Also with no ratcheting preventing backspin every once in a while that poor sap in the wheel would miss a step or something and then go for one hell of a ride.
No. Ratcheting stops are one form of winch break (and definitely the most common in modern winches) but it’s not a mandatory inclusion. A winch is just a rope around a drum.
Also with no ratcheting preventing backspin every once in a while that poor sap in the wheel would miss a step or something and then go for one hell of a ride.
Isn’t a ratcheting mechanism sort of implied with it being labeled as a winch though?
No. Ratcheting stops are one form of winch break (and definitely the most common in modern winches) but it’s not a mandatory inclusion. A winch is just a rope around a drum.