Putting the Polaris 850 Pro RMK 155 at No. 3 on my list isn’t quite fair. Maybe I will call it my second, second place. I picked the 155 2.6-inch track as my go to when riding the new 850 Pro RMK. I love this track because it gets rolling quickly and propels you up and out of the snow. The Pro RMK has always been a lightweight agile snowmobile yet seemed underpowered at times. Enter the 850 Patriot engine. Welcome to the horsepower party Polaris. We spent a few days riding the 850s in deep powder and they performed as you’d expect. The motor is aggressive yet smooth and feels like it will pull forever. The new motor compliments the lightweight Axys chassis well. A narrower ski stance was added to the list of changes this year making it easier to roll the sled over when the need arises.
The Ski-Doo Summit X 850 165 is No. 4 on my list. A very mountain-specific snowmobile that is capable of anything you ask of it. It has a very light steering feel that doesn’t make you tired and has a great mountain suspension to handle the bumps. Always worth mentioning is the SHOT start. So much pleasure in pushing one little button and hearing that motor come to life. The Summit X is a refined mountain snowmobile that is hard to beat.