Fluid
Riding the Summit X in the deep snow is very fluid. The steering is light and you can control most of your riding just by leaning side to side and applying pressure through your feet.
Heading into the backcountry you always want your snowmobile to perform. The 850 E-Tec does just that. It has an explosive bottom end that gets you up on the snow and continues into a constant hard pull up top. In and out of the throttle when you’re sidehilling, the Rotax 850 runs clean without a hiccup. Clutching was set up great for our elevation and shifted smoothly between braking and acceleration.
When snow conditions are epic like they were when we rode, everything feels soft and plush. Deep snow has a way of disguising ill-handling or flawed suspension setups. We tried to put the KYB suspension under a load by jumping the Summit X off everything in sight. The front and rear suspension took the abuse and held up well without bottoming. Not that we care how a mountain sled handles down the trail but we all end up there whether we like it or not. The ride was comfortable through the bumps and the chassis doesn’t beat you up.
Overall the 2019 Ski-Doo Summit X 850 does what you want a backcountry mountain snowmobile to do. It’s a well-put-together package that builds confidence and allows you to ride longer with less fatigue.