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What winch?

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Warn VR8 along with an ever growing list of recovery items. (before some yells at me I have some soft shackles on the way too)
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spazzyfry123

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Warn VR EVO 10-S. Black Friday sale $633. My last Warn was solid and while I might have preferred a Warn Zeon, my usage frequency didn't justify the cost.
I haven’t dug into the differences of EVO vs Zeon, but why is the Zeon twice the price? I’ve been looking at the EVO 10-S, same as you. I’ve had good experiences with my last Warn winches, but why are these that much cheaper? I figure if it’s just a cheaper Warn but lesser quality than insertcheapercompetitorhere’s alternative, then is it better suited to go with a different brand?
 

ShadowsPapa

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I haven’t dug into the differences of EVO vs Zeon, but why is the Zeon twice the price? I’ve been looking at the EVO 10-S, same as you. I’ve had good experiences with my last Warn winches, but why are these that much cheaper? I figure if it’s just a cheaper Warn but lesser quality than insertcheapercompetitorhere’s alternative, then is it better suited to go with a different brand?
I often buy my restoration supplies and tools from Eastwood. Decent quality, they have some stuff that's hard to find and it's a source I can get many things from instead of looking all over the place. I found the vibratory tumbler I'd used for years on smaller parts was just too small for some of the larger things I needed to refinish. Aluminum castings in particular. So I went shopping for a larger tumbler. I checked Eastwood and they were well over 200 bucks. Plus then I had to buy all the tumbling media.
I was at harbor freight looking at winches and receiver mounts and other fun stuff and remembered they sold vibratory tumblers.
I went to that area and saw one the size I had been looking at online at Eastwood. And guess what - the EXACT SAME tumbler, bowl shape and finish was identical, lid and hardware to secure it - identical, every single thing about it was identical except for the color of the bowl and the color of the metal base. Even the label was the same location, slightly different design, different "brand". And it was about $100 cheaper.
Bottom line, it was the same machine, made in the same factory in China. I checked the reviews quickly and found the HF version had the same ratings - perhaps a tenth of a point higher but that's just based on volume and customer type more than anything.

My son told me some things about the factories in China - especially after a guy he knows bought one over there. And based on several other things I've observed - including a story told by a guy who had his product made over there when he first came out with it - only to find the same thing being sold at Harbor Freight and other discount stores for hundreds less - he decided to buy his own factory in China and the patent and design thefts went away.

So - these days cheaper may or may not mean cheaper in other ways. American companies own their own land and factories and have their own staff over there in some cases. Shop wisely but don't be too afraid of lower prices. I have a story on water valves that prove that point.
I also did some digging pretty deep into 2 post lifts - and found there's only a handful of manufacturers and parent companies compared to the several brands and names being sold. Toyota and Lexus - many of the parts are IDENTICAL, certain dash and other parts, etc.. But the Toyota labeled part may be 20% cheaper.
 

canyonrat

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I haven’t dug into the differences of EVO vs Zeon, but why is the Zeon twice the price? I’ve been looking at the EVO 10-S, same as you. I’ve had good experiences with my last Warn winches, but why are these that much cheaper? I figure if it’s just a cheaper Warn but lesser quality than insertcheapercompetitorhere’s alternative, then is it better suited to go with a different brand?
I generally lead with "made in USA" whenever possible. Zeon is the US made line, VR EVO is made overseas. My last winch was the M8000 which is a legacy design still made in US. It was a toss up, almost got a M8000 again. With the VR EVO I got 10k capacity, a full enclosed case, waterproof works, and a wireless controller. And at least Warn itself is still a US based company. They introduced the VR line years back because they were getting undercut by cheap competition. On a tangent, I found roundforge.com winch database interesting when comparing the models. https://www.roundforge.com/winch-database/
 

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uplandgunner

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Smitty X2O, second one I used. Take care of them and they work when you need them. By this I mean, and this is for any winch, Run them in and out every few months. Keeps the innards lubricated, contacts functional, nothing wrecks a winch more than disuse.
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Bbannongmu

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I went with the Warn Zeon 10s. This is replacing my Ramsey Rep8000 that was on my JKU - I bought it in 1995 and had it on 3 different vehicles over 25 years. It was a great winch - never let me down and took everything I ever threw at it. I considered removing it and mounting on my JT but really wanted new and 10,000 lbs. Traded the JKU with the winch on it. When I was shopping this time, the Warn had better features, speed and price and also made in USA.
 

G8R

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Warn Zeon 10.

I wanted to get a VR EVO but I needed it installed urgently before hunting season last fall and pretty much every model from every manufacturer was out of stock or would take 3+ weeks to ship so I ended up ordering one from Quadratec. Shipped to me in 2 days, installed one day later, the next I was off hunting.
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