Wire vs. Dux - Advantage: Dux!

For those thinking of making the switch, be aware that there are real differences from wire. You must, for example, guard against chafe. Owners can use tarred nylon to serve a portion of the outboard upper shrouds, to prevent against sheets rubbing and around spreader tips. Racing boats can use a high-tech Dyneema cover to prevent chafe.

Another big difference: each shroud, when spliced around a terminal in the shop, must be re-tensioned to upwards of 2,000 pounds. This is because as the rope is spliced the braid works loose and must be set back up again. Applying this sort of tension is best accomplished with a huge winch mounted on the shop floor. 

In the end, Dux is like anything new. There is a distinct learning curve, and there will be skeptics and believers. For skeptics, a great introduction is to start by replacing your lifelines with Dux. For those with a new wire rig, Dux makes perfect emergency rigging and will not rust in your bilge.

The single biggest advantage to Dux is how light it is. On big boats, removing weight aloft can make an enormous difference. One large schooner we know of, for example, lost close to 600 pounds from her rig when Dux was installed, making the boat’s helm infinitely lighter. On  older, smaller boats designed to sail on their ear, the effect is less noticeable. Nonetheless, they'll stand up noticeably better in puffs, and be more stable once heeled and rarely bury their rails. 
The real attraction of Dux is its ease of use and the way it allows owners to take full responsibility for their rigs. With Dux, owners can now make up new pieces of rigging on their own with no help from a professional rigger.

Safety.

Colligo Dux is fast becoming known as the safest standing rigging you can buy. This is due mostly to 2 factors:

1.    It is fully inspectable. All of the line is exposed, the end fittings and splices allow for this. Unlike a swage fitting in wire, where you cannot see the internal corrosion, you can see all of the dux. Set up an inspection schedule and check it periodically as you should your boat's other systems.

2.    The 2 failure modes, chafe and UV present visible cues. From both chafe and UV, the line gets fuzzy when damaged, this is almost like a flashing red light as the fuzzy texture contrasts so much with the normal smoothness of the line.

Keep in mind also that the line will be 2-5 times stronger than the steel rigging it replaced so you can tolerate some damage to the line and still be safe.