Summit 850 165" vs Sidewinder MTX 162"

[CMiller94]

Hello all,

New to the forum here. This is my first post. I apologize in advance that it'll be a long one!

I don't currently own a sled and haven't since about early 2015. I did a trip to Revelstoke with a couple of friends about a month ago and rented a 2018 Summit 850 165". I had so much fun on that trip I decided I wanted to get back into sledding and am now considering either a Sidewinder MTX 162" or a Summit 850 165". When I got out of it, it was more so due to financial reasons than anything else. I was buying my first place at the time and didn't really have the money to be sledding and owning a property. I'm now in a much better financial spot to start sledding again.

To give some background, here is a list of sleds I've previously owned.
-2006 Summit 1000 151"
-1998 670 Summit 136"
-2001 Mountain Cat 1000 144"
-2008 Dragon 800 155"

When I did the trip to Revelstoke, the three guys I was with had a 2007 Dragon RMK 700 155", a 2016 Summit SP 800 174", and a 2014 Pro RMK 800 155". Over the course of the two days, we switched back and forth sleds a few times as they were all interested to try out the 850. Out of that group, the 850 was definitely my favourite, but I have to say the Summit 800 felt about 95% as good. I was actually really impressed with the Dragon as well. For an 11 year old sled, it held its own and I felt quite comfortable on it (maybe because I owned a Dragon 800 as my last sled). For the life of me, I could not get comfortable on the Pro. I couldn't get it on to its side, I struggled to hold a sidehill, etc. It was just not a good experience. So after that, I was like "okay, I'm absolutely buying a Summit 850 or a Summit 800 if the right deal comes up".

On the drive back, one of my friends started talking about a Sidewinder. I will admit, I am not a fan of Yamaha's and not a fan of four stroke sleds. So originally, when he brought up the Sidewinder I was like "mmhm, its a typical overweight four stroke Yamaha that might be okay for climbing chutes, but not much else". Then I did some more research and have read things like "best four stroke ever" "handles like a two stroke" "I'm 160 lbs and throw it around with ease". So I was intrigued to look further into the Sidewinder.

I know power wise and reliability wise, the Sidewinder will be leaps and bounds ahead of the 850. It's more expensive up front, but I'm hoping the four stroke reliability makes up for that increased purchase cost. My main question is, truly how good is the handling? I'm hoping to make it back to Revelstoke for Yamafest on April 7 to test one out, but just in case I can't make it and don't get to ride one, I'm trying to find out how good the handling truly is. The riding I would likely be doing would be bowls, meadows, and open trees. I'm not spending a lot of time in tight trees, but would like to know that I could still handle the sled in tight trees if need be. I feel like overall, the Sidewinder is a better sled than the 850, but if I can't throw it around easily, it really doesn't matter how good it is. So has anyone ridden an 850 and a Sidewinder? Or has anyone come from an XM Summit to a Sidewinder? Also, if it helps, I'm about 185 lbs and 5 ft 7" and not particularly muscular.

Once again, sorry for the long post!

 

[Sled Addiction]

Hello all,

New to the forum here. This is my first post. I apologize in advance that it'll be a long one!

I don't currently own a sled and haven't since about early 2015. I did a trip to Revelstoke with a couple of friends about a month ago and rented a 2018 Summit 850 165". I had so much fun on that trip I decided I wanted to get back into sledding and am now considering either a Sidewinder MTX 162" or a Summit 850 165". When I got out of it, it was more so due to financial reasons than anything else. I was buying my first place at the time and didn't really have the money to be sledding and owning a property. I'm now in a much better financial spot to start sledding again.

To give some background, here is a list of sleds I've previously owned.
-2006 Summit 1000 151"
-1998 670 Summit 136"
-2001 Mountain Cat 1000 144"
-2008 Dragon 800 155"

When I did the trip to Revelstoke, the three guys I was with had a 2007 Dragon RMK 700 155", a 2016 Summit SP 800 174", and a 2014 Pro RMK 800 155". Over the course of the two days, we switched back and forth sleds a few times as they were all interested to try out the 850. Out of that group, the 850 was definitely my favourite, but I have to say the Summit 800 felt about 95% as good. I was actually really impressed with the Dragon as well. For an 11 year old sled, it held its own and I felt quite comfortable on it (maybe because I owned a Dragon 800 as my last sled). For the life of me, I could not get comfortable on the Pro. I couldn't get it on to its side, I struggled to hold a sidehill, etc. It was just not a good experience. So after that, I was like "okay, I'm absolutely buying a Summit 850 or a Summit 800 if the right deal comes up".

On the drive back, one of my friends started talking about a Sidewinder. I will admit, I am not a fan of Yamaha's and not a fan of four stroke sleds. So originally, when he brought up the Sidewinder I was like "mmhm, its a typical overweight four stroke Yamaha that might be okay for climbing chutes, but not much else". Then I did some more research and have read things like "best four stroke ever" "handles like a two stroke" "I'm 160 lbs and throw it around with ease". So I was intrigued to look further into the Sidewinder.

