2023 test7 productsFasteners & Hardware
Which Winches Brand Wins?
We compared 7 winches options head to head. Zeak came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
Zeak
Price shown in test: $370, just $20 more than the Badland
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Runner-up
Superwinch
Price shown in test: $674
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Budget pick
Rugged Ridge
Price shown in test: $289, the least expensive of the seven winches tested (also described later as 'under $300, the budget winch')
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Specs | Weight | Sound level | Force to unroll rope (no load) | No-load current (amps) | 50 ft no-load pull time | 20 ft hill pull, light load pickup truck | 5,000 lb wheels-locked pull, current draw | 5,500 to 6,000 lb pull, 4 ft (tractor plus two vehicles) | Maximum pulling force test (most rope on drum, until failure) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Zeak$370, just $20 more than the Badland | rated 13,000 lb (higher than the other six brands, all rated 12,000 lb), wired and wireless remote, claimed 6 hp electric motor, IP68 waterproof, 500 amp 12V DC series wound motor, claimed no-load traction speed 21.3 ft per minute, 236 to 1 gear ratio with 3 stage planetary gear system, made in China | 55.4 lb, same as the Rugged Ridge | 86.4 dB | 4 kg or about 8.2 lb, the least force of any winch tested | 82 amps going out, 84 amps going in | 51 seconds, the fastest of all seven winches | 36 seconds, tied with the Superwinch for fastest; 106 amps at the start of the hill | 285 amps, the most yet at that point in the video | 46 seconds, 12 seconds faster than the Badland; mounted on the narrator's own heavy duty mounting plate | made it to 10,370 lb before the synthetic rope suddenly snapped, the highest force reached of all seven winches |
| 2Superwinch$674 | no wireless remote, wired remote connects near top of control box, 12V DC sealed 6 hp motor, comes almost fully assembled with only one wire (winch to battery) to connect, claimed no-load speed 23.4 ft per minute, made in China | 83.6 lb | 93.8 dB | 4.5 kg or about 10 lb, same as the Mile Marker and the Warn | 137 amps going out, 162 amps going in, the most yet at that point in the video | 73 seconds | 36 seconds, tied with the Zeak for fastest; 181 amps at the start of the hill, the most yet | 301 amps, the highest yet at that point | 47 seconds, 1 second slower than the Zeak; narrator notes it works pretty fast at 1,000 to 1,500 lb loads but heavier loads slow it down | faded at 9,675 lb, wire rope did not break |
| 3Mile Marker Maverick Maverick$660, almost twice as much as the other brands | no wireless remote included, 3-stage planetary gear system, 3/8 in diameter 80 ft steel cable (not synthetic rope), rated 4.9 hp, 210 to 1 gear ratio, threaded anchor points, no cable tensioner, more setup involved than the Rugged Ridge, Badland, or Zeak, made in China | 83 lb | 93.4 dB, by far the loudest of all seven winches | 4.5 kg or about 10 lb | 125 amps going out, 131 amps going in, the most yet at that point in the video | 1 minute 44 seconds (104 seconds), very close to the same as the Badland, described as slower than average and 'won't win a speed contest' | 47 seconds, 2 seconds slower than the Badland; 140 amps at the start of the hill | 220 amps | 33 seconds, by far the fastest of all seven winches, about twice as fast as the Badland, described as very impressive | just over 10,000 lb before running out of steam; finished at 10,072 lb per the closing recap, second highest of all seven winches |
| 4Warn$705 | standard duty winch with steel cable, 12,000 lb capacity, comes mostly assembled (only the ground wire needs connecting), wireless remote or wired connection to the control box, connectors described as very well constructed and durable, made in China | very close to 79 lb | 86.8 dB | 4.5 kg or 10 lb, same as the Mile Marker and Superwinch | 89 amps peak releasing the rope, 101 amps pulling the rope | 1 minute 20 seconds (80 seconds), a little faster than average but not nearly as fast as the Zeak | 40 seconds, only 4 seconds slower than the Zeak and Superwinch, described as very close to average; 95 amps at the start of the hill | 196 amps, almost the same as the Rugged Ridge | 40 seconds, good enough for second place in this specific event, behind the Mile Marker | ran out of steam at 9,187 lb, around 1,200 lb less than the Zeak; rope did not break |
