Why switch from Steel Cable
to Synthetic Winchlines? Safety, Strength, &
Ease of Handling
Safety: Both steel
and synthetic winchlines give a very small amount of stretch,
the equivalent of less than 1% at breaking pressure. This tiny
amount of stretch stores kinetic energy that is released when
the line breaks. Since steel winchline is much heavier than
synthetic winchline, the force of that stored energy is devastatingly
powerful, particularly dangerous with people near. The synthetic
line is so light and therefore stores less kinetic energy, which
when released, the winchline virtually falls to the ground with
a fraction of the force of steel. For this reason, 4x4 offroad
racing sanctioning bodies do not allow steel cables because
of their inherent danger. Synthetic winchlines are now mandatory.
Training: While
synthetic winchlines are much safer, recovery operations are
still dangerous and we encourage all winch owners with steel
or synthetic winchlines to attend safety and training classes
from certified trainers such as: Bill
Burke, Tom
Severin, Bruce
Elfstrom, Garrett
Porter and others. See I4WDTA
for more information.
Ease of Handling:
Steel winch cables have a tendency to kink, rust, and have very
sharp strands once nicked. They also tend to straighten by the
nature of the material making them harder to spool back on the
winch properly. Our synthetic winchlines have none of these
problems. However, synthetic lines are more susceptible to sharp
edges (bumpers in particular) and heat, but they are much stronger,
safer and easier to work with.
Strength: Dyneema®
synthetic winchline fiber is up to 15 times stronger than quality
steel and 40% stronger than Aramid fibers on weight for weight
basis. This means the replacement synthetic winchline is typically
35-45% stronger than steel cable! Steel cables are typically
sized to match the strength of a winch. For example a 9,500
lb capacity winch will have roughly a 9,500-10,000 lb capacity
steel cable. The replacement synthetic line would be 5/16"
(7.9mm) or 3/8" (9.5mm). Our Viking Trail Lines
are rated at 13,000 lb (4,6 metric ton) for the 5/16" and
19,600 lb (6,2 metric ton) for 3/8", making them approximately
27% and 49% stronger on the conservative side.
Buyer Beware: There
are variations of very strong synthetic ropes that we have seen
on the market. These can include Amsteel rather than AmSteel-Blue
(both can be blue and virtually indistinguishable) and Dyneema
SK-60 available as well. Viking Offroad will never substitute
synthetic ropes of lesser strength or quality. We always use
genuine AmSteel-Blue™ (Viking Trail Line) and Technora™
(Viking Fire Line) for our winchlines.
Viking
Trail Line©
is our most popular winchline. Our winch lines are Genuine AmSteel-Blue™
with Samthane™, a special coating to help resist abrasion.
The raw material in AmSteel-Blue™ is made from Genuine
Dyneema®
SK-75 HMPE fiber, "which
is the worlds strongest fiber™" made by
DSM in the Netherlands.
Viking Trail Lines are used for
recreational four wheeling, racing, and ATV's. They are also
used by the top trainers in the world including several military
groups such as Navy Seals, Army Rangers and the Marines.
Viking
Fire Line©
is the winchline of choice when the possibility of heat is present.
Many winches have internal brakes in the winch drum that can
generate enough heat to melt winchlines if abused. These winches
include Warn, Ramsey and older Superwinch models to name a few.
These winches only heat up significantly when they are "Powered
Out", I.E. letting the winchline out by the winch being
on and turning the drum out. The Viking Fire Line is made from
Technora® Tec-12, an Aramid
Fiber with a critical temperature of 450º F
and a melting point at 900º F.
Viking
Combo Line©
is the best of both Viking winchlines. The Viking Combo Line
is made with our Fire Line im the first 25' and attached to
the winch drum. Then, the line is spliced end to end with our
Trail Line for the remainder of the line. This provides heat
protection at the drum and the versatility of color choices
of the Viking Trail Line.
