In snowmobiling there is the social side where we like to ride with our family and friends and then there is what we'll call the product side. Snowmobilers love new products, even if those new products aren't in their budget right now. We like to look and one of the best things about snowmobile shows is that you can look and touch.
Here at SnoWest Magazine, we're no different. We like to look at new products, too. So we picked out a handful of new and/or changed products from the snowmobile shows in Salt Lake City, UT, and Boise, ID, this past fall that caught our attention.
Here they are, in no particular order.
Mesh hoods have been around for a while but some companies have a better fit-and-finish than others. This mesh hood from Diamond S Manufacturing (www.diamond-smfg.com) is a dandy for those riders who want to give their sled better air circulation and a way for the heat to escape on those warm spring rides. This Diamond S mesh hood for the Polaris Pro RMK retails for $425 but the Utah company has hoods for all four major manufacturers' mountain sleds.
On today's mountain sleds storage is pretty much nonexistent; we're looking for some place to stow some gear without having to carry it all on our back. Mountain Addiction (www.mountainaddiction.com) has a pretty nifty setup where you can carry your lunch, drinks, additional fuel, spare parts, whatever.
There are custom snowmobile trailers and then there are custom snowmobile trailers. The Trails West Burandt Edition RPM model trailers are custom with a capital C. Trails West teamed up with Chris Burandt to offer the new package.
In addition to all the cool features that come standard on RPM model trailers, the Burandt Edition will feature a forced air furnace, PVC laminate flooring, a stereo system with Kicker speakers, fold-down benches, exclusive aluminum wheels, traction blocks on front and rear ramps, enclosed diamond plate cabinets, 12-volt battery and a 110-volt power converter with outlets.
Additionally, RPM Burandt Edition goosenecks will get a Kicker subwoofer with amp and dual batteries.
To see Burandt give a tour of his namesake trailer from Trails West (www.trailswesttrailers.com), go here: http://www.snowest.com/snowmobile-news/display.cfm?ID=3220.
Okay, so this doesn't exactly qualify as a new product but this Yamaha racer looks pretty cool nonetheless. This drag racer was built by Michigan-based One Stop Performance (http://onestopperformance.com/).
Klim (www.klim.com) created a new product for show goers as they watched during SnoWest snowmobile shows in Salt Lake City and Boise. This was one of our favorite sayings that was spray painted onto a hat and then given away.
Avalanche bags are gaining popularity among the snowmobile crowd and are one more safety tool that a sledder can take advantage of when riding in the mountains and areas prone to avalanches. This Float avalanche airbag is offered by Backcountry Access (http://www.backcountryaccess.com/).
You can give your snowmobile just about any kind of look you want with today's sled wrap kits. Here are just a couple of the many we saw at the snow shows. The red/green wrap is by Arctic FX (http://www.arcticfxgraphics.com/shop/) and the skull with a headdress is by SCS (http://scsunlimited.com/). Sled wraps are just about as creative as most paint jobs you'll find today.
Well known for its turbo systems, Aerocharger (http://aerocharger.com/) now has a turbo kit available for the Arctic Cat ProClimb chassis. The list of features in the new Aerocharger kit is shown in the one picture with a kit installed in the other photo.
We came across this pretty unique trailer at the Intermountain Snowmobile Show in Salt Lake City. You can tow it behind a snowmobile or ATV as it can be used with skis or wheels. You can use it to carry gear to your cabin or to a camp site and you can change the one side to a bench so you can carry passengers as well as gear. The change is made just by flipping the side rail into a bench. The trailers are manufactured in Utah by Kingdom Trailerz. To find Kingdom Trailerz, go to Facebook and search for the company.
The Performance Enhancement Kit is designed to minimize scuffing of the cylinders that can be caused by turning a sled off when the engine is hot and then restarting it. Most Wanted Performance, Jackson Hole, WY, designed a coolant bypass to eliminate the problem of piston scuffing and contraction of the cylinders. Most Wanted Performance (www.mostwantedperformance.com/) offers a detailed explanation of the benefits of its Performance Enhancement Kit on its website. The kit is available for select Polaris sleds with development of a Ski-Doo kit now underway.