Your thoughts on the new Arctic Cat Blast Mountain

[Frostbite]

I have been looking for a nice lightweight mountain sled and saw the new Arctic Cat Blast Mountain. I am a bit perplexed at who exactly this sled it targeted? As a fairly seasoned mountain rider, I like the idea of lightweight but, don't like the idea of low power to go with it. The Blast says it's a mountain sled with a 146 x 2" crossover looking track. With basically 1/2 of the new Cat 800 engine. I see now that it's 65 hp. I haven't seen a sled that needs a turbo more than this one. It's claims to be lightweight but, how light? is it under 500 lbs? I rode a Yamaha four stroke Phazer Mountain Lite 500 and it was most underwhelming sled I have ever ridden. I certainly don't want to go down that road. I like the idea but, certainly don't want to be stuck on the bunny hill. I love the patriotic paint theme on the Special edition. What are your thoughts on this new wannabe mountain sled?

 

[ak]

It will be worthless in the mountains , in the videos that have been posted it looks like it won’t even climb a bunny hill with any kind of powder on it.

 

[tmills124]

Theyre made for young kids not 200lb. adults...

 

[Frostbite]

I think so too. They seem like a tweener sled made to transition riders from kid's sleds to full size sleds like the new Polaris EVO.
I'm surprised Polaris doesn't have an EVO long track yet.

 

[ak]

I think so too. They seem like a tweener sled made to transition riders from kid's sleds to full size sleds like the new Polaris EVO.
I'm surprised Polaris doesn't have an EVO long track yet.

They have a evo rmk 144

 

[bnorth]

As said above it's a great tweener sled but not a capable machine for an adult.

 

[knh208]

Yup. 90lb kids should have a great time in this.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

 

[MI1M600EFI]

As a ~150lb 30 year old completely new to riding, I started out on a '03 Mtn Cat 570. It had about 65hp, and a 133x1.5" track. I learned a LOT on that sled, and had a great time with it in lots of powder for two years.
This sled seems like a good starting point for that guy, with the same hp, and a better track, plus a chassis that rides like the full size, not like an old lounge chair, so you're learning the skills you need to get on a newer sled.

Think about it, for kids, there's the kitty cat size sleds, then the 200 size sleds, but by the time you're in your early teens, you're too big for a 200, but possibly not ready for an 800. Riding a sled that's too big can be frustrating for smaller ladies too. So what for those inbetween skilled/sized riders? Formerly, you put them on an older sled that was kinda inbetween sized, but many people don't want to mess with a janky old sled.

This sled fills that gap, probably better than the EVO. Snowmobile rags for long been lamenting that there are no entry level sleds left, and current mountain offerings show that well, with everything being expensive, big, and high hp.

FWIW, my 120lb 5'4" wife would probably do great on this sled. Possibly even better than she does on her full size M6000, which sometimes takes her for a ride instead of the other way around... I'd LOVE to get her on one and see what she thinks. If she liked it enough, it would be worth bucking up for one to keep her riding fun. I'd probably take over the M6000 to replace my aging M8. I'd miss the power, sure, but the 2018 chassis rides so much better than my old M8 that I think I'd be fine on it. I'm not exactly getting younger, and I don't do crazy climbing anymore.

Unfortunately, Cat's management has their heads so far up their you-know-whats that they aren't letting dealers order sleds for the showroom anymore. You can't demo anything, or even bounce on it on the showroom floor, and that's IF you still have a Cat dealer around, which I don't. Bunch of idiots running that show these days it seems. I bet sales of the Blast are lackluster at best, and I bet a big part of that is people having to order them totally on a wing and a prayer. $8000 is a lot to spend to hope that it fits your needs...

 

[tmills124]

X2 on the smaller ladies thing. My wife is about 5' tall on a good day and I think this type of sled wpuld be great for her

 

[Frostbite]

You nailed it M1M600EFI. I agree, it is a perfect wife's sled and for a 10-14 year old. My wife and daughter are 5 foot and 100 lbs and it would be perfect for them.

 

[Old & slow]

You nailed it M1M600EFI. I agree, it is a perfect wife's sled and for a 10-14 year old. My wife and daughter are 5 foot and 100 lbs and it would be perfect for them.

