Rope or cable

Dyneema is certainly stronger size wise in comparison to steel cable.

Also significantly lighter

safer ? either one will cause serious injury if it snaps so using a deadener is mandatory either-way

high temps from excessive use may present a issue with dyneema possibly melting whereas steel will be more forgiving.

dyneema needs a cross over laying it may get buried under one layer and get caught up on spool causing release issues and more when a load is applied

dyneema also very easy to cut through if say you have hooked it around a tree stump and used chainsaw to cut roots and forgotten is there - seems my father is a expert at doing this, and I don't trust his reef knots to rejoin the rope either.

on a weight basis for the occasional use I would use steel cable but for regular use where quick recovery is needed (ie comp work) then dynemma is way to go

flip of coin to be honest both have pros and cons

We have dyneema rope on our winch.

A winch is a heavy item before you wind on a cable or rope.
The rope is way lighter than cable and that is a major consideration for us.

We recently had to do a full on solo recovery in The Gulf country. The dyneema broke three times and we were able to retie the rope and continue winching.
Our winch was under extreme loads and I'm really not surprised that something failed. I can't say if the cable would have broken or not but I am replacing the damaged dyneema rope with the same. A steel cable usually cannot be repaired in the field.

As for safety, I have seen steel cable recoil and that is far more dangerous than the dyneema. With the dyneema the recoil was minimal and the broken end didn't recoil more than a few metres.

That's my experience.

Steve

I would, & have gone with cable!
Weight difference is only approx 8kg, with rope it has to be kept clean, will fray and/or break if it rubs on the ground or rocks, sure cable may spike you, but that's what rigger's gloves are for.

Hi Guys,
Again opinion is divided on this issue, however from my experience the trend is to go with the rope. As mentioned it is considerably safer than the wire and sure wire can be spliced but it is far easier with rope. Rope certainly is not perfect and does require some extra care but it is the safety aspect that is the real winner. As a bonus it floats.

Dyneema melts at around 180 degrees and was never put on low mount winches until the Chinese hit the market. I'd advise never powering out a low mount too long with dyneema. It also needs to be clean and dry, is not stable in uv, and abrades quickly. We use vehicle winches a couple of times a week at work and for us it has been an abject failure. The 'our line broke 3 times during a single recent recovery' line rings true. In the presence of water and grit the factory tests go out the window. Steel cable will outlast and out pull dyneema in a dirty vehicle recovery situation by a large margin. We have never broken a steel cable. We have given up on dyneema.
If you have to go rope, go spectra, but it's a whole lot more money than Chinese dyneema.
Don't believe the hype about the protective sheath on the first few wraps either. If you are powering out with a low mount, you are doing damage to the rope.

I think that common sense says if you are likely to use the winch frequently, then cable is a sensible option as it is more durable. If you will be rarely winching then rope might suit better as it is lighter and safer for handling by less experienced operators.