One of the top questions we get at Warn is which is better: steel rope or synthetic rope? Well, the answer depends on a few factors. In this video, we’ll take a closer look at the question about whether steel or synthetic is right for you.

Video Transcript

My name is Andy Lilienthal; I work in the marketing department at Warn Industries, and I’ve been to off-road for about 13-14 years. Today we’re going to talk about the difference between steel versus synthetic line. This is one of the topics and one of the questions that we get asked most often both online at shows so we’re going to talk a little bit about the differences why you would choose one over the other advantages and disadvantages.

Steel Rope

Steel rope is the original winch rope and until recently it’s the only choice that you’ve ever had. In fact we’ve been using steel ropes since 1959 when we pioneered the electric winch.

Steel rope is extremely durable and abrasion resistant, which is why it’s the top choice still for industrial applications such as the towing world or if you’re using it to say skid logs around a property or something like that. Our wire rope is made from aircraft-grade galvanized steel and it is spec’ed by our engineers with the appropriate weave diameter and length to work in conjunction with WARN winches. And this capacity will far exceed the winch’s capacity as well.

Our wire rope comes with the hydraulically swaged end here with an eyelet that you’ll attach your hook or shackle mount to. On the other end you have an eyelet that bolts to the side of the winch drum and that’s how it attaches to the winch itself. When used properly the one rope is designed to exceed the stall point on the WARN winch.

The top benefits for steel rope are its exceptional abrasion resistance; you can run this over rocks or stumps or anything else and it’s not going to compromise the line at all. This is one reason why it’s oftentimes still used in industrial applications such as towing. Steel rope is also UV resistant. It is fairly chemical resistant; frankly this stuff can basically last forever you want to just make sure you do regular inspections for kinks but it’s extremely durable.

There are cost benefits associated with wire rope as well. It’s about a quarter of the cost over the lifespan compared to synthetic rope. So the overall price of a winch with steel rope or even steel rope on its own is going to be less than synthetic rope.

Steel rope does have some disadvantages when you compare it to say synthetic rope. One of those is that it’s heavier and to some people the weight is going to be a factor. Over time it can develop some barbs in the line over time that’s why you always want to wear gloves when you’re handling the wire rope. In addition, the handling in general can be a little bit more cumbersome than synthetic rope. It can bird’s nest, it can just be less flexible and a little bit more difficult to work with. When under load steel rope can hold an incredible amount of energy. So when you’re winching and you bring it under tension it will have quite a bit of energy tied up in it so you definitely need to make sure you treat it with respect and follow best practices and all the safety procedures including using a damper on the line. So it’s a great tool but you definitely have to treat it with respect

Synthetic Rope

So now we’re going to take a look at synthetic. Synthetic rope originally originated in the Marine industry and it’s become popular with vehicle recovery winches in the last 15 years or so. So this happens to be the WARN Spydura Nightline but we offer a couple of different variants and we’re going to take a look at those.

So this is WARN Spydura. This is made out of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and it is super strong. So the rope is coated in a special urethane and that really helps protect it against UV and also helps to keep some of the dirt and grit out from the weave. Spydura comes with this abrasion sleeve so this goes over the rope and the idea is if you’re winching over something that is abrasive or sharp, say maybe a rock or a stump, you would then position this on top of that item, and then the rope will pass through this saving the rope and providing a longer service life.

Synthetic rope is exceptionally strong. But it’s also very lightweight so we make Spydura for truck winches 16,500 pounds and under so we make it for pretty much all of our truck winches. One of the most popular benefits of synthetic rope is its ease of handling. As you can see here it’s very easy to handle; it’s flexible, it’s soft, it also doesn’t develop those barbs and the “fish hooks” as they call them like wire rope. Another nice benefit of synthetic rope is it doesn’t store as much potential energy as steel. So the risk of injury due to a rope failure can be reduced. So with that being said, you still want to use a winch damper, you want to put your gloves on, and you want to follow all the correct rigging techniques. So now that we’ve talked about some of the pros of synthetic, let’s talk about some of the cons.

Synthetic rope costs about two-thirds as much as steel and generally synthetic rope doesn’t last quite as long as steel.

So hopefully today you’ve learned a little bit about the difference between steel and synthetic rope. Ultimately the choice is yours: each have their specific applications. Be sure to take a look at the product literature for important safety tips and more information on how to use the product and to learn more about the product be sure to visit warn.com