AmSnow.com is now SnoWest.com
While our own personal thoughts are that the Rush style is not as appealing as some other designs, it has advantages. Remember when we said how iced up the rear shock and springs can get on the Arctic Cat slide-rail suspension? Well, the Rush 800 Pro S does not have that issue as the rear shock and spring are easily accessed for changing settings and due to their location above and out of the way, they are immune to most snow and ice accumulation. Now, taking tension off that rear spring can be difficult because picking up on the bumper will not do it like it will on other sleds. Speaking of the rear bumper, it is still too low to get to if you get stuck. Also being lower than any other sled on the market, I would not count on it stopping any other sleds in a fender-bender.
Another positive thing to the exposed Rush style Pro XC rear suspension is function. Due to its more dirtbike like design and progressive shock ratio, this sled is highly maneuverable, responds well to both rider body and throttle inputs, puts power to the snow extremely well, and is quite capable to “ride over the tops” of big moguls when you are on the throttle. Polaris calls the benefits riders feel “active pitch control,” but what’s that mean in real riders terms? The ride height and lightweight (due to components in overstructure) as well as centralizing the vehicle and rider masses give the Rush rider a feeling of balanced control in choppy trails, tight corners, hard acceleration and quick deceleration, as well as control in the air, off jumps, or “doubling up” large moguls in rhythym.
Very little has changed on this sled for three model years now, unfortunately. The disadvantages are still there, like the ones mentioned above. There is still the need for custom storage on just about every model Pro S too, and there’s the need for a minimum mid-height windshield with handguards in order to stay warm. Fortunately, this sled is still being sold at a much lower price point than the others in this comparo. For $12,899 you can get a brand new Pro S which will be lightest sled of any of the three we test here. That’s $1300 cheaper than the similarly equipped Cat El Tigre and $750 less than the Ski-Doo Blizzard.