Which Snowmobile is best for BC?

[Njord]

Thinking about dropping some coin on one of the spring sales for a snowmobile.... which do you think is best for backcountry access and why?

Thanks for helping a total snowmobile cherry out!

[BakerBoy]

http://www.snow-hawk.com/home.aspx

[VC]

Skidoo Elite:

[Plinko]

4-Stroke! No oil/gas mixing, and the exhaust is much more tolerable.

[BakerBoy]

4-Stroke! No oil/gas mixing, and the exhaust is much more tolerable.

For what its worth, you only have to use mixed gas if you're running a mod sled.

But if you want to buy a mountain 4-stroke with 1/3 less hp and 1/3 more weight, be my guest.

[AsheanMT]

the best one for BC use has to be:

[BakerBoy]

I'm going to post nothing but snowmobile pictures in every dynafit thread on this board, until you dirty hippies stop posting pics of dynafits in sled threads.

[Njord]

No shit... if I wanted to know about AT bindings, I would have asked. You can keep your stinking Dynafits.

I'm with BakerBoy, except that I'm going to post pictures of Chinook helicopters. If you think A-Stars are a bad idea, the Chinook is your worst nightmare. Just image the loudest helicopter dis-gorging 33 fat-cat skiers on top of you!

Njord

[Kya]

Get a widetrack. Unstoppable.

[TELEB]

i'd say get a 800 or 1000 with a 163 track, artic cat. but with those sleds it will be harder for passengers to ride though. depends on what mountains you are going up you could get away with a smaller sled. don't get a 4 stroke there heavy and they have no balls.

[seanpistol]

Polaris RMK or Ski-Doo Summit. I like the Summit.

[BakerBoy]

No shit... if I wanted to know about AT bindings, I would have asked. You can keep your stinking Dynafits.

I'm with BakerBoy, except that I'm going to post pictures of Chinook helicopters. If you think A-Stars are a bad idea, the Chinook is your worst nightmare. Just image the loudest helicopter dis-gorging 33 fat-cat skiers on top of you!

Njord

Now you made me feel guilty about posting the snowhawk page. Those guys are fucking losers, just in case you were wondering. I watched them roost a parking lot full of trucks, and then fall over while turning around and loading. Anyhow.

Depending on where you ride and how much money you have to spend, and how much you want to fuck around with fixing or learning to fix things, I'd say --

sub-4k: early 2000's Polaris RMK, 144 min and 151 preferrably, Ski-Doo Summit ZX chassis, same track.
4-7k: 04-05 Ski Doo Summit REV, 144 min and 151 preferrably, Arctic Cat M7
7k+: 06-07 REV (Non-XRS), Arctic Cat M8, or new.

Ski-doo's are better sleds with better tracks, but Arctic Cat has a better drive system, and the motor is EFI which is super nice if you roll it/flood it/stall it, or if you experience large changes in elevation.

Either way, getting a 163" track is retarded unless you're a sledhead who loves to hillclimb, and it doesn't change a thing how passengers ride. The only thing different between a 151 and a 163 is the length of the tunnel (to cover the longer track). For the same reasons, you probably don't need a 1000.

[Meathelmet]

Hijack.

Is there any sense buying a older sled?

Like, at what point is the sled a p.o.s? What is the expected lifespan of a sled?

Around here,you could get a,say,Arctic CAT 580 EFI,driven 3000km for about 4000$. Would there be any sense in buying that kind of sled?
The sled would be used for hauling 3 persons+sled with stuff to basecamps and occasional 3 person yo-yoing.

[PNW Skier]

Why all the hate for this poor Jong guys? He seemed to ask a legitimate question, unless I missed something in an earlier post.

anyway, I've put the most miles on my skidoo 800 151 and it's been awesome. once you learn how to ride that machine will take you anywhere you want to go and maybe some places you don't want to go. I've ridden the skidoo xp but only briefly and on super hard snow so I can't really comment on it's handling. The controls and throttle/brake response are super nice though.

Compared to the yamaha nytros and apex's I've ridden (both of which were lightweight turbo'd mod sleds) the skidoo handles like a dream. Sure the yamahas had 270+ horsepower and could climb anything you pointed them at but they're handling is poor. They require way too much input to get on a sidehill or boondock.

My abosolute favorite in the handling department is the cat though. I had the opportunity to ride two different m7's with big bore 800's in them for three days straight about 2 weeks ago because my sled was being lent out. I can't believe how easy those things are to ride!!!! You think about where you want to go and the sled is already going that way. Getting it up on a sidehill or boondocking with that sled is comically easy compared to my skidoo and it makes a yamaha feel like trying to turn a tank.

I haven't ridden a polaris yet so I can't help you there.

Get an 800 and get a middle of the road track length like a 146-15something. Unless you're getting a cat because both of those cats I rode were 163's and were still ridicuously nimble.

[PNW Skier]

Hijack.

Is there any sense buying a older sled?

Like, at what point is the sled a p.o.s? What is the expected lifespan of a sled?

Around here,you could get a,say,Arctic CAT 580 EFI,driven 3000km for about 4000$. Would there be any sense in buying that kind of sled?
The sled would be used for hauling 3 persons+sled with stuff to basecamps and occasional 3 person yo-yoing.

That's a helluva lot of money for that sled....

I'd go to the states and find yourself a better deal.

I've heard of 2-strokes lasting for 7000miles without a rebuild. On the other hand I just watched two explode 2 weeks ago. One had about 1500k on it and the other one had 1100 miles on it. Luck of the draw maybe?

That 580 you're looking at will at best pull one skier at a time up a groomed road. 580's or 800's for that matter won't pull a skier through deep snow. You could double on an 800 in the pow though. If you're trying to get 3 people anywhere at one time you need a turbo yamaha. Trust me, three people won't slow one of those things down