Amsteel Blue and sliders?

[redbuckeye84]

Hi all,

First off, I'm brand new here and want to say: this forum is a wealth of information...I've been "lurking" for a few weeks as I just enrolled my land in Colorado in a "forest ag" program and have much to learn about logging and forestry operations! Being new here I have lots of questions  :laugh:

I'm building a logging winch attachment for my skid steer and am researching winch main lines. My question is how many of you have experience with the Amsteel Blue synthetic winch line? Will winch line sliders work on it properly without fraying the rope? I see that Amsteel includes a rock guard sleeve for the first 20 feet or so of the rope, will the sliders slide over that? How does the Amsteel hold up in logging applications?
Thank you in advance for your help!
Todd

[brendonv]

I use amsteel on a chipper winch. No way will it hold up in the woods. I even want to switch back to cable it brush bandit didnt want so much money for the proper fairlead.

[Offthebeatenpath]

I have four Amsteel lines from 3/8" to 9/16", none of which are on a drum spool winch. For certain applications such as skylines and block and tackle type (mechanical advantage) set-ups, it can't be beat.  I would not put one on a spool that has any possibility of being abraded, run over rocks, around trees, or through the dirt.

The off roading company MasterPull is now making something called Superline that has an Amsteel Blue core with a slippery, abrasion resistant sheath.  It doesn't bend as easily as regular Amsteel Blue, but I've run it through the dirt with no effect on the line.  It has the strength of Amsteel with much better abrasion resistance.  It is not easily spliced though.

Due to the inherent slippery nature of the High Modulus Polyethylene (HPME) Spectra fiber that the Amsteel is made of, I would think that running sliders on it would not be a problem, as long as the line is relatively straight. But again, I don't think logging winch lines are the best use of the Amsteel.

[LeeB]

and here I thought this was going to be about beer and little burgers.  :D

[Oliver05262]

Good one, LeeB !! I thought the same thing.

Actually, I have used Amsteel on hoist lines, but this line sure doesn't like to have dirt ground into it. Keep it clean and off sharp edges, and it is hard to beat.

Stay aware; work safe.