patriot vs doo vs alpha

[snobyrd]

Yesterday I had the chance to ride with 160 inch class alpha and doo 850 vs my 850 2.6 , all of us very experienced riders that ride a lot and live in the bc mountians and are close in age and weight. The guy on the alpha wanted to race up a untouched face with aprox 16 inches of fresh, we decided to go one at a time for safety reasons, but it was agreeded that we would start at the base of the slope, no run. The cat went first, he got aprox 3/4 way up, started to trench and wheelie and turned out, second was the doo and the results were close to the same as the cat, I went last and I blew completely over the top, with no trenching or ski lifting, I came back down with perma grin under my helmet. The doo guy says to me, your sled is like a tractor and stays flat, he did mention to me that he had shorten his strap by one hole to prevent ski lift, the cat guy is under his skid trying to lock out his skid and had no comment to me lol. The doo guy also commented on how well my sled can hold a edge on some long sidehill. Towards the end of the day, both myself and the cat guy were tired in the arms, mind u, I rode way more aggressive than the other 2 guys did as I was on a mission to show how awesome the pol 850 is, but considering the alpha is supposed to be easy to ride, at the end of the day, he was just as tired as I was. The snow was harder underneath and made for a hard day of riding, honestly I prefer to not ride when the sno is like that. One thing I can say about this sled vs my 800 axys is, I can hold a steeper sidehill and hang way higher with confidance. I wished I had filmed the whole thing and next time I will, so tks pol for making such a great sled.

 

[turboless terry]

Have you compared yours to a 3 inch poo 850? Too bad you didn't have one there to see if burandts claim is right.

 

[willjogervais]

No, It mustn't be true! There is no way that junk bucket polaris with its ticking time bomb could ever defeat the mighty alpha!???
Sorry, I just couldn't resist.

It would be interesting to compare the 2.6 and the 3" as well. I love the new front end on my 163 850. It is much easier sidehilling than my stock width 16 155. Last trip nobody (i was the only patriot, 3 850 doo's, no alphas) wanted to compare climbing with me. I dont think they get the same rush as I do facing up a mountain, more tree riders. I feel extremely confident climbing with it, it just keeps going and going.....
We did a couple drag runs on an wide open section of trail and the patriot won 3 out of the 5 runs versus a doo 850 154? and a 165. The polaris was pulling on the top end but in all honestly they are so close it comes down to who is clutched better and who got off the line cleanest. Mine was a bone stock 163 2.6 w/ es, theirs were piped.

 

[snobyrd]

Have you compared yours to a 3 inch poo 850? Too bad you didn't have one there to see if burandts claim is right.

No, I have the only 850 in my group, but in the 800 segment , I rode with and tried the 3 inch and right away I noticed the lack of SNAP and more trenching.
This 850 is very fast, it gets on top ,starts planning and goes. I have a brand new 2.8 on my shelf that I was gonna install, but adams, burandt and vohk all suggested staying 2.6 and their advice seams pretty legit from my experience.

The cat guy tells me that his cat is lighter in deep sno and my pol is the heaviest, I roll my eyes , all I know is, everytime I get stuck, my sled is the lightest to lift and roll over.

I like the direction and gains cat has made, I rode cats for yrs but after owning 2 2013 that had more shop floor miles than mtn miles I parted ways. Thers some die hard cat guys around here that think the alpha is the almighty mtn king, not so, they still need 850 class power and continue shedding weight if their gonna run with the 850s.

 

[revrider07]

Have you compared yours to a 3 inch poo 850? Too bad you didn't have one there to see if burandts claim is right.

What does barandt claim.

 

[hilio]

What does barandt claim.

That the 2.6" get on top of the snow easier than the 3" and that the 3" is more wheelie !

 

[turboless terry]

Claims the 2.6 climbs on snow and picks up speed where the 3 augers some. Did claim 3 will win on a couple days but claims very few. The only thing I know was my 155 3 inch was more fun than my wife's 163 2.6.

