Come-up Seal Gen2 9.5rs Winch
We have been running winches for over 15 years and consider them an important recovery tool for offroading and overland travel, especially when traveling alone. You may not use it often, but when you need a winch, you generally really need it and there are not many other tools that can do the job. That is why it is so important for it to work no matter what.
There are a number of winches on the market from a variety of countries and we have used several of them. Over the years we have used winches from Warn, TJM, Smittybilt, and ComeUp. The only one that failed when we really needed it was Smittybilt. This was several years ago and their quality may have improved, but we still don’t trust them. Like I said, with a winch, there is no leeway, it has to work when you need it, no questions asked.
Warn is the 800 lb Gorilla in the Industry. Warn started making hubs, which they still make today, in 1948. They then started making winches in 1959. That is a long time to make winches and it shows. They truly do make high-performing and high-quality winches. Many customers will only run Warn, and in many cases rightfully so. I don’t have any negative thing to say about Warn WInches, they are a premium product, the only negative item is that they come at a true premium price.
I am not saying in any way not to buy Warn winches, and we may run them again as well, however, we wanted to highlight that there is an interesting alternative that we think that you need to consider if you are in the market for a new winch and that alternative is ComeUp.
The ComeUp brand is rated as one of the highest quality winches in the world. ComeUp has exclusively manufactured nothing but winches for over 37 years. As a behind-the-scenes private label manufacturer for the U.S. market for many years, ComeUp has chosen to go direct with its own brand name to bring its value-added high-quality winches to the U.S. market at a lower price. Though the ComeUp brand is not yet known in the U.S. ComeUp is highly regarded, very popular, and widely used in the rest of the world. ComeUp winches reputation for quality, durability, and innovative engineering won it the selection for use by Artic Truck in Polar expeditions to both the South and the North Poles. The expedition to the North Pole was captured on film by the popular international television program “Top Gear”. This honor has given ComeUp winches the distinction of being the only winch to take a driven vehicle to both the North and South Poles, traversing the most hostile and rugged terrains on the face of the Earth.
ComeUp also has developed some unique innovations. One of the core ones is their Cone Brake System (CBS). According to ComeUp “with the increasing use of synthetic rope on winches today the current designs of all the competition’s winches have the brake inside the drum spool. With an internal brake, the synthetic rope acts as an insulator and keeps the heat from the brake inside the drum causing brake fade, slipping, and failure. The ComeUp winch has what is called a “CBS” which is outside the drum where it can dissipate the heat and stay firmly engaged. The CBS system is also an adjustable true friction brake and provides the most brake surface area of any winch on the market. Many of the inexpensive units on the market do not even have a friction brake but use a coil spring in a bind-up arrangement that is very prone to failure.” In simple terms, the Cone Brake System helps ComeUp winches run cooler, which is very important if you are running synthetic lines and or are using for extended or frequent pulls.
ComeUp Innovative Cone Brake System
ComeUp makes winches from 8,000 to 16,500 lbs. We have been running their Seal Gen2 9.5rs 9,500 lb winch for over three years and have been very happy with it.
Seal Gen2 9.5rs Self-Recovery Winch
The ComeUp Seal Gen2 9.5 is powered by a 5.0 hp 12v motor and a 3-stage planetary 159:1 gear. Along with the Cone Brake System, it also has some other unique features including a temperature sensor, wireless remote receiver, overheating warning alarm as well as a battery meter and auditory alarm in order for you to monitor your battery level on the outside. The entire winch is water-sealed and will still run fully submerged.
12V DC severe duty winch rated at 9,500 lb pulling meets or exceeds your expectations.
Heavy-duty series wound motor equipped with thermal protection switch alters.
16 equally positioned pin holes with an ergonomic T-handle make it possible to reposition in 22.5-degree Increments.
Both built-in digital signal two ways wireless remote control and wired water-proof remote control
A 12 strand construction synthetic rope coated to improve abrasion and has no water absorption.
