Recommendation for come-a-long?

[Brad_bb]

I want to get a couple of come-a-longs.  I had a cheap one (apparently) that I was using this week and the pawl and stamped handle structure and body structure deformed such that I had to scrap it.

I'm looking on Amazon and thinking a made in USA might be good?  There's a brand called Maasdam.  I was thinking a single cable unit (1 ton) and maybe a dual with pulley (2 ton) unit.  

Any experience with this brand or another recommendation?  I want a good one and not a cheap one.  Thanks

[230Dforme]

Buy a Lug-all. Will last forever and they are safe. 
Don't buy cheap / junk, they will fold or hurt you. 

[Tom King]

Maasdam is a good brand.  They also make one called a Rope Puller that uses any length of 1/2" twisted rope.  I use a tree work line 100' long that I already had.  That one comes in handy many times.

https://www.maasdam.com/rope-pullers.html

[davch00]

Depending on what you plan on using it for, you might want to check out harrington. They are expensive but will take a lot of abuse.

[peakbagger]

Wyeth Scotts are US built (not cheap). They sell all the parts to rebuild them. The hassle with them is they use heavier cable than standard units and getting it to coil right on the drum is PITA as the cable is stiff and it wants to unravel. They do have an AMSTEEL aramid cable option. 

The More Power Puller®, Portable Winch, Cable Puller, Come Along Winches | By The Wyeth-Scott Company

[21incher]

Harbor freight has some low cost ones that stand up well 
I say you should also have a Maasdam rope one in the stable. Here is an old video I made about mine. I had a hollow ash in my yard and was afraid to cut to deep so I just did some minimum cuts and used the Maasdam to pull it exactly where I wanted it from a distance because I am chicken about cutting hollow trees. It is also good for pulling things on trailers and anything you want to pull from a distance. Home Depot used to have the best prices. They really work good with the right rope. Won't replace a short pull cable come along for heavy pulls though.
Taking Down An EAB Infested ASH Using A Maasdam Rope Winch - YouTube

[dustyhat]

I have some of the Wyeth Scotts there not cheap and you can mash your fingers with the handle but they will pull anything ,i have moved skidders sideways in the woods when they died, probably not recommended but it will do it.

[WV Sawmiller]

Brad,

   What are you planning to use it for? A heavy duty come-along with a chain will stand up to a lot more abuse but it is heavy and a pain for things like pulling fence or such. 

    I use a lot of 1/4" cable and the 10 ton loop type snatch blocks from HF or TSC and pull them with my ATV or the winch on the ATV, tractor or truck, whichever is most appropriate.

[Brad_bb]

I just broke my cheap one using it to lift the forks/head on my forklift so I could chain it up to get it on the trailer.  It was having problems and not running so I had to haul it down to the mechanic.

It's not unusual to use one around my trailer helping get something on etc.  It's really misc use.  Not something specific, so not being too heavy is a good thing.

[sawguy21]

After some hairy experiences with helicopters and slinging I will not use anything that is not load rated. It created some issues with purchasing and a few supervisors but held my ground, I wasn't going to be hung out to dry if somebody got hurt or killed.

[hedgerow]

The Lug all is a very good one. I have had one for forty years. A few years ago I pickup up a Wyeth Scott at a estate sale for fifty bucks. It needed cleaned up and oiled but it didn't look like it had been used much. Its my go to come a long now. 

[KirkD]

Make sure what ever brand you chose has double gears, one on each side of the cable spool and has a built in snatch block. I see a reasonable priced one on Amazon called the BIG RED T32054