It’s usually not necessary to invest a lot of money in buying an expensive, heavy duty winch for small to medium-duty jobs. Save some space and a few hundred dollars with a smaller, portable winch.
If you are dealing with smaller boats, utility hauling, lightweight cars, or cargo such as logs, then a compact portable winch is the best solution. It should be powerful enough to do the job for whatever you need to get done. All the while it will save you time, money and effort by being portable and cost effective.
However, you must do your homework. There are a lot of portable winches that seem good at first glance, but actually are not.
Don’t fool yourself by believing all the marketing tricks from different brands. A winch is an investment, so do your due diligence.
To make the decision easy, I’ve prepared this review guide for the best portable winch. Below, we'll discuss every relevant detail for 6 top-notch winches on the market right now.
My core considerations behind making this portable winch list are as follows:
- First and foremost, it’s application, versatility, and portability.
- The weight of the unit and compactness.
- The weight capacity.
- Overall construction, quality, and performance in the long run.
- If the unit was easy to set up or not.
- Brand reputation.
- Cost-effectiveness.
- User response.
So, let’s begin!
Comparison of the Best Portable Winches
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Top 6 Best Portable Winches for 2022
Our Rating
Keeper KW 7.5 is a multipurpose winch that is capable of pulling anything that weighs up to 7500 lbs. To get the best result, you should keep the weight of the towing object up to 5000 lbs.
It’s a reliable winch for self-recovery from the trailer, vehicle, or stationary point.
It features everything that you require to get portability, easy installation, and perfect winching experience.
A heavy-duty 72’ galvanized wire rope, 3-stage planetary gear, automatic load-holding brake, and a lift and turn free spooling clutch are there to provide better control and safety.
It is particularly convenient in that its remote control has LED lights. Not that nighttime winching is advisable, but the LED is really helpful should the operation be necessary at night. It is also convenient in that it works fast, compact, easy to use, easy to mount and easy to transport.
- Easy to install and operate.
- It works faster than its competitors.
- This winch features a sealed solenoid control box. The box keeps the solenoid from outside materials.
- The solenoid is circuit breaker protected.
- It’s compact and easily portable.
- A carry handle is in place to carry the unit with ease.
- You can hook this winch to a Class III 2-inch receiver hitch as it features a 2-inch receiver bar and a mounting plate.
- This winch offers onboard quick connect battery leads (72”). This helps to connect to the battery effortlessly.
- The wireless remote control works like a charm. The wired (15’) remote control has a built-in LED light that helps to work in the dark.
- It offers a competitive price.
- You might want to buy a longer lock pin and battery lead. It is not totally necessary, but I find them lacking.
- Check the size, you might need something smaller or not require the full capabilities of this winch.
Our Rating
This winch from Bravex is pretty similar to the one that I reviewed earlier from MegaFlint.
The specification is the same, and also the performance. There is a slight difference in price, though.
This unit also has 2000 lbs pulling capacity, and 6000 lbs rolling capacity, and 5000 lbs capacity for a boat. The recommended maximum boat size is 18’ if you want to use this winch for pulling your boat.
This model also features a dual direction pulling. This means that it can both pull and spool. That adds a bit more of convenience.
This is overall a wonderful option for you.
- It’s a reliable, strong, and easy to install winch.
- It’s compact and lightweight. Therefore, carrying this winch is a cakewalk.
- This unit also features a dual-mode operation (electrical and manual).
- This Bravex winch is a versatile unit that you can use with different vehicles, boats, trailers, trucks, etc.
- It features a low noise design.
- A high-quality 30’ (29’ for working) steel cable with a quality hook makes the winching process smooth and reliable.
- The crank handle excels in quality too.
- This unit offers a competitive price.
- The wired (9’ 9”) remote control works perfect, but the plastic quality could have been better.
Our Rating
Master Lock 2953AT is another multipurpose winch that you can use for dealing with boats, cars, trucks, trailers. Nonetheless, it goes best for towing a boat.
Like the previous portable winches, this one also has 2000 lbs pulling capacity, and 6000 lbs rolling capacity. To use it to pull a boat, you should keep the weight up to 5000 lbs, and the max boat size is again 18’.
This particular winch also comes with a quality 30’ steel cable with a hook.
This is also very easy to install. However, it is quite slower than the other portable winches in the list. Aside from that small drawback, I still can highly recommend this model.
- This winch is easy to set up and operate.
