4WD Magazine

Not anywhere I can see?

You only just discovered about the West? LOL!!
Basically, it went downhill when Paul Armstrong took the helm, and it closely resembles a London tabloid now (that's where he came from).
Stopped getting it about 4 yrs ago and rely on the Australian and the internet for news.
Only thing I miss are the local death notices, as I'm now entering that demographic! (come to think of it, who wants to see their own death notice?)
Geez, I hope David doesn't pull this!
Gerry

Kroozer,
Agree with you 100%, some good tips and some good offers. Not all of the content I agree with won't, overall I am happy with the mag, except I just received my Straun deflators 6mths after the offer and I could have killed for them 3 days eariler. BUGGER

Yeh i am also a subscriber to that mag and i have enjoyed the trip stories and some of the tips over the years.
I think it has dropped a bit in quality since pat callinan left the editor's job. The articles seem rushed and a bit shallow in information. They seem to gloss over the topic a bit and I always feel a part has been left out. They seem to focus on how big the mag is in page numbers but the fact is that there are many ads that fill those pages.
I know the reality is that ads pay the lion's share of the cost of the mag and it wouldn't be so annoying for me if i felt the articles were giving me total value for money.
I have about 18 issues left and i will have to think seriously about renewing or not.
That was also a part of subscribing that annoyed me, when you have renewed and received your prize they would be on the phone or in the mail asking you to purchase more subcriptions I had to tell one guy over the phone that i was already 30 mags ahead, call again when i am down to 5 mags. At least the calls stopped but the mail still comes.

I was a subscriber with another mag prior to 4WD Action until they gave the first BMW x5 the 4WDOTY without the same testing that they exposed the nissan and cruiser to. Seemed to co-incide with a heavy BMW ad campaign in that mag for the previous 2 months.

The subject of the worth (or otherwise) of this particular mag, has come up on this forum a few times over the years.

I subscribe too and usually renew my subscription when I get an offer that is just too good to be true.

Last couple of renewals have been for 12 mags (I think) for $99- and I've got a "free" gift of a very good quality LED head-light/torch thingo...(I now have 2 of these in case I ever decide to move to Tasmania!!!! hahahaha). These particular head-lights retail for $90 odd so I've virtually got the mag for nothing and, yes, I did "need" the head-lights...hahaha

Anyway, I've had my rig featured in the past (December 2004 issue and on the cover etc) as well as having just done a photo shoot recently with them on my current rig; so hopefully they will publish it one of these days....

Like all things, there is stuff in this mag that I don't read or bother with etc.

However, living in a small country town with no 4x4 shop, actually enjoy reading the ad's so I can see what "must have" new gear has been placed on the market, about which I would have no other way of finding out about.

Cheers

Roachie

Yeh well i could use some stauns i guess, that's what gets me in too. the last one was the tyre repair kit....so i guess the value is there from that perspective.....
thanks Roachie i feel better now

I agree,
I think it would be a good product and would buy one if the overall price was $4-600 including the bracket that helps spool the rope as it would suit me.

They want effectively $1200 fro the above and yes I would by an aldi or other before doing that.

I had been interested in them and when saw they were tested by the magazine I bought the mag to see what they said. I was just very disappointed with the very brief article.

There was no info on what testing they did - just "it works"

Rich

Sorry guys I didn't read all the posts before adding my 2 bobs worth

I only open my mouth to change feet.

Gazal,
No worries mate - your comments are appreciated.

I like the idea of the Bush Winch but not at the price they ask.

I ended up buying a hand winch any way which gives me the peace of mind for the few times I am in a situation where I would need a winch. Just have to work out how to use it as it did not have any instructions (Magnum from ARB).

Richard

Skinnydog,
I came across the product a couple of years ago and thought it would be a good option until I saw the price.

It would be adequate for many people.

One initial draw back people highlighted was that the car had to be in line with the rope else it would not spool on to the hub correctly.

To their credit the company came up with a option to overcome this problem by adding another bracket on the wheel in front. The thing is they want $400 for this bracket. Something I believe should be in the basic kit as I reckon (and I am no expert by any means) that it is an essential item for the kit to be useful.

So to buy the whole kit it is at least $1200 WAY to much. I am not sure how many have bought one - I have asked about this a few times on this forum and have not heard from any one who has. If they priced it accordingly they would get a few more purchases I believe as it would be light and easier to carry than other winches and would satisfy many peoples requirements.

They have a fairly good web site and have some good demos of it being used.

It would be good if a magazine did a proper test of it and documented the results - this may hlep sales or perhaps may harm them depending on the results.

What got up my goat with this magazine is it stated it had tested it on the cover page and as the mag was in a bag I had to buy it to read it - no problems if it was a decent test.

Sorry about the rant,

Richard