This new THORparts bumper is all steel, 3/16" thick except for the recessed light buckets. Those are 14ga steel. The wings are bolted to the top of the bumper with (3) 1/2" grade-8 fasteners. If inclined...the customer could weld the wings in place to the top of the bumper. I think this could be done "secretly", with the welding all hidden from view. I use the bolt-on method for several reasons. (1) the knocked-down bumper can be shipped via UPS-Ground. (2) it makes replacing either side easier, since you don't have to replace the entire bumper. (3) it gives previous THORparts customers the option to easily upgrade their original GEN I front bumpers to this newer style. (4) it lends itself to custom mods, since the wings can be moved around separately from the bumper by slotting the bolt-holes.
As far as a collision? I honestly feel it would depend what you hit, that would determine the outcome of the bumper...
Tree?...probably be okay if crawling or a glancing blow.
Isis-Deer?...probably splattered.
Back end of a parked dump truck?...no hope, the H3 would be destroyed.
As far as "strength"...you could hang an H3 from the THORparts winch bumper, if you had enough balls to hoist your truck vertically that high off the ground. (I would recommend a steel bridge beam or something more substantial than a tree limb).
I have a cracked plastic grille from hitting a small tree when off-roading. The original GEN I bumper stops short of the ends, and the wings & grille are made from very thin & lightweight steel. Its not designed to provide any corner protection. At the time that was the look and use I was going for (and many guys probably still prefer it). I simply could not make a full-width bumper look like anything but ass! But, after a year of wadding up cardboard and steel mock-ups...I finally arrived at a bumper design that gives better corner protection without looking like it came off of some other vehicle. It fits nice & tight against the body and compliments the lines. All of the other H3 bumpers look over-built and bulky to me, which is why I came up with the first THORparts bumper. This one is a compromise of the original THORparts bumper...slightly wider...slightly heavier. The center portion is still the same piece as before, with a fully exposed, high-mount, winch position.