First Ride Review –– Ryan Harris
Specialized. I’ve said that at least a hundred times to riders who ask me how the new Alpha One is. I know “specialized” isn't really a good answer, but it worked well in a copy and paste text response.
So here’s a little more explanation. Mountain sleds have evolved from long-track trail sleds to dedicated sidehillers. The last three years have been the pinnacle of that evolution. Shoot, maybe we’re not even at the pinnacle. But when you get a single rail suspension that is designed to one thing and do it well, that’s pretty much a dedicated sidehill machine.
The Alpha One setup works and works amazingly well in any kind of untracked snow. The deeper and less-settled the snow, the better the Alpha One performs. That’s it’s playground. It maximizes traction and grabs snow by the shovel-full with each rotation of the new track. The agile feel the Alpha One creates is a huge difference compared to the standard Mountain Cat––and that is already a nimble sled. The sled leans into a carve extremely easily. That’s good when picking lines through technical ravines. The sled has a lighter feel as well. Coupled with a strong engine and a wicked good track, that feel makes for a lively ride experience.
The Alpha One is easier to ride than the standard M 8000 and Mountain Cat––in fresh snow. The tradeoff for all that extra traction from the flexible track and single rail is a loose-feeling rear end on hard pack terrain, especially bumpy stuff. The track will twist to conform to the shape of whatever it’s riding over, and that can pull the rear end in different directions.
It’s a feeling anyone can get used to for sure, but it takes a little more experience and ability to power through terrain rather than roll through it. Like we said, it’s a bit of a tradeoff for having the most deep-snow traction you’ve ever experienced. The M 8000 SnoPro and Mountain Cat are there for you if you want the predictability of a dual-rail skid.
First Ride Review –– Steve Janes
In a short two years the Mountain Cat has been transformed from a bulky sled that relied on speed and power to bully its way up a mountain to a sleek, nimble snowmobile that can negotiate terrain when necessary yet power its way to the top when required.
It’s no longer just a point-and-shoot snowmobile. It can go with the flow when you need to weave your way through the trees.
We can point to two significant improvements that have led to this transformation: First, the move to narrow the profile in 2018. This allowed the Cat to roll farther on its side in deep snow. The second was the Alpha One suspension new for 2019. This increases the Mountain Cat’s ability to perform in deep snow.
The Alpha One is a single rail skid design that centers the balance point of the ride. The outer edge of the track allows the rider to rock from side to side with greater ease, yet maintains incredible traction since the track maintains contact with the terrain.
Not only is the rear suspension lighter since it doesn’t require cross supports, it also is cleaner since there’s no place for the snow to collect. This decrease in weight reduces the normal burden placed on the rear suspension and gives you a smoother ride.
The Cat is much better suited to hold a sidehill, especially in packed snow conditions. You can merely lean to roll it up on an edge … although it takes a little getting use to since there isn’t a hard edge to roll to.
The Mountain Cat’s engine is solid. The Power Claw track hooks up well. With the slimmer design and the new rear end, Arctic Cat now has a snowmobile that has raised the bar for mountain riding.