Viking Offroad Synthetic

[Stu Olson]

It was time to update some of my recovery gear. After six+ years, some of it was looking bad, some of it I never did have, :eek: and some of it wasn't available when I got my first winch.

I had the pleasure of dealing with Jon at Viking Offroad (also more commonly known as the guy that runs Winchline.com).

http://www.stu-offroad.com/recovery/winchline/winchline-1.htm details the items I added/replaced to my recovery gear.

Jon is certainly customer oriented, took the time to answer my questions, and will be at Globe watching the WERock event at the end of this month. :D

[RokNRich]

Yeah Jon and Viking Offroad are awesome.


Great writeup as usual Stu !

[mingoglia]

Yep, good stuff Stu. I've been a long time amsteel fan since my younger years before I even thought about using it for a winch. I've gotten much of my recovery gear from Rock Stomper but decided to give winchline.com a try because I was impressed with the safety thimble. BTW, if you went to the recovery workshop you would have found out sooner how using a 30' kinetic strap is a bad idea as a recovery point. :p

I'd watch that fairlead though. I know winchline's stand on an aluminum fairlead as optional but when I talked to the folks at Samson Rope they said due to the rope being so slick (especially when new) they've seen the rope particularly at extreme angles actually drag across the rollers without the rollers moving. Many believe deep gouges in the rollers cause damage but in this instance the rope may actually get hot and/or have increased wear from actual friction....

Here's mine on my first run after the install:

http://gallery.mikeandsherri.com/d/22760-2/DSC02077.JPG

[Stu Olson]

I'd watch that fairlead though. I know winchline's stand on an aluminum fairlead as optional .....


One thing put my mind at ease.....Jon told me that if he was incorrect on his advice to me, and the line was damaged as a result, he would see to it that I had a new fairlead and line. I can't get a better guarantee. :)