I have a m8000 for 8-9 years, if it crapped out today I would buy another one tomorrow. Dan/Jeb have the smitty8000s, remotes went bad quick. We hard wired them and been going ever since.
All I know is that 9 out of 10 times I see a winch fail it ain't a warn....I fell threw the ice at rausch creek some guy tryed pulling me out with a Smitty build and he tie his jeep off to a tree...he pulled full power on it and it locked up.. would not go out or in so now we had two trucks stuck...we ended up cutting the strap around tree to free it...
I realize that I'm the winch noobie who started this thread, but anyone who was at Big Creek can attest that the M8000 I just mounted works great and has a decent line speed for a non-8274. I'm a believer.
Trust me after watching plenty of winching I can say that I would never buy anything other than a warn winch. Everything else is just about a waste of time.
I paid 150 bucks for my current xd9000i with synthetic rope. I paid 100 for my last xd9000i and 100 for an xd8000i. Deals are always out there. Just gotta find someone who needs money.
Ran in on the 5,000+ lb explorer first, in a cradle on multiple things, nit just the Sami. I think a lot of the problems people have with cheaper winches is they don't hold up as well to being in the weather. But my stuff lives inside and the solenoids are remote mounted. And like George said, the remotes suck. Mine is hard wired.
Any working winch is better than no winch at all. Get the best you can afford that has a high enough rating for your vehicle., even if that means a high-lift. Just remember that any brand can give problems at any time so you can't rely completely on the winch...
My buddy Perry, still has his, 4yrs later, uses regularly, only failure has been the remote.
It's the only one I have had experience with, so I can't knock em.