Everyone that ventures offroad does it for different reasons whether it’s for rock crawling, trail riding, overland touring, getting to that perfect hunting or fishing spot, or even on the ranch truck just to get to that fenceline needing repairs 200 acres across the texas ranch. But after almost three decades now of driving offroad there a few aspects that are consistently important to everyone that leaves the pavement….durability, reliability and performance. We all want our equipment to simply work. Work right and work when we need it to work.

My personal type of offroading has evolved over the years from some rock crawling to trail riding so more recently, touring and exploration travel over long offroad distances. Offroad touring and exploration, commonly referred to as “overland” travel can take you into unknown places and unknown conditions so it’s important to be prepared for whatever might be encountered. I needed a vehicle capable of traversing a variety of terrain that can still be very difficult at times, and one that I could trust to reliably get me through it all. My current vehicle is a 1995 Toyota Land Cruiser FZJ80. It’s not my first Toyota four-wheel drive, but it fits that need of being incredibly durable and reliable, fitting my whole family and capable of traveling just about any terrain I encounter.

The gear and equipment I choose follow the same philosophy of durability, reliability and performance, whether it’s the suspension on the Land Cruiser, or the camping equipment or the recovery gear. While “budget” equipment might survive a season or two, that’s not what I want. I prefer equipment that will meet those needs for many years. On the topic of vehicle recovery, a winch is a vital piece of any vehicle that plans to go offroad since inevitably you will find yourself caught in a muddy bog that was deeper than you thought, or up against a rock ledge that’s a bit too tall to just drive over, or to right a vehicle that has overturned. Equally as important is the ability to recover other vehicles that may be travelling with you. A winch is a piece of equipment that shouldn’t be taken lightly. After-all it could quite literally be what saves you from destroying your vehicle or worse yet serious injury. I spent lots of time researching which winch I wanted for my Land Cruiser. I had used other well known winch brands in the past on some of my other vehicles. Since then lots of other winch brands have popped up on the market, many of them budget minded. Price was the least important factor for me when choosing a winch. I wanted a winch that fit my overall philosophy of durability, reliability and performance. It had to work, work well, and most importantly work EVERY TIME regardless of whether it was the most expensive or the cheapest winch on the market. I found ComeUp in my process of doing the research and was immediately impressed by the reviews I found from actual customers. I also found evidence of their winches being used with great success in extreme conditions where it can become a life or death situation. Companies like Arctic Truck that have crossed Antarctica, Iceland, Greenland and countless other extreme environments were counting on ComeUp winches on their own vehicles. I also talked to a number of companies here in the US with experience using ComeUp winches and without exception the reviews were positive.

I chose to use the SEAL Gen2 9.5rs on my Land Cruiser. I was impressed with the quality construction and quality components. The IP68 rating was important too since water intrusion is a winch’s biggest enemy. The quality of the components that came with the winch were excellent, from the synthetic rope, to th
e aluminum fairlead and wireless controller. All of this factored into my choice to use ComeUp since I knew it would be reliable and durable and perform well for years and years. I didn’t have that same level of confidence when I looked at some other brands that didn’t have the same level of quality or the performance specs of the ComeUp. The install was straightforward and now that I’ve had the winch for a few months I’ve had a few opportunities to test it. It’s been used to pull my heavy cruiser up a very steep, loose rocky climb, and to free my cruiser from a deep muddy riverbed that sunk the truck to the frame. The winch has been outstanding and I’ve been so impressed with the SEAL Gen2 9.5 winch that I got a second one that I installed on my other offroad vehicle, a Toyota Tacoma. I look forward to a lot more adventures offroad and I feel total confidence that when my skills fall short and I get the truck stuck, my ComeUp winch will get me out. Thanks ComeUp for excellent products for any offroader.

Adam Tolman