This Pocket Winch Fits In Your Car's Glovebox And Can Pull 2,000 Pounds Of Dead Weight

When you picture someone breaking out a winch, you probably aren't visualizing them reaching into their glove box. But that's exactly the kind of compact storage the Dragan Pocket Winch has to offer. This winch weighs less than a pound and measures just six inches long by less than three inches wide and barely over three inches tall, yet it's capable of pulling up to 2,000 pounds.

The complete kit is small enough to fit in the glove box or a spacious center console (if you've got one). That makes it a lot easier for drivers, outdoorsmen, and other winch users to keep one handy. And sure, it's no replacement for the much larger winches, which are one of the gadgets every off-roader should have, but still, it's nice to have a more compact piece of recovery equipment like this in case of an emergency. It's currently going for $399 on the Dragan Systems site.

The Dragan Pocket Winch is manually operated, built around a compact winch body, a Capio, a force-doubling pulley called the Doubler, a carbon fiber handle, high-modulus UHMWPE line, and anchoring equipment. Altogether, the assembled system fits into a case measuring 6 inches by 2.8 inches by 3.2 inches and weighs about 1.5 pounds. The winch assembly itself still comes in at just under a pound.

Used with a single line, the system can pull 1,000 pounds. Add the Doubler and its rated pulling capacity goes up to 2,000 pounds. Possible uses include loading heavy equipment, clearing fallen debris, hoisting game, or doing a vehicle tire change. Sure, it's not the stuff of off-road truck mods, but it's still handy. It's useful beyond just cars. It'd also fit just as easily on an ATV or motorcycle, or in a backpack.

Reviews on Dragan's site can't say enough about how nice-looking and high-quality the engineering is (even if some admit they haven't had a chance to actually use it yet). Some do have things to say about the $399 price tag, especially when something like Harbor Freight's winch brand Badland has a 2,000-pound winch for under $60, but that's simply the price some are fine paying for the sheer convenience of the Pocket Winch.