Harbor Freight Apex vs Warn VR Evo

Hey Guys not sure if this has already been discussed but I was wondering what your options were about the Harbor Freight Apex winch or if it would be worth spending a bit more for the Warn? I am looking to get a winch on my truck and I currently have the Ebay off road bumper and would like to get the most bang for my buck.

 

I was seriously looking into it not too long ago when I thought I could stack a 20% off with their sale price. In all my looking, I couldn't find a single bad thing said about it aside from "its harbor freight, of course it'll blow up." That being said, I'm now looking at the warn vr10s evo. It's only about $150 more and your getting a solid warranty and reputation. Every once and a while HF has sales that knock the price down to $500, but I still don't know if its worth it for me. Just my 2 cents.

 

HF has a 90 day warranty. It's something like $130 for a one year "extended" warranty, $170 for a two year. Or you could get the Warn VR that comes with a 7 year already included in the price. When you start comparing the actual cost, the Warn VRs are a pretty simple decision, in my opinion.

 

I see a winch as being a "critical" piece of gear; no way would I trust a HF anything to fill a critical role.

 

I appreciate the insight! I didn't realize that the warn was that closely priced. I would agree that because it is a critical piece of gear there no reason to skimp out and try to save a few bucks. When every other winch on the market is compared to warn why not buy the gold standard. Thanks guys I appreciate it!

 

I'm waiting to see if 4wp will have a "we pay the sales tax" sale come memorial day weekend to pick up mine. You might want to do the same if your looking to pick one up soon.

 

General rule to follow for HF: If it has a motor, or engine do not buy

 

If your in MT Scott will match price of 4wp, here GF

 

I'm visiting family in CA for the time being, but I'll have to give their shop a look for any other stuff I end up needing once I'm back up in MT. Thanks for the heads up.

 

If you watch Matt's off road recovery YouTube channel he just added one to the lifted corvair. I'd imagine he's done some research on them and found them to be pretty stout for him to use one.

 

following and hoping for some more info, im in the same boat but definitely leaning towards a warn.

 

I ended up going with the Warn EVO VR 10s I decided to go this route for a few reasons.
1. Couldn't justify buying an important bit of kit from the same people I buy disposable tools from "Im too broke to buy cheap tools/ shit"
2. The Warn was marginally more expensive and has a much better Warranty
3. Warn looks way cooler lol and its for my forever truck
4. I wanted less weight up front I think 10,000 lbs would better suit my truck than a 12,000
5. I would rather put my trust in a warn.

Here are some pics it shipped very quick too mounted in the Ebay special bumper lol

 

Looks like they're paying it again. I am still torn between Warn and Harbor Freight.