Reliable sled for Ice fishing ?

[Whammies]

Hi all. I've never owned a sled. I'm curious to know what is a reliable sled for ice fishing. Good cold starting and to keep the equipment on the sled. More power than speed. I'm thinking of trading an 03 Honda 350 rancher 4x4, direct drive, Air cooled,for a sled. Thanks in advance for your input on this

[Bush]

Skidoo tundra is pretty tough to beat but tire chains on your quad and it’s usable all year! You will miss it


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[Sledin]

If you don’t want to sink too much money into it, it’s hard to beat a Polaris Indy Deluxe, they are tanks.


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[liketoshoot]

Lots of good utility sleds out there all depends on budget, looking new or used ?

[Tactical Lever]

Sleds depreciate pretty quickly. Much faster than your quad which at it's age will hold value pretty well. Trading at this time, will likely mean taking a hit on it as well, due to the season. I'd consider hanging onto the quad, and buying a sled.

The way this year is, there isn't very good sledding, and some places it would be better quading in.

[35 whelen]

Originally Posted by Tactical Lever

Sleds depreciate pretty quickly. Much faster than your quad which at it's age will hold value pretty well. Trading at this time, will likely mean taking a hit on it as well, due to the season. I'd consider hanging onto the quad, and buying a sled.



The way this year is, there isn't very good sledding, and some places it would be better quading in.

I tried for 2 months to trade my quad same one you had a 03 Honda for a sled not much interest eventually just sold it

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[liketoshoot]

^^^^

Nice sled

[35 whelen]

Originally Posted by Sledin

If you don’t want to sink too much money into it, it’s hard to beat a Polaris Indy Deluxe, they are tanks.


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I picked this one up about a month ago strictly for ice fishing took it