKODQ/?tag=wranglerorg-20

Huh so the risk is that it is highly unlikely that it is SK75 then? On another note, is Dyneema just a brand name of UHMWPE?
Funny on that "thimble", would have been even funnier if it showed up next to a "D ring shackle" ;)
 
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Are there lots of synethic rope knock-offs coming out of China these days? I would have to imagine the answer is yes. Just not sure if they've come along and infiltrated that market yet.
Definitely, just searching on amazon for "synthetic winch cable" comes up with 9/10 results being a <$100 knock off. "XBull", "XMonster", "Ucreative", "Auxmart" are just a few from the first page.
 
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Huh so the risk is that it is highly unlikely that it is SK75 then? On another note, is Dyneema just a brand name of UHMWPE?
Funny on that "thimble", would have been even funnier if it showed up next to a "D ring shackle" ;)
A risk but one I can't even begin to quantify. The only way you are going to actually know is test the breaking strength or get Dyneema to verify that they sell their fiber to the company and even then, they may buy some quantity of it and then use something else to make the rope. Or it may just be SK75 and they have figured out how to weave it faster and cheaper into ropes. Dyneema is a brand name for UHMWPE fiber that has been spun with a proprietary process to make it have desirable properties.
 
I've used this analogy/story before, but it sums up this quandary well.
Back in the day, I would poop using my Army issued E-Tool, it made a nice little stool to poop in the field. A few years ago I cheaped out and bought an E-tool from Walmart, looks the same, feels the same right? Well, first use in the field it broke and collapsed. Now it didn't collapse pre-poo, it collapsed mid-poo where it really mattered the most and gravity took over.
Moral of the story: If you choose to be cheap, prepare to be covered in shit.

**This offers no productive information.