This is actually a pretty important question, because this choice will have one of the biggest impacts on the operation of your winch. Both types have pros and cons, and you will find people devoted to each type, who will tell you that their choice is best. At Car Bible we prefer to give you the facts so that you can make your own, informed choice. Steel Cable Pros The big pro of a steel cable is that it is a very hardwearing line that needs very little maintenance. It’s just sits there, it’s hard to damage and it won’t let you down. Since it’s so hard wearing, it’s easy to use to. Unspool and hook up, complete the winch task, spool it back onto the drum and drive away. A Synthetic Rope needs that much more care, and needs to cleaned of debris as it re-spools to prevent damage. Metal is a great heat conductor. The winch – especially electric winches – can get real hot during use. A Steel Cable will help that heat to radiate away faster by being a good heat conductor. Steel Cable Cons A Steel Cable can add anything up to 30 to 40 Pounds of additional weight. Bearing in mind the winch itself is going to weight anything up to about 60 Pounds, that’s a lot of extra weight to be putting on your front suspension. The cable stores kinetic energy as it pulls. If the cable fails and snaps, that energy will be transferred into a broken cable going off in any direction, with a lot of force. That can be dangerous for you, for other people or for your vehicle. Synthetic Rope Pros Synthetic Ropes weigh less than steel. Much, much less. This is good news for your vehicle suspension, but also for you. As you unspool and run out the rope, it’s going to be easier to clamber up a muddy hill with a light Synthetic rope than it is to drag a Steel Cable behind you. Synthetic Rope will not store kinetic energy. So if it snaps, it just falls to the floor, making it that little bit safer over all. If it does snap, it is possible to make simple field repairs by weaving the fiber strands back together. That, as this video guide shows, is not as hard as it sounds. Synthetic Rope Cons Oh my goodness is it fragile! It can rub on the side of the winch (or an obstruction on the ground) and start to fray. It can pick up sharp debris from the floor (small rocks and stones) and that can damage it. It is made of polypropylene, a petroleum byproduct, which means it can be damaged over time by UV light. That’s right, your rough and tough rope can be damaged by the sun.  At least it doesn’t sparkle though, that would be much, much worse. It is almost certainly going to be more expensive to pick up a winch with a synthetic rope. When you’re done off roading, instead of a beer you may end up spending time having to look after your winch due to high maintenance – which is, we can confirm, not as fun as having a beer. If the rope got wet you’ll need to unspool and dry it. If it got dirty and picked up debris, you’ll need to clean it. As we said then, both types have pro and cons, which really does explain why so many people love one above the other. Steel is very simple, can he harder to use but easier to look after. Synthetic is lovely and light making it a dream to handle out in the field – but it also demands a high level of  care and TLC.