In which I review a cheap Chinese winch (Zeak 13k)

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I don't know that I fully realized how cheap I am sometimes until recently.

I needed a winch for Big Juicy and there was no way I was paying Warn prices, especially considering how often I actually use the thing. No knock on anyone who has spent a pretty penny on their winch. Every purchase is the result of assigning values to each parameter, and everybody gets to balance the equation differently. This is just MY solution to the equation.

Initially I had been thinking about the Badlands 12k winch, but I really wanted a synthetic rope, so by the time you add the rope & hawse fairlead, you're already in for another $100+, so no sense in looking at $300 steel cable winches. So my attention shifted to the Badlands Apex with the synthetic rope. With that 25% coupon from last week it got down to $450. Plus it looks cool. But the truth is all these devices are made in the same place by the same people, so why not go cheap and gamble a little? The guys I wheel with all have winches too, so it's not like I would suddenly be unrecoverable if it died. So I went with the Zeak 13k winch on Amazon for $297 (last week they ran a 10% off special).

Pros:
  • synthetic rope & hawse fairlead
  • wireless & wired controllers
  • allegedly IP68 rated (water/dust proof)
  • Nice price point
  • Lots of positive reviews on Amazon (many read like actual reviews, not shills)
  • 1 yr warranty (no clue if it will be honored)
  • Can take a direct impact from a deer at highway speed

Cons
  • when it dies somebody here will say "that's why you buy American!!!"
  • Comes with a ridiculously huge 6" x 6"sticker which I refuse to put on my jeep, because it's huge and it also has a Dodge Ram on it

Below are some pics of the thing. What I was most impressed with were the wiring connections at the back of the solenoid box. The threaded strain relief connections were a nice touch, especially compared to my buddies Warn box. Plus boots for the motor side connections, and the + & - cables were nice and thick and plenty long to get to my battery. It also came with a circuit breaker & enclosure and a shorter red cable to give you no excuses to not wire it in. I've read plenty on that topic, and I know a lot of people don't think they're necessary and some winches don't even come with one... if you're on team No Circuit Breaker then just toss it. From a hardware standpoint, all the bolts were stamped 12.9, so they should hold up.

The wired remote was a 4-wire with a threaded collar, although I can't think of a scenario where I would need it to be threaded in. Regardless, it felt sturdy in my hand. The wireless controller feels a little lightweight in my hand, but it fits in the cupholder. I may put some velcro and mount it to the dash for safe keeping. You turn it on by holding both buttons for 3 seconds...the reviewers all seem to have missed the (literally) half page in the manual devoted to this one instruction. Thankfully it appears to auto-turn off.

The hook is really my only complaint. The opening behind the clevis pin is a smidge too narrow for the loop end of the rope. I was able to get it in, but it was really bound up once the clevis went back in. I'd like to replace it with a bigger hook anyway, but this will do for now.

Performance: I only had to use it once, and only to pull me about 6 inches to good traction, but it did the job. It spooled the cable back in at an acceptable rate; it didn't feel noticeably slow.

Now having said all that, one of our crew did have his winch die due to his steel cable being bound up and he couldn't free spool it, and I think we burned up the motor trying to push cable out. That's what it sounded like. As a result and after seeing my Zeak, he is very likely going to buy one as well.


So take all that for what it's worth. It worked the one time I needed it. And the external build quality & provided components seem to be of good quality. So far, I would absolutely recommend to the budget minded winch shopper.

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I look at so many of these Chinese winches and see many, many similarities with so many others on the market. Given what we know about Chinese manufacturing, I wonder how many of the components on this winch are used in so many of the other Chinese winches (i.e. Smittybilt, Harbor Freight, etc.)?

Hell, I suspect even most of the Warn internals are made in China. Would be interesting to compare the internals on these cheaper winches to one of the more common Warn winches for instance (i.e. M8000).
 
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Absolutely. You can go on Alibaba and find the same winches w/o the brand names on them. Maybe a brand name is better, maybe it's not. Maybe it's just Tommy taking a dump in a box and marking it "guaranteed." I'm confortable with the gamble, knowing I had other places I couldn't skimp.

Although if I was really a gambler I would place an order for 50 units on alibaba and sell them myself and make a fair profit.
 
curious to know how it holds out for you, I went for an X20 with steal line for about 350, middle of the road, and has done well so far. seems like assuming the thing holds out, you got more features for your $$.
 
Nice review. I’ve never even heard of that brand. Seems like a decent alternative to the other (more common) Chinese winches
 
The potential issue is they cut corners somewhere in the construction that they don't do on the branded products. Or even that these are refurbs, returns, whatever, they just fixed up and sold off label.

What you hope is it's the same exact thing and the factory is making some side cash selling direct. I have generally been lucky in those gambles, but not always.
 
Nice review, nice winch. I went with a used Warn, but it took me awhile to find one at a price I was willing to pay. The Zeak's water proofing is head and shoulders above Warn!
 
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Thanks. I’ve temporarily given up on rebuilding my warn. I’ll take another shot over the summer. I’m leaning towards the rough country 9500 with synthetic line for $400 or maybe he smittybilt gen2. Slightly better warranty but i figure these are disposable.
 