- The package comes with everything you require for installing the winch, including a hitch plate (ideal for trailer hitch ball mounting).
- Lightweight and easy to carry along.
- It’s a powerfully built unit and reliable.
- This one is a handy unit for small to medium-duty jobs.
- It’s versatile.
- It’s quite inexpensive compared to its competitors.
- This winch has an ample length (20’) of power cable that you can easily plug-in to the unit.
- A well-functioning wired remote control is included with the kit with considerably long (9,9”) cable.
- A tad slow for my liking.
Our Rating
This winch from Warn has 1000 lbs pulling capacity.
As this is a corded winch, therefore, you will want to use it for mostly utility lifting and pulling. Mainly it’s suitable for job sites where power is available.
That means this is not a good option for pulling vehicles outdoors when you go for an off-roading adventure. It is not truly portable. But it is in the list because it is one of the most well-liked portable winches in the market due to its quality.
Regarding quality, I must say any winch from Warn will beat those cheaper winches any day.
I really like the LED overloading warning in this winch. It really ensures safety both for you, your surroundings and the winch. With portable winches, sometimes it may be hard to determine the weight of the item you are pulling or hoisting. But with this model’s useful feature of LED overloading warning, such problems can be avoided.
However, if you are on a tight budget, then go for other options from my list.
- It features a built-in overload LED indicator. The light turns on to let you know about overloading.
- It’s super lightweight and easy to carry. Credit goes to the quality of the handle.
- The PullzAll’s variable speed control trigger with forward and reverse control button lets you control the motion and movement precisely.
- A long-lasting 15’ wire rope with a quality hook is there to do the lifting or pulling effortlessly.
- It’s a bit pricey compared to other options on my list. With that said, if you are not new to the winch market, then you must have been known to the price point of Warn products.
- This is a corded AC voltage portable winch, so you don’t have the liberty to use it anywhere you want. There must be an outlet to plug in the winch.
- One remote control with the package could have been a handy inclusion.
Our Rating
As this one is a drill winch, therefore, you need a standard portable drill to power up this unit. The drill is not included in the package, though.
This particular portable winch from Warn has 500 lbs weight capacity.
It’s a multipurpose winch. You can pull almost anything using this winch within the weight capacity.
Again, it comes with an automatic load limiter. While that does not help with performance, it does contribute a lot when it comes to operational safety and maintaining the winch.
I also really like the free spooling clutch. It is one of those little things that make winching a little more convenient. It is something one learns to appreciate more over time.
The size of this winch makes it a perfect option for hard to handle pulling jobs with ease.
- It’s lightweight and portable. I must admire the ergonomic handle quality that makes life easy to carry this winch wherever you want.
- This winch is super compact, hence quite convenient to store.
- A free spooling clutch makes your life comfortable while dealing with the rope.
- Two rigging hooks are included on both the front and rear.
- An integrated load limiter is there. It features audible feedback when the highest weight limit is reached, and disconnects the drive from the winch.
- A top-notch 30’ wire rope and hawse fairlead is integrated into the system.
- The price could have been better. However, the quality and usability stand behind the price.
Our Rating
The last portable winch on my list, which is manufactured by Pro-Lift is the I-9620. It’s a pretty basic kind of winch that is capable of pulling 2000 lbs.
The core application of this winch is to handle small duty jobs like positioning loads or moving the loads here and there.
It comes with a wired remote control, and a 30’ steel cable is integrated into the system.
It also features an emergency crank handle with an adjustable clutch and a mounting bracket for trailer hitch ball mounting.
The crank handle is really useful if things don’t go exactly your way and you need something to fall back on. That makes this a truly portable winch that can be used practically anywhere.
This one is the cheapest winch on my list. I recommend buying this unit only if you are on a tight budget. Otherwise, the other winches are the ones you should go for.
Verdict On Trible Six Winch Review
If you want me to vote only one, I will go for the number one winch on my list that is Keeper KW 7.5 lbs because it’s compact and capable of pulling 7500 lbs of weight. However, it's larger than the others on the list so keep that in mind.
The Bravex winch is something that you need something small and versatile.
If you're hauling a small boat the MegaFlint portable winch would be an excellent choice.
But whatever your needs are, there is one here for you. Whether you are in a tight budget, or need something that can pull off heavy stunts, or a very reliable winch for light-duty jobs – there is something for you.
What are your thoughts on this list? Leave a comment below!