I know power wise and reliability wise, the Sidewinder will be leaps and bounds ahead of the 850. It's more expensive up front, but I'm hoping the four stroke reliability makes up for that increased purchase cost. My main question is, truly how good is the handling? I'm hoping to make it back to Revelstoke for Yamafest on April 7 to test one out, but just in case I can't make it and don't get to ride one, I'm trying to find out how good the handling truly is. The riding I would likely be doing would be bowls, meadows, and open trees. I'm not spending a lot of time in tight trees, but would like to know that I could still handle the sled in tight trees if need be. I feel like overall, the Sidewinder is a better sled than the 850, but if I can't throw it around easily, it really doesn't matter how good it is. So has anyone ridden an 850 and a Sidewinder? Or has anyone come from an XM Summit to a Sidewinder? Also, if it helps, I'm about 185 lbs and 5 ft 7" and not particularly muscular.

Once again, sorry for the long post!

Hello CMiller
This is also my first post. I go on here every night to get my fix but thought it was time to join. I have both a 2017 summit x 850 154” 3” lug and a sidewinder mtx 153” 3” lug with a hurricane 270 hp tune. Skidoo is stock other than a can. I am 6’ and 200 lbs. They are very very different sleds and to say one is better than the other is not very fair. IMO the skidoo is more nimble, playful, and in tight spots more fun. The sidewinder on the other hand is a monster. It is a bit more weight to throw around, not as nimble, and a bit more tiring but the POWER. It’s like an addiction. Can’t get enough of it. It seems like the deeper the snow the better the winder carves, lays over, and is more manageable. Would I take the winder in the trees. Yes. Is the 850 better in the trees ? Yes. Would I buy the 850 over the winder? Depends. Open bowls and meadows I feel it’s very close to the 850 but with way more gonads. The handling is the best I have personally drove on a factory 4 stroke. It is very good for the weight. I would try to drive both back to back if possible yourself. Any questions feel free to ask.

 

[CMiller94]

Hello CMiller
This is also my first post. I go on here every night to get my fix but thought it was time to join. I have both a 2017 summit x 850 154” 3” lug and a sidewinder mtx 153” 3” lug with a hurricane 270 hp tune. Skidoo is stock other than a can. I am 6’ and 200 lbs. They are very very different sleds and to say one is better than the other is not very fair. IMO the skidoo is more nimble, playful, and in tight spots more fun. The sidewinder on the other hand is a monster. It is a bit more weight to throw around, not as nimble, and a bit more tiring but the POWER. It’s like an addiction. Can’t get enough of it. It seems like the deeper the snow the better the winder carves, lays over, and is more manageable. Would I take the winder in the trees. Yes. Is the 850 better in the trees ? Yes. Would I buy the 850 over the winder? Depends. Open bowls and meadows I feel it’s very close to the 850 but with way more gonads. The handling is the best I have personally drove on a factory 4 stroke. It is very good for the weight. I would try to drive both back to back if possible yourself. Any questions feel free to ask.

My hope is that I get to go up on April 7, rent an 850 again and then test ride a Sidewinder. Yamaha is going to have it setup at the Sugar Bowl in Boulder at Revelstoke. So hopefully I can ride in and get some time playing around on the 850 and then hop on a Sidewinder. I feel like I'd be happy with the Sidewinder if I can ride it even 80% as well as I could ride the 850. I feel like that difference would be learned fairly quickly. The 850 just felt like I'd been riding it for years. Absolutely loved it, but really want to make sure I'm not ignoring the other brands. My friend with the '14 Pro just bought an Axys Pro 800 174" (his '14 Pro exploded the piston on the way down the mountain, so he bought an Axys when he got home) so I'll also get to test that alongside the Sidewinder and the 850 if I make it up there on April 7. His Pro blowing up is a major contributor in what is making me consider a four stroke. Would rather not have to do top ends every second season for peace of mind lol. But I'm a bit gun shy of buying heavy, high horsepower sleds. The Summit 1000 I loved the power, but I couldn't handle it for the life of me, for some reason I decided an old Arctic Cat 1000 would be a good buy and same thing, loved the power, couldn't handle it for the life of me (long story as to why I ended up going from a Summit 1000 to a 670 Summit, to an Arctic Cat 1000, to the Dragon). I did like the Dragon I had, but the Summit 1000 was probably my favourite sled. It was honestly an awful sled, but you'd hit the throttle and just forget about everything that sucked about it lol.

 

[SaskAttack]

Try going on a site called SnowandMud, it is more centered on western Canada and has lots on both 850 and Winder.

 

[CMiller94]

Try going on a site called SnowandMud, it is more centered on western Canada and has lots on both 850 and Winder.

Actually already on Snow and Mud. Posted the same thing there. Got some replies, but no one really had a good comparison between an 850 and a Sidewinder MTX.

 

[SaskAttack]

What about the guys snowmobile chat with the post
2017 Summit 850 165" vs 2017 Yamaha Sidewinder MTX 162", seems like a fairly direct comparison to me.