A decent hand winch?

You basicaly have two types, the tirfor style which walk along a continous cable, or the come along, which ratchets a chain.
The come along is cheaper, the tirfor pulls a lot longer before requiring a re wind.
Do your homework.lol

You can use a high lift jack as a winch as well. The tirfor is the best but pretty heavy. The little puller ratchet ones are pretty useless I reckon. All of them are hard work.

You could be better off getting a set of MaxTrax.
Lighter to carry and you don't need an anchor tree.
A few on this forum use and recommend them.

I have a TuffPull, sold by TJM. It is a Tirfor clone, but you can't kill it with a stick. There are lots around, that are basically the same inside the case. The newer ones come in a aluminium body and look a bit flasher.

It has got me out of a hole a few times, and also been used for moving dead trees on the farm. It's hard work, but better than spending the night somewhere you would rather not be.

Ebay is a good source, you will find a few 2nd hand ones, probably with straps and shackles going for a fraction of the new price. People use them, use them once, realise how much hard work it is and stick it in the corner of the shed.

Budget for an extension strap (long one, you can always fold it in 1/2), a snatch block, tree protector, 4 or so 3.2 ton shackles and a drag chain. With that you should be able to just about pull anything in any direction.

I too have used the high lift jack and the cheap drum type winches. Both are a pain in the arse as you are forever resetting the gear. By the time you take up the slack you can only move the load about 6". With the cable winch you can also lower a load under control if need be.

I've survived without a winch thus far. The decision against the winch was based on weight. I seriously considered a Tirfor but realised I just wanted to indulge in retail therapy. However, I had a close look at the 9500 lb winch at Costco and like most of their gear it looks pretty high quality. Has anyone got one? Seemed cheap at $299. (cheaper than a Tirfor)
Bob

Coldee If you don't intend to ever use a winch then you won't be doing an hard 4WDriving but just in case you do need something to get you out of trouble if you get bogged a 1.6t tirfor in one of the best options. If you have the room and are willing to learn how to use one correctly and PRACTICE using it. Good quality Tirfors are heavy bulky very rugged but priceless in the bush. The long cable is handy for when an anchor point is not very close which can be often there easy to clean and last for yrs and have multiple uses.

Tirfor, black rat, tuff pull, brahno etc are all o.k.
So long as you are looking at a winch with a separate roll of cable next to it, I haven't seen a bad one yet. The black rat/tuff pull are the newer generation with two piece allow bodies which are lighter than the old school tirfor/brahno winches with pressed steel bodies. My Brahno is 40+ years old and still kicking goals - it was military surplus when I got it 20 years ago.
As has been mentioned, the winch and cable are only part of the setup - make sure you have shackles and a method of attaching the device to the anchor and the vehicle. I carry a snatch block as well, but the hardened 11mm cable isn't happy going through 10mm cheeks and would only use it as a last option.
Ratchet pullers (drums) are good for straightening choko trellis' and the like - never use one on a car.
Finally, I'd recommend doing a dry run with a hand winch. Those of us who are intimately aquainted with them will all agree that they do some amazing things, but the one thing they all have in common is a buggered operator - it's hard yakka getting a full sized vehicle moved from a spot where it can't rescue itself.
If the costco winch is anything like the Aldi winch I'd be all over it. My Aldi winch has performed faultlessly, and it does actually get used. Toughest recovery so far was a patrol ute past the point of no return in the lagoon at Double island. It was stuck fast on the chassis, but the little winch that could popped it out.

Thanks all. I agree they are hard work but better than getting completely stuck and out of options.
I appreciate the feedback.