Trail-Gear knows that when it is time for a recovery that the last thing you need is a broken winch line, so we made our Rock Recovery" Winch Line from 100% pure Dyneema Fiber (SK-75), which is the strongest and most UV resistant material in the world for synthetic winch lines. Our Rock Recovery" Winch Lines come with a stainless steel thimble and are all pre-stretched, 12-strand braids. They also come with the first 5 feet covered with a black nylon sleeve to protect the line from rocks and trees.

Synthetic winch line is about 45% stronger than conventional steel cable and weighs only a fraction of what steel cable weighs. In fact, synthetic winch line is so light it floats on water. When steel cable winch line fails, breaks, or comes off of the attachment point it recoils from stored energy, snaps back, and can be deadly. There is almost no snap back at all with synthetic winch line because it does not store energy like the steel cable, this is why steel cable winch line is no longer permitted at most off road competitions or races. Synthetic winch line is very flexible, but does not curl or kink and will never cut your fingers.

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.

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.

Viking Trail Line© 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.

All lines are BLUE. Due to the nature of its usage winchlines are sold with no warranty and are non-returnable. For lines with Safety Thimble shackle is sold separately. Comes with standard line protector sheath.

Usage of synthetic winchline can void your winch manufacturers warrantee.