Tough aluminum die-cast housings withstand the strength of 2.0 x rated load of winch
The U.S. Germany, U.K. France, etc patented mechanical cone brake outside the drum expedites
heat dispersion and also makes the winch ideal for use with synthetic rope.Meets SAE J706, CE Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC and CE Electromagnetic Compatibility Directive 2014/30/EU.
Specifications:
Part number: PN 295850
Rated line pull: 4,309 kg / 9,500 lb single line
Motor: 3,730 w / 5.0 hp 12V series wound
Gear ratio: 3-stage planetary 159:1
Clutch (free spooling): Rotating ring gear
Brake (outside the drum): Automatic, full load CBS (Cone Brake Structure)
Winch construction: Aluminum die-cast housings with steel drum
Drum size: 63.5 mm x 227L mm (2.5” x 8.9”L)
Control: Both built-in digital signal two-way wireless remote control and waterproof remote with thermometric indicator LED w/ 5 m (17') cord
Rope type: Synthetic rope
Rope size: 10 mm x 30.5 m (3/8” x 100’)
Mounting bolt pattern: 254 mm x 114 mm (10” x 4.5”)
Mounting : Foot forward or foot down mounting workable
Finish : Matte black powder-coated
ComeUp Seal Gen2 9.5 1st Layer Performance
ComeUp Seal Gen2 9.5 Performance By Rope Capacity (Layer)
Warn Zeon 10s
The most comparable Warn winch is the Zeon 10S. The ZEON 10-S is tough enough to tackle anything you will, with a look that is advanced, capable and strong. Muck-busting sealing keeps out everything but the good times. Add a hyper-durable cast-aluminum housing, satin-black finish, and 10,000 Pound single-line pulling capacity and, well, you've got a workhorse unit you can trust for years to come.
10,000 Pound (4536 Kilogram) Single-Line Pulling Capacity
Includes 100 Foot Of 3/8 Inch Warn Spydura Synthetic Rope, Which Includes A Temperature-Resistant Sleeve On The First Layer, A Ballistic Nylon Sliding Sleeve And A Polished Aluminum Hawse Fairlead
Convertible Control Pack Can Be Attached To The Winch Or Remotely Mounted, Allowing For Various Winch Mounting Options And Looks
New-Design Planetary Gear Train And Series-Wound Motor Deliver Fast, Quiet, And Reliable Pulling Power
Satin-Black Powder-Coated Finish With Stainless Steel Fasteners And Clutch Lever Looks Great And Inhibits Corrosion. Improved Winch Sealing To Keep The Elements Out
Large Diameter Winch Drum Reduces Rope Wear, Is Light Weight, And Has An Integrated Rope Anchor For Easy Rope Installation
Limited Lifetime Warranty for Mechanical Components. Limited Seven (7) year warranty for Electrical Components.
Warn Zeon 10s 1st Layer Performance
Comparing the Warn Zeon 10s to the ComeUp Seal Gen 2 9.5, you can see below that the line speeds are relatively close, especially at lower line pull loads. However, the ComeUp does start to pull away at higher loads. The real advantage of the ComeUp winch though is the delta in Amp draw.
Warn Zeon 10S Platinum
Another good comparison is the Warn Zeon 10s Platinum. Compared to the standard Warn Zeon series winch, the Platinum series offers a 20 percent faster line speed, extreme IP68-rated waterproofing, and a high-performance motor package.
In addition to an Advanced Wireless Remote, the 10,000-pound-rated winch receives Spydura synthetic rope. Just as interesting as what the winch has, is what it doesn’t have. Unlike the standard Zeon, the winch’s clutch (free spool, winch-in, winch-out) is controlled entirely by a handheld remote. No more crawling over the hood in the swamp to search for a clutch lever!
Rated line pull of 10,000 lbs. (4536 kg) single-line
Comes with 100' of 3/8" (30m of 9.52mm) Spydura synthetic rope with a matte aluminum hawse fairlead.
Remote Controlled Clutch is engaged and disengaged with the Advanced Wireless Remote. The remote controls winch-in, winch-out, and freespool operations. The manual clutch has been eliminated. No more re-engaging a manual clutch, with frozen fingers while standing in the mud.
