I would venture to say that most winches are seldom used. Unless you do a LOT of off-roading, you will probably seldom use it. I see ATV's with their winch hooked to a log/tree, pulling it. WHY??? Hook a rope/chain to the log and pull it with the ATV. Either way - if the log is too heavy neither the winch or ATV will pull it. If the log is too heavy - the winch will simply pull the ATV towards the log. A winch becomes a pretty expensive status/macho symbol.
Had a friend with a Warn winch on his Jeep. It only sat there on the front bumper and he never found out how to use it. The day he & his wife got stuck with the Jeep - he sat there for four hours before calling me to come help. By the time I got there he had all the winch line unspolled & completely soaked/covered in mud, the battery was hotter than the surface of the sun from constant use/recharging and the wife was seriously considering walking out to the county road and hitching a ride home. It was not a pretty picture.
About 50% of the time when I would get the Jeep stuck and need the winch - there would be nothing to attach the winch line to. Bring on the double-fluke boat anchor. Start the anchor into the ground and believe me the winch will completely bury it. I learned quickly what a ten foot "back line" was for.
Remember - if you do a lot of off-roading, you are probably in an area where some form of tow vehicle would never be able to reach you. In this case a winch can be a real life saver. But only if you know how to use it - and use it safely.