| 5Rugged Ridge$289, the least expensive of the seven winches tested (also described later as 'under $300, the budget winch') | 12,000 lb waterproof winch, state of the art 500 amp solenoid with a unique brake clutch system, 100 ft of 3/8 in diameter synthetic (nylon) rope, 12V electric motor rated 6.6 hp, comes with two wireless remotes plus a wired remote, some assembly required (solenoid attachment, wiring to terminals), 236 to 1 gear ratio with a 3-stage planetary gear system, made in China | 55.4 lb | 88 dB, measured 24 in from the winch | 8 kg or about 17.6 lb | 80 amps releasing the rope, 83 amps pulling the rope | 1 minute 19 seconds (79 seconds) at around 13.9V at the battery | 53 seconds; 120 amps at the start of the pull, increasing to a pull force of around 1,500 lb by the top of the hill | almost 200 amps | skipped, the winch had already been damaged (twisted) during the maximum pulling force test | rope broke at just over 9,000 lb, about 3,000 lb short of its 12,000 lb rating; both of the narrator's 15,000 lb rated mounting plates ended up badly bent and the winch itself badly twisted |
| 6Badland$350 (plus an extra $40 for the wireless remote kit that the narrator opted to buy) | 12 ft ergonomic handheld remote control (wired), claimed 6 hp series wound motor said to stay cooler on long pulls, 3-stage planetary gear system for fast line speed, automatic hold and brake, assembly about the same as the Rugged Ridge, 265 to 1 gear ratio, made in China, sold at Harbor Freight | 76.5 lb | 82.6 dB | 10 kg or about 22 lb; the cable tensioner adds noticeably more resistance | about 20 amps higher than the Rugged Ridge, 106 peak amps releasing the rope, 111 amps pulling the rope | 1 minute 44 seconds (104 seconds), 25 seconds slower than the Rugged Ridge; the narrator attributes this to the higher 265:1 gear ratio | 45 seconds, 8 seconds faster than the Rugged Ridge; 180 amps at the start of the hill, which gave it a torque advantage over the Rugged Ridge | 261 amps | 58 seconds; the winch mounting plate and the winch itself were visibly beginning to twist during this pull | made it to just over 8,000 lb before fading; the wire rope did not break |
| 7Smittybilt$760, the most expensive of the seven winches tested | requires significant assembly, described by the narrator as 'the IKEA of winches' (control box bracket install, wire fastening, rope fastening screw), made in China | 61 lb | 89.5 dB | 16 kg or 35.2 lb, the most effort/resistance required of any winch tested | 91 amps going out; separately described as having the lowest no-load current pulling rope of all seven winches at 73 amps | 59 seconds, quite a bit faster than average, only 8 seconds slower than the Zeak's 51 seconds | 37 seconds, only 1 second slower than the Zeak and Superwinch; 126 amps at the start of the hill, close to the Rugged Ridge | 307 amps, the highest of all seven winches, even higher than the Superwinch | 54 seconds, only 4 seconds faster than the Badland; narrator notes the heavy load really slowed the Smittybilt despite it being fast on the lighter tests | topped out at just over 9,000 lb before fading, described as below average on this test; the rope did not break |
How it was tested
- force required to manually unroll the rope with the winch out of gear (no load)
- no-load current draw releasing and pulling the rope
- time to pull in 50 ft of rope with no load
- time to pull a 3/4 ton pickup truck (transmission in neutral) 20 ft up a 12 degree hill, a light load of roughly 1,000 to 1,500 lb
- current draw with the pickup truck's wheels locked, applying about 5,000 lb of pulling force
- time to pull a tractor and two vehicles (a farm implement plus pickup and RV, roughly 5,500 to 6,000 lb) a distance of 4 ft
- maximum pulling force test with most of the rope still wrapped around the drum, pulling until the winch fades or the rope fails
- bonus demonstration: using the top-performing winch to lift the farm implement off the ground
“the $370 Z came out on top with an average finish of 1.4 in five events. However, the Z did experience a rope failure.”