I've pulled out like 50 something bushes around the neighborhood that the freeze killed. Most of them are ~20 years old with deep roots, and couple times I reached max pulling power on the thing, but never any ill effects. Wireless remote still syncs & works. The rope is showing some signs of wear, but that's probably consistent with using it as much as I have.

Minimal fires, minimal explosions. :)
 
I’ve been eyeing the 10k Zeak winch… I’m sure it’s similar enough to this one. Still happy with it?

Absolutely. I bought a 2nd TJ and I bounce it between the two, never had an issue. Wireless works every time, have not had to change the battery yet. Case itself is still in excellent condition, I could not possibly be happier with it. And I use it a fair amount.
 
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Absolutely. I bought a 2nd TJ and I bounce it between the two, never had an issue. Wireless works every time, have not had to change the battery yet. Case itself is still in excellent condition, I could not possibly be happier with it. And I use it a fair amount.

Great! I’ll buy it then sometime soon. Reviews looked really good on Amazon and a couple other sites as well. Thanks.
 
Looks good. I wonder how the warranty will be if needed. I have the Chinese Warn on my Jeep.
As far as Harbor freight goes the warranty would be pretty simple to use in any State if needed. Thinking of a Badlands for the old F250 it will feel at home with the Rough Country lift😂😎
 
Easy of invocation of the warranty is a thing to consider, and HF probably wins on that front. If my Zeak dies, I'll just buy another (assuming whatever warranty it has is useless) and still be ahead from a cost-basis standpoint. Not everybody will agree with that philosophy.

I happened to look earlier this week, and there are now a bunch of Zeak winches on Amazon, including one that bears a striking resemblance to the nice Badlands one, priced at $440. I need a winch for the TJ I picked up over the summer....
 
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I look at so many of these Chinese winches and see many, many similarities with so many others on the market. Given what we know about Chinese manufacturing, I wonder how many of the components on this winch are used in so many of the other Chinese winches (i.e. Smittybilt, Harbor Freight, etc.)?

Hell, I suspect even most of the Warn internals are made in China. Would be interesting to compare the internals on these cheaper winches to one of the more common Warn winches for instance (i.e. M8000).

Yeah and Chinese are known for inconsistent quality. With that said I just received a Zeak/Aotowo 13,000 lb winch for $300. I'm installing it this weekend. It looks good I'll let you know how it works
 
If my Zeak dies, I'll just buy another

To each his own, but this attitude has gotten us where we are today. Dependent on China for cheap shit; made in the USA quality craftsmanship may be a thing of the past ?? Up to all of us. I could be wrong.

Cannot buy a better value winch than an older used Warn.

(This is what happened to the furniture industry in the USA in the early 2000's, gone by 2005 !!)
 
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To each his own, but this attitude has gotten us where we are today. Dependent on China for cheap shit; made in the USA quality craftsmanship may be a thing of the past ?? Up to all of us. I could be wrong.

Cannot buy a better value winch than an older used Warn.

(This is what happened to the furniture industry in the USA in the early 2000's, gone by 2005 !!)

With all due respect, this is hard to PROVE without a long series of controlled experiments. Anything else is really just anecdotal. But The point of this thread wasn't to say one is necessarily better than another, it was to review the one I bought. And "better" & "value" can be measured in a number of dimensions anyway. I would venture to guess that for as many winches are on this forum, it is but a smallish fraction that actually see any real use to begin with.

The truth is that everything fails. Things fail at different rates, but if you never examine anything else then you never really know and all you end up doing is regurgitating the same talking points that can often times wildly diverge from facts as companies are bought & sold and production moved overseas etc. And if & when my Zeak fails, I will absolutely report it here and everyone can pile on and say I should've just bought a Warn. But I buy sensors from Autozone so you're probably not listening to me anyway.

The good news is that you can absolutely spend as much on your winch as you like.
 
To each his own, but this attitude has gotten us where we are today. Dependent on China for cheap shit; made in the USA quality craftsmanship may be a thing of the past ?? Up to all of us. I could be wrong.

Cannot buy a better value winch than an older used Warn.

(This is what happened to the furniture industry in the USA in the early 2000's, gone by 2005 !!)
I couldn't agree more. When I have a choice I'll put my $$$ where the most Americans will benefit from it.

Every dollar we send to China helps China and harms America. A course in macro-economics I took many years ago really opened my eyes to that, it causes a "financial leak". What bugs me is some people just don't care, they'll buy Chinese shit without problem just because it costs a little less. Not me, I believe in helping to keep as many Americans employed as possible. And I don't care if some companies selling all Chinese shit like Smittybilt have some American employees, most of the money spent on companies like Smittybilt still goes to China where 100% of their items are made. And yes Warn has a winch line that is 100% made in China, the VR series, but if I was buying another winch it'd be any Warn winch but a VR. Warn's other winch lines do use some imported parts but the majority of the key components are still US manufactured.

The bottom line is I'd buy a used non-VR Warn before I'd buy a brand any new Chinese winch. I like keeping as much of our dollars in America as possible when I have a choice.