What do people mean by occasional use?
I consider my winch to only get occasionaly use, but then the last pay and play I was at I got used 5 times pulling mine to where I wanted it and a further 2 times recoving a friends 4x4. So far the EP9 on mine has been problem free, though I have flattened the battery with it once.
There are a few people on the 4x4 forums using these cheap winches and generally they seem to work OK, but they don't seem to last as long so if it is more of a 'just in case' than a means of getting from A to B then they should fine, though arguably a hi-lift would more practical. Like any other winch, good maintenace will help them last a lot longer. I have heard some comments that the line pull of these cheap winches isn't as good claimed, though I haven't seen any measured results.