In 1991 I rode the Prowler in the mountains 136 x 3/4 inch track. 65 hp around the same weight as the Blast. I did put 1 1/4 paddles on it and it was a good machine at the time. We doubled on that sled in 2 to 3 feet on fresh. It does not compare to today's sleds but the mountains haven't changed and we rode the same places we do now. The Blast won't be a world beater but it will be alot better than some think. I like what they have done with that sled and it will be fun to ride, and really that's why I ride is for fun.

 

[sno*jet]

to me it looks like the best tweener sled since the original phazer. looks like it can actually side hill in some powder. looks to climb better than other entry level sleds too. they should be able to get 80 horse from it tho. wonder if it has a low compression head or something for regular fuel. putting wives and people who never rode before on old 7-800s never made sense to me. kinda dangerous. Also riding my 3" 162 on a family cruise is overkill and not as fun as it could be. id love to have two on my trailer ready to go.

 

[Bacon]

Too bad it weighs the same as a Poo 800 with less than half the power. I’m a Cat guy but wth. they should have been able to get it to 350 lbs with only a single in it Leave it up to Cat to take a real good idea and just not quite pull it off.

 

[boondocker97]

Too bad it weighs the same as a Poo 800 with less than half the power. I’m a Cat guy but wth. they should have been able to get it to 350 lbs with only a single in it Leave it up to Cat to take a real good idea and just not quite pull it off.

They could have done that, but it would have come with a $12k price tag as well. Re-using big sled chassis parts keeps the cost down as development cost and tooling for new parts is expensive. The Polaris RMK Evo offering using a fan cooled motor is still 420. So if this is "around 400", liquid cooled, and has electric start I say they're doing ok. That's 40lb less than their 800 154. Pull the ES and put a can on it if weight is still an issue.

 

[Escmanaze]

Well, the weight is unknown other than we are told it is "near 400 pounds". So let's go ahead and assume that the dry weight for the mountain version is 410.

That makes it definitely the best sled we have seen in a long time to fit the category of a sled for: small folks including youth, smaller women, and maybe even smaller men as well as folks who are just starting out and aren't riding areas or days that have tons of powder or very steep slopes.

Just because it's the best we have seen in a long time doesn't mean that it's perfect. There are definitely some things they they could have and should have done better. But overall, it seems to beat the pants off the EVO (of course the price beats the pants off the EVO as well but...???).

From a lightweight perspective, Polaris has just really screwed everything up. 410 pounds SHOULD be viewed as a really light sled for beginners and small folks at 65 HP with EFI. But Polaris has just done such a good job lately of making their full size sleds so light, that it makes it really tough for everybody else to have their "youth" sled look light, when it is still heavier than their adult sled (and yes, this goes for the EVO RMK too!!).

So honestly, if you're a full grown adult man and you're looking for primarily a lightweight sled, it seems like a no-brainer to wait for some holdover Polaris RMK 800 to be on a fire sale somewhere and go pick it up. That's what I did - I picked up a 2018 last spring and walked out the door with my bill not even making it to 5 digits.

But maybe you're scared of that Polaris 800 engine, then do the same thing but with the 600 version instead. The fire sales are never as good on them though. Either way though, 409 pounds for Polaris is pretty tough to beat if your #1 desire really is a "lightweight" sled. My 409 pound sled has really elevated my riding and the way I ride. I love it.

 

[kidwoo]

Too bad it weighs the same as a Poo 800 with less than half the power. I’m a Cat guy but wth. they should have been able to get it to 350 lbs with only a single in it Leave it up to Cat to take a real good idea and just not quite pull it off.

Okay, I'm glad someone said it.


I'll say the other thing: WTF..........BUMPER PLEASE???


Other than that, looks cool. I figure pushing about 40hp at elevation?

 

[Escmanaze]

Okay, I'm glad someone said it.


I'll say the other thing: WTF..........BUMPER PLEASE???


Other than that, looks cool. I figure pushing about 40hp at elevation?

Speaking of the bumper, I saw a pic of one the other day with the bumper on it. It appears that they just used the standard bumper for the full size sleds. Looked like death. Somebody is going to need to offer an aftermarket bumper for this thing so that we don't have to buy that atrocious one from the factory.

 

[joshkoltes]

It looks like it does ok at elevation

 

[knh208]

I won't be a first year year mule, but my oldest is 8 and this would be perfect for him in a year.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

 

[Frostbite]

Very cool video. Thank you, it fairly capable and kind of strikes me as the Grom of snowmobiling!