Reviews of Igland winches

[LouieJunior]

I wasn't aware of the Norse brand. The pricing is much lower that others I looked at earlier (shipping is included too). Is there a reason Norse Winches are so much less in price? If not, I'll reconsider a purchase.

 

[Iguide]

Labonville is the only place you can get theat kind of price on the Norse. They were the first dealer of Norse in the USA and have always enjoyed excelent relations and prices with the, I looked around and found the same winches for about $1200 more than Labonville. See here Silver Lake Fabrication - Concord, NH - 603-630-5658 - Logging supplies.

I have the Norse 350 and I can tell you that it is an excellent piece of machinery equal in quality to a Wallenstein or a Farmi at a much better price.

So for the price of a lifetime go to this address Norse 350 3 Point Hitch - 30-60 HP

It will be worth every dime.

 

[52wej]

Iguide, welcome to the forum. It is good to hear of your success with the 350 Norse as I just placed an order for one yesterday from Labonville. I looked at all of the major brands and was impressed with the quality and features. For this particular size unit the value from Labonville was hard to beat. Will let you know haw it works in a few days as I have a number of large oak trees that need to be repositioned near the firewood pile and sawmill. Willie Jones

 

[Hermio]

Labonville is the only place you can get theat kind of price on the Norse. They were the first dealer of Norse in the USA and have always enjoyed excelent relations and prices with the, I looked around and found the same winches for about $1200 more than Labonville. See here Silver Lake Fabrication - Concord, NH - 603-630-5658 - Logging supplies.

I have the Norse 350 and I can tell you that it is an excellent piece of machinery equal in quality to a Wallenstein or a Farmi at a much better price.

So for the price of a lifetime go to this address Norse 350 3 Point Hitch - 30-60 HP


It will be worth every dime.

Do they have roller bearings on all shafts? I became aware that the Wallenstein product uses bushings instead of roller bearings. I am interested in the Norse 450 because of price, but I keep wondering why they are so much cheaper than other brands, when they are made in Norway, which is not noted for low labor prices.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

You do understand that in some applications, bushings are MUCH better than roller bearings? In those applications, it spreads the load over a much larger surface and that handles the load MUCH better.

I just got back from the sawmill EXPO in Oh., and of course there were a lot of winches there. I STILL think Wallenstein and Farmi have much better features than the other brands.

I see some winches are rated by what it will pull with the FIRST wrap on the drum, I'd be looking at what it's rated at on the LAST wrap on the drum!

SR

 

[Hermio]

You do understand that in some applications, bushings are MUCH better than roller bearings? In those applications, it spreads the load over a much larger surface and that handles the load MUCH better.

I just got back from the sawmill EXPO in Oh., and of course there were a lot of winches there. I STILL think Wallenstein and Farmi have much better features than the other brands.

I see some winches are rated by what it will pull with the FIRST wrap on the drum, I'd be looking at what it's rated at on the LAST wrap on the drum!


SR

I brought the question up because Farmi has roller bearings. They brag about the fact that they do and Wallenstein does not. What are the features you are referring to?

 

[Agvg]

I wasn't aware of the Norse brand. The pricing is much lower that others I looked at earlier (shipping is included too). Is there a reason Norse Winches are so much less in price? If not, I'll reconsider a purchase.

The Norwegian currency is very weak against the $ at the moment so you get it cheaper.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I've been looking over skidding winches for years and years, when I was ready to buy, I chose Wallenstein.

My Wallenstein came with a fully adjustable hitch and I use it all the time!

It came with two loops on the upper tower, that chainsaws will slip into, that makes taking a chainsaw to the woods VERY easy.

It came with two places to put skidding chains, right on the side of the winch, in fact THREE skidding chains came with it!

It came with a protective screen and I think that is important.

And Wallenstein rates their winches on what it can pull on the LAST wrap on the drum, (full drum) NOT the first wrap...

Those are things that I like, or are important to me, I think I made a very good choice in the winch I bought!

Not all Wallenstein models have all of these things, but from what I saw at the EXPO, most other brands are lacking features...

SR

 

[Hermio]

Comparison to Wallenstein by a Farmi dealer: New Page 3

Comparing to Fransgard: New Page 2

 

[BWSwede]

Hermio,

I can't speak for all winches but the one I had with a ratchet brake could not be released from the seat (as built from the factory). I did not like this kind of brake so I sold that winch and bought one with a band brake. I am not sure which winches have ratchet brakes and which ones have band brakes but I do know that band brake winches seem to be easier to retrofit a remote control system to.

On the winch I had the clanking noise did not have to be heard the entire time of a pull. All I had to do was pull the brake rope right before I let off the clutch rope to avoid the noise.

BWSwede