 

[willjogervais]

The only thing I know was my 155 3 inch was more fun than my wife's 163 2.6.

Because of track length or 2.6 vs 3"?

 

[Scott]

That the 2.6" get on top of the snow easier than the 3" and that the 3" is more wheelie !

Most of that can be mitigated with suspension tuning.

 

[turboless terry]

No, I have the only 850 in my group, but in the 800 segment , I rode with and tried the 3 inch and right away I noticed the lack of SNAP and more trenching.
This 850 is very fast, it gets on top ,starts planning and goes. I have a brand new 2.8 on my shelf that I was gonna install, but adams, burandt and vohk all suggested staying 2.6 and their advice seams pretty legit from my experience.

The cat guy tells me that his cat is lighter in deep sno and my pol is the heaviest, I roll my eyes , all I know is, everytime I get stuck, my sled is the lightest to lift and roll over.

I like the direction and gains cat has made, I rode cats for yrs but after owning 2 2013 that had more shop floor miles than mtn miles I parted ways. Thers some die hard cat guys around here that think the alpha is the almighty mtn king, not so, they still need 850 class power and continue shedding weight if their gonna run with the 850s.

As long as I can remember, big kids always tried to pick on skinny kids. The polaris is way easier to get unstuck. I've even flipped them over backwards by myself. Can't do the other 2. The other 2 do ride lighter. You can pick up the back of the alpha when stuck. Don't even bother with the other 2. Wouldn't even tried it but heard you could. The alpha, hands down, wins in reverse. Never seen anything like it. Assuming it is the 10 inch wheels. Works awesome when can't roll it.

 

[turboless terry]

Because of track length or 2.6 vs 3"?

Track length and more playful. That is why I don't buy into the belt drive hype plus I compare a bunch between a 13 demo and my 12 and if I blindfolded you, you wouldn't know which was which.

 

[t-revzr]

Yesterday I had the chance to ride with 160 inch class alpha and doo 850 vs my 850 2.6 , all of us very experienced riders that ride a lot and live in the bc mountians and are close in age and weight. The guy on the alpha wanted to race up a untouched face with aprox 16 inches of fresh, we decided to go one at a time for safety reasons, but it was agreeded that we would start at the base of the slope, no run. The cat went first, he got aprox 3/4 way up, started to trench and wheelie and turned out, second was the doo and the results were close to the same as the cat, I went last and I blew completely over the top, with no trenching or ski lifting, I came back down with perma grin under my helmet. The doo guy says to me, your sled is like a tractor and stays flat, he did mention to me that he had shorten his strap by one hole to prevent ski lift, the cat guy is under his skid trying to lock out his skid and had no comment to me lol. The doo guy also commented on how well my sled can hold a edge on some long sidehill. Towards the end of the day, both myself and the cat guy were tired in the arms, mind u, I rode way more aggressive than the other 2 guys did as I was on a mission to show how awesome the pol 850 is, but considering the alpha is supposed to be easy to ride, at the end of the day, he was just as tired as I was. The snow was harder underneath and made for a hard day of riding, honestly I prefer to not ride when the sno is like that. One thing I can say about this sled vs my 800 axys is, I can hold a steeper sidehill and hang way higher with confidance. I wished I had filmed the whole thing and next time I will, so tks pol for making such a great sled.

Funny Opposite for me. Ill be in Revy for 2 weeks starting this sunday be cool to ride with a local and run my alpha against ya with some video.

 

[Jaynelson]

Thanks for the report, I felt the 850 climbed very well, but haven't been able to compare with other brands.

On the tracks....so far I am enjoying the 850 with a 3" track more than I enjoyed the 800 with 3" (163's)

850 just seems to overcome that extra track/chaincase weight and drag more, and get more use out of the extra paddle length. Call me crazy, but something about the way the power comes on just seems to match up better with the 3" than the 800HO did. Or maybe they tweaked the rubber compound, not sure....the 3" trenched more on the 800, but is impressive on the 850. Great hookup for instant little "zaps" to launch off little poppers and such.

