[Gwagensteve]

Hmmm, maybe.

Whilst they are usable where a car needs a short pull to clear a specific obstacle, they are difficult to use if the car needs a tiny bit of assistance, but for, say, 20 metres.

Definitely better than nothing, and more versatile than a cheap electric winch, but not really a substitute for a "proper" hand winch where you can winch for a long distance.

Steve.

PS don't rule out using two truck sized ratchet tiedows. They are "rated" at 2500kg, so that's over 5000lb, are very light, cheap, reliable, and very versatile. I recommend two as they have a limited winching range until their spool is full, so you really need two hooked up so when one is full you can engage the other and release the first. A warning with these is that they can't be used to "lower" or gently release a load, so you need to ensure the car is safe before letting them off.

[zukenutter]

Totally a better than nothing option, and lets face it there's plenty of offroaders out there with nothin'. And of course yeah not for long pulls.
My 4500lb'er cost $80 so I think that's a big enough price difference to warrant it as a back-up for my purposes.

[SierraDan]

Alot of the time when i've been stuck on something, a handwinch would have been fine. As i needed to be 50mm forward or back from something to get traction again.
I wouldn't rule them out at all, but i dont go out alone so i havent bought one. I want a winch for driving stupid shit.

[fully sick coily]

I think i might get a hand winch

any recomended brands

[joel]

fully sick coily wrote:

I think i might get a hand winch

any recomended brands

opposite lock used to sell a pretty good one that was reasonably priced.

[samboy1123]

I've had a shitty supercheap one for a few years now. I used to pull my old 4runner out of some pretty serious bogs with it, there was a fair workout involved but it always got me out. Now that I have the zook hand winching has become a lot easier.