which winch??

[splasher]

Used 8274, hands down.

Rebuildable forever, fast, extra line length, no problems with heat, can be had cheap. Just a pain to figure out mounting.....

[locked 4x4]

Yea most people don't have 2 grand laying around for a winch though.  A used one is more expensive than most other new brands.

[Peterbuilt84]

Unless your like me and find an 8274 for free 

[splasher]

Bought mine used from a Marlin member for $250, and it's still pullin' hard to this day.....I'd much rather KNOW that my winch is gonna work when I really need it.....

[Volcom]

I've been happy with my Warn M8000.  I almost pulled the trigger on a Smittybilt XRC but spent the extra $$$ to get the Warn.  I figure this will be the first and last winch I have to buy for my rockcrawler.

[locked 4x4]

Unless your like me and find an 8274 for free 

If you find another one let me know.  Ill happily take it off your hands   

[Weekendwheeler83]

I bought a smittybuilt xrc8 for the bang for the buck factor. It pulls ok, not the best but not the worst. I dont really care about line speed as long as it pulls me out. The one bad thing i can say about it is that my lever to engage the clutch is frozen in place in the engaged slot. Most likely rusted, so i have to power the winch in and out. But I dont keep the winch covered so i cant wine too much about it. Other than that its been a great winch for the money. 

[Plekto]

I'd get a wound motor model no matter what you get.  Inexpensive models that use permanent magnets can end up like this:

http://bryan.luckyoffroad.com/LuckyCharm/Lucky%20Charm/Broken%20Stuff/XRC8_Winch/SprintPhoto_bhcy5y.jpg

Ouch.