The 2.6 is probably a "better" sled all around....turns and drive better on the road, snappier throttle response, less trenching, less worry about spitting the paddles off when you drag race your buddy and don't want to let off. Also inspires more confidence on side hills cause you can spin up the 2.6" a lot and still hold your line....whereas the 3" hooks more and propels you across the hill more. Just takes some getting used to.

 

[snobyrd]

Funny Opposite for me. Ill be in Revy for 2 weeks starting this sunday be cool to ride with a local and run my alpha against ya with some video.

opposite in what way? power? skilift?
I live in the Shuswap, I ride 2 times a week, im not a weekend warrior, I ride with experienced guys and only compare with riders off the same skill as Its irelavent to compare , thus my orginal post, its not a far fetched story,

 

[t-revzr]

opposite in what way? power? skilift?
I live in the Shuswap, I ride 2 times a week, im not a weekend warrior, I ride with experienced guys and only compare with riders off the same skill as Its irelavent to compare , thus my orginal post, its not a far fetched story,

The 850 never came close to my alpha. Thus why my buddy sold it and bought the alpha. His was the 163 with a 2.6. Your same scenario your stating is the complete opposite of how it went for ours. The Alpha climbed better and farther. And we are definitely not weekend warriors we ride all over the US and BC. Im not hating on the 850 at all because it is a nice sled. Just stating everyone has different outcomes.

 

[d1100t]

Meeting

The 850 never came close to my alpha. Thus why my buddy sold it and bought the alpha. His was the 163 with a 2.6. Your same scenario your stating is the complete opposite of how it went for ours. The Alpha climbed better and farther. And we are definitely not weekend warriors we ride all over the US and BC. Im not hating on the 850 at all because it is a nice sled. Just stating everyone has different outcomes.

He'll be close enough to meet up with you.
Maybe he will??

 

[snobyrd]

Track length and more playful. That is why I don't buy into the belt drive hype plus I compare a bunch between a 13 demo and my 12 and if I blindfolded you, you wouldn't know which was which.

I couldn't disagree with you more about your statement. I had a 13 and the biggest thing I noticed right out off the gate was throttle response compared to the 12. last year I was given a 18 stage 4 slp 3 inch demo sled from the Kamloops dealership to ride for a few days, my first 2 observations were the lack of bottom end snap and the new shock valving, when I returned the sled, I mentioned the bottom end thing to the manager and he agreed the chain case takes the edge of the belt drive, and I fully agree the belt drive spools up way faster, this isn't hogwash, its simply facts.

 

[snobyrd]

The 850 never came close to my alpha. Thus why my buddy sold it and bought the alpha. His was the 163 with a 2.6. Your same scenario your stating is the complete opposite of how it went for ours. The Alpha climbed better and farther. And we are definitely not weekend warriors we ride all over the US and BC. Im not hating on the 850 at all because it is a nice sled. Just stating everyone has different outcomes.

Question is, was the 850 out of breakin? I knew I should had broke out the cell and recorded a vid. Im uploading a awesome 58 second pull in a steep twisty ,single sled wide drainage that was filled with over 2 feet of snow vid on utube, ill post it on here if I can figure out how to do it.

 

[Jaynelson]

I couldn't disagree with you more about your statement. I had a 13 and the biggest thing I noticed right out off the gate was throttle response compared to the 12. last year I was given a 18 stage 4 slp 3 inch demo sled from the Kamloops dealership to ride for a few days, my first 2 observations were the lack of bottom end snap and the new shock valving, when I returned the sled, I mentioned the bottom end thing to the manager and he agreed the chain case takes the edge of the belt drive, and I fully agree the belt drive spools up way faster, this isn't hogwash, its simply facts.

Agreed I have always found the belt drive sleds to be noticeably more responsive.

 

[snobyrd]

can some one upload a vid I just put on utube titled, "Polaris 850 patriot climbing drainage in northern bc" I dont know how to do it.