I have a few boxes on the way to try out. i usually only use ICE but windy city has some awesome features and i LOVE that they have the special carts so in one pull you can get a drop done.

http://www.smartwire.com/

[Link: smartwire.com]

They called me few times but have never tried them.

Been using them for 3 years now. Very happy with them, The Racks make pulling a bunch of wires at a time alot easier.

Never had an issue with the quality of the wire,

awesome! cant wait to get my hands on it. Their prices are right between ICE/Liberty and for the features they offer its worth it to try. The only thing that is going to make me jump ship totally from ice to windy is their version of the wet coated jacket. I also love that they make all the wire in the USA except for some of the temp cables and they also have that labling system stuck to the side of the box, and for a nominal fee they will print the drops/location/codes for you!

I have used them on and off. Always very happy with the wire and system. Not sure why I dont order more. The CAT jacket is the best I have worked with.

Well, this is potentially the start of an interesting thread.

How DO you choose your cables? Are they not commodities? Is it about shipping policies? Packaging (ease of pulling wire)? Price? Availability? Quality? Jacket characteristics?

Very curious about this.

thanks.

In Order)
Quality
Jacket Characteristics
Packaging (ease of pulling)
Price
Shipping Policies

I ran out of ICE and in a pinch had to buy pro-connects wire. This stuff is garbage, doesnt pull snags and tangles in the box. Price was actually a bit more then ICE but i was stuck and had to get some.

Ill glady pay more for a box that stacks right and isnt bulged on all sides (like the pro connect) also one that doesnt tangle up.

Its going to take an awful lot of features from windy to make me jump ship. I think for pre-wires without a doubt they'll get my business but for everyday stuff it had better be some amazing wire for me to not purchase ICE anymore.

Agreed. I ordered some of that once to try it out. Non-stop bitching and moaning over it ensued.

What is it about this Windy City Wire that has you interested? I know they have that kit with a few spools in one box that you cart around on, well, their cart. But how is that any different than carting around single boxes of ICE that if you wished to be bundled were strapped together? I'm eager to hear your experience with this. I doubt I'd switch from ordering ICE but enjoy hearing about new products/ideas that may make people's lives suck just a bit less.

how do you gauge (get it?) quality?

Don't forget ease of stripping/termination.

Company I work for bought a bunch of Honeywell wire. Cat 6 is fine but the coax is the devil. There seems to be no connector that works worth a crap for it (and I have tried many).
Saving a couple of bucks per box is negated by crappy wire payout from the box, or spending 10 minutes per connector fighting them.

The issue I have with multi-wires in a single box is that unless you know you'll use it ALL on the project you're spec'ing it for, OR this is your standard bundle, you may have issue using it all or carting empty spools, trying to use up what's left in the box.
I would prefer ICE individual boxes, ganged together.

Love the idea of it! Perfect for prewire's, but the problem is that even though we are getting more pre-construction work (finally) it's still 90-95% retro.

I would definitely like to try it out on a few of the bigger jobs we have coming up, but can't see using it on a daily basis.

We used to use ICE stuff for lower budget projects, but switched to Snap because of the packaging (the boxes don't fall apart on the truck), ease of pulling, & super quick shipping.

We use MIT & Monster on some of the bigger jobs.

Right now we are "shopping" for another cable company and haven't been thrilled with the options we have tried out.

We've been through a number of brands of Cat6, trying to find a quality wire that passes certification reliably, and one that doesn't cost a ton. Currently we pull mostly honeywell, though ICE still shows up in a pinch. Honestly, i prefer the ICE, just because the honeywell is a roll-in-a-box, and it tends to over-spool, loosen a few layers up, and then start jumping loops over the ends. If you don't stand at the box and carefully pull smoothly and slowly, it does it at least half the time.
I'm curious about the jacket and coating on the windy city stuff, it sounds like it would pull nicely. I'm also curous how it fares when tested with a Fluke DTX or similar. 

Why do so many dealers like ICE?

Quality,(jacketing included in this)
Ease of pull/use (rip cord, flexibilty etc)
Shipping policy and location (free fright, how close/quickly they ship)
Service/support
Price

All of our non-crestron jobs are Windy City Wire,
Crestron Jobs get crestron branded wire
We have used ICE a couple of times as an alternative to Lutron and Crestron wiring but no longer do so. Not for any particular problem but just simply not wanting to have any issues with support blaming wire brands.

I like the racking you can do with WCW but it wasnt the deciding factor for us, it was an added bonus.

Ordering from once vendor and being happy with thier support and service has been a big factor in our choice.