I like the mechanical nature of the PTO driven winches as long as you have engine power...you'll come out or break something. I don't build in 'fuses' and don't like shear pins. I'm getting out, it's coming out, or I get a lesson in what not to do. Not wanting the lesson makes you think out what's going on around you better. I've also seen a few electric winches give up after a couple of long hard pulls where the PTO doesn't care. It's still personal preference though; PTO is not the easiest thing to do with the different order of things that have to happen where electric and hydraulic are a bit easier to operate. I still like the feel with the mechanical winch and the ability to bounce them (jump a clutch a little...YES it's not the most friendly thing to do to them...) to get something past something else it may have otherwise gotten hung up on. Another thing I didn't see mentioned was snatch blocks. People, if you winch or intend on winch, get yourself at least one snatch block. Not all the time do you need them to return the line to double the power of the winch or the line strentgh...sometimes you just need it to be able to steer the line through the trees.