GRCS vs LD2 vs Smartwinch

[TommyW]

I'm taking my 10yr old GRCS out of service.

Will need to replace it, considering the 2 alternatives mentioned above.

I'd appreciate any input from anyone with experience of the pros/cons of them.

Cost isn't the issue - more ease of use & robustness.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Mike Hill]

Its hard to beat the GRCS.

The smart winch felt like a step back in time when we trialed it.

[John Shutler]

ive had a grcs for 13 years, mine was replaced a year ago. it doesn't get much use these days as my roto does most of it but I wouldn't look anywhere else

[AHPP]

10 minutes ago, Mike Hill said:

Its hard to beat the GRCS.

The smart winch felt like a step back in time when we trialed it.

I remember you posting about that ages ago and had it in mind when I was looking at both side-by-side the other week. I couldn't see the downsides of the Smartwinch beyond the slightly fiddly double fairlead. What about it didn't you like?

[Mike Hill]

40 minutes ago, AHPP said:

I remember you posting about that ages ago and had it in mind when I was looking at both side-by-side the other week. I couldn't see the downsides of the Smartwinch beyond the slightly fiddly double fairlead. What about it didn't you like?

 

 Lack of versatility sums it up-

 

Its a heavy fekker that cannot be broken down into two loads like the GRCS.Its a hard device to seat properly if you are lowring big bits,you have to feed all the slack through the spindle to tighten it up,not that you can get it tight anyhow.Its been over a decade since I trialed it but it was something we avoided using over the grcs.

[AHPP]

12 minutes ago, Mike Hill said:

 

 Lack of versatility sums it up-

 

Its a heavy fekker that cannot be broken down into two loads like the GRCS.Its a hard device to seat properly if you are lowring big bits,you have to feed all the slack through the spindle to tighten it up,not that you can get it tight anyhow.Its been over a decade since I trialed it but it was something we avoided using over the grcs.

 

So just hard to strap to the tree if I'm reading that correctly. Once it's on well enough though, slick enough to switch between bollard and winch etc?

[Mike Hill]

8 hours ago, AHPP said:

 

So just hard to strap to the tree if I'm reading that correctly. Once it's on well enough though, slick enough to switch between bollard and winch etc?

No.

 

The back of the "SM" is contoured, a contour that never really fits any tree shape so the bearing surface against the trunk is small. A GRCS folds around the trunk fitting any contour.

 

You dont really switch between the winch and bollard during any big takedown in my experiance.Muting the SW's biggest promotion point, nor can you run two lines at the same time from memory.

 

Also from memory the SM is impossible to install alone.

 

In summary it felt like using a prototype and not a thought through product.

[TommyW]

Thanks for the input guys 

 

We rarely use the winch of the GRCS now, to start with we used it exclusively and probably never put the bollard in for the first couple of years. Now everyone is good enough at judging the work that we only use the winch when it's actually required or as a get out of jail free card when a piece has got stuck.

I like how we can leave the GRCS frame attached to the tree overnight on reasonably secure sites, whereas I wouldn't leave the whole thing ie the SmartWinch overnight.

I like how if we are free falling some sections we can take the winch / bollard out and drop the fairleads down to minimize the profile exposed to strike from a stray bit of wood.

 

The LD2 looks like it offers similar versatility to the points I like about the GRCS. I understand it might be a bit lighter?

I like the idea of double straps on the LD2, as on bulgy or flared stems of trees being retained the GRCS strap can be a pig to get straight with good contact. We've also been running it with maybe 3 tiny little wraps left on the spool on the biggest stems (unbelievably the strap is not fixed at it's base, only held on friction essentially), so with ratchets on the LD2 we could just just extend it with an extra ratchet.

 

The baseplate of the GRCS has become slightly deformed over the years, probably from over tensioning it against the stem. I was hoping this could be less likely with the LD2 sandwich type construction...

 

[TommyW]

42 minutes ago, Mike Hill said:

No.

 

The back of the "SM" is contoured, a contour that never really fits any tree shape so the bearing surface against the trunk is small. A GRCS folds around the trunk fitting any contour.

 

You dont really switch between the winch and bollard during any big takedown in my experiance.Muting the SW's biggest promotion point, nor can you run two lines at the same time from memory.

 

Also from memory the SM is impossible to install alone.

 

In summary it felt like using a prototype and not a thought through product.

You wouldn't want to chog a big lump onto that

[Mike Hill]

14 minutes ago, TommyW said:

You wouldn't want to chog a big lump onto that

 

Thats the problem. You are either on the very middle or very edge of the backing plate.