I have had both and both work great but........
If you are going to stay riding more trails, beat up trails, then I would lean towards and Assault or an SKS. This sled also shines if your into climbing, and especially late season when its rough and you need a little more stability. It also works good in the deep, "if" its setup right but the RMK will shine in this area.
If you are going to keep venturing towards more off trail and backcountry riding, then go with the RMK. The RMK loves the deep snow and the new 2.6 works well.
I've gone the route of the RMK's and update the shocks to Raptors and narrow up the front end (K-Mod). This combination works extremely well in the deep but also the shock upgrade really helps the overall ride and feeling of the sled.
I'm thinking of investing in raptors and going with a k-mod 37" front end for my Axys. How does it differ from the stock set up when riding off trail?
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I actually started with the Raptor springs and then moved to a full shock setup and both work good but the shocks are really good!!
The springs on stock shocks will definitely help the stock shocks out, if your on a budget. It provides a softer, smoother for most conditions and obviously gets stiffer as you push it, hence the progressive rate. It just tends to roll over a little nicer and just plain "helps" the stock shocks.
If you move onto a full set of shocks, you truly are getting into some great shocks!!! Unbelievable quality, awesome adjustability, great tech support from Jake and a really smooth ride!!! I personally like the ability to really fine tune the shocks to "your" riding style and liking.
As far as the narrow front end, I'm on my second narrow front end. The first was Alternative Impact and now I'm running the K-Mod.
Again, both were good and I really have no complaints with either of them. Both performed well and quality was good. As far as fit and finish, the K-Mod is probably a tick better. Both companies, Dan with Alternative and Jake with Raptor are great guys will offer assistance when needed.
With regard to handling, the narrow front end will change the handling characteristics. Personally, I think bigger or heavier riders will probably notice more change, just due to the amount of weight transfer a bigger rider can throw around. Lighter or smaller riders will notice a difference as well but again maybe not quite as much as a bigger rider.
The narrower front end tends to react quicker to rider input. I also noticed (for me) I actually go into "wrong foot forward position" less then before. I still go into this position but it seems like its just a little less then normal. My last Pro I also had Ice Age Pro-Motion with a narrow front end that that thing was really quick to react to rider input!!!
I personally like the 37" stance over the 36". Keep in mind...
K-Mod is 36, 37 and 38
Alternative Impact is 35, 36 and 37
I have tried the Alternative Impact on the narrowest and for me......Too narrow!!! I thought there was too much stability loss on harder snow, especially hill climbs!! I felt like I could do a barrel roll !!! It was kind cool in the deep snow but I really wanted the best all around feeling, so I went back to the 37" stance.
Hopefully I didn't ramble too much and this helps a little.