The Advanced Wireless Remote gives you total control in the palm of your hand, allowing you to control the winch and up to two accessories. This sophisticated, advanced remote provides operator feedback on vehicle battery charge and winch motor temperature, controls operation of the winch clutch, and more. Includes USB charging cable and car charger adapter.
All-new high-speed motor, stronger gears, and heat-treated ring gear deliver 20% faster line speed, best-in-class efficiency, and our highest durability rating.
Durable aluminum structure with flat black powder-coated finish and stainless steel fasteners delivers durability and maximum corrosion resistance-exceeding 400 hours of salt-spray testing.
Large diameter alloy winch drum with steel sleeve is strong, light weight, reduces rope wear, and has an integrated rope anchor for easy rope installation.
Extreme waterproofing meets rigorous IP68 standards--the highest rating in the WARN Truck/SUV winch lineup.
Automatic mechanical cone brake offers excellent control while winching.
Convertible control pack can be attached to the winch or remotely mounted, allowing for various winch mounting options and looks (Relocation kit required and sold separately). The new-style control pack with contactor and advanced controls gives you extreme reliability and weather resistance.
Limited Lifetime Warranty for Mechanical Components. Limited Seven (7) year warranty for Electrical Components.
When you compare the Warn Zeon 10s Platinum to the ComeUp 9.5 the line speed performance between the two ends up being very close, however again the big difference ends up being in amps, where the ComeUp is much more efficient once again.
Why Is Winch Amp Draw So Important?
There are many factors that affect the efficiency of a winch. The specs listed on a winch’s product description are all based on its performance at optimum situations. And the truth of the matter is that rarely are winching operations in optimum scenarios in the real world.
In simpler terms, your winch can only perform like how it is described if it is a lab or in a perfect world. The same is true of how much amp your winch draws.
The truth of the matter is that your winch will draw more amps than listed. In fact, it will seldom, if not never, be as low as described by the winch’s manufacturer.
The less amp draw, the less impact and drain on your electrical system. This is especially true for long pulls or extended use.
I found an interesting site (www.mikesjeep.com) that as part of their winch comparison created an efficiency calculation called ampfeet. “Let's combine a couple of data points, amp draw and line speed and come up with a value I'm going to call efficiency measured in units of ampfeet. (Technically I could convert the amp draw into wattage (amps x 12 volts) but that is an unnecessary step for my comparison. I'll still get the same comparative results using "ampfeet" without the extra work of converting to wattage.) To come up with ampfeet you divide the amp draw by the line speed at any given pull. Lets take the Warn 9.5xp as an example.”
I applied their efficiency metric to the three winches in the table below.
It shows even clearer in a chart, below is a chart that illustrates the results.
Keep in mind this is a measure of how much power you are spending to pull the cable in, the LOWER values are BETTER.
Price
Price is by no means the most important attribute when evaluating a winch. To us, reliability and dependability are by far the most important factors to consider, followed by performance.
However, once we have evaluated reliability and performance, price is probably the next factor to consider. Price also happens to be where we see the largest difference with the three winches:
ComeUp Seal Gen2 9.5rs is currently listed at $1278.80 on the ComeUp USA website
Warn Zeon 10s is currently listed at $1,806.99 on the Warn USA website
Warn Zeon 10s Platinum is currently listed at $2,665.49 on the Warn USAS website
This is an enormous difference. The ComeUp Seal Gen2 9.5rs is listed on Mainline Overland for $ 1,183.95. I was able to find the Warn Zeon 10s Platinum on other sites, for example, Quadratec for $2,132.39, but that is still 180% of the cost of the Comeup. I also found the Zeon 10s on Quadratec for $1,535.94. That is 130% more than the ComeUp 9.5rs.
I’ll be honest, I can’t justify that. But maybe you can and that’s fine.
The whole point is that ComeUp is an interesting alternative that needs to be considered when you are looking to purchase a new 12v winch.
