I run ARBs front and rear and it's great to run open on the road, but be locked when needed.
Plus when you're running easier trails with stock rigs you can run open and still have a fun.
For you 1% ers, I would spend my money on a good winch. Stuck is stuck, it doesn't matter if you're locked or not
Lockers just allow you to get stuck in deeper, tighter, more challenging spots, but if you have a winch you can always get yourself moving again.
Thank you, you beat me to this. To the OP, I tried looking at your profile, but couldn't really find anything on your Jeep. I'm guessing it has the D35 rear? I believe you also mentioned wanting to run 33's. I'm sorry but that combination with any sort of locker is living on borrowed time. The 35 is just not strong enough for that. If I were you and had to drive in snow and just did a little bit of wheeling, I would consider an ARB or a winch. Having a selectable locker would be the only real option IMO, but it's VERY expensive. The benefit would be having it turned off you would never know it's there, on you have a full locker. For the price you could get a pretty nice winch, and then you know you could get out. Many people on this forum will tell you that a Warn will be the way to go. I agree with them. They are truly the best. I however, do not have that kind of money laying around, and have intimate experience with the ins and outs of the new Smittybilt winches. My neighbor and I completely tore one down before putting it on his YJ, and I think it's a pretty nice unit. After using it a few times, and going on the comments I've heard from you on what you want to spend, I think that would be a really good route for you to go. It's something that will be a peace of mind for all stages of the Jeep buildup. If you eventually decide you still want a locker, then look at axle upgrades such as a rear D44 or Rubicon axles, the rubicons come with selectable lockers, and in a TJ they just bolt right up.
Chad<----votes for a winch for 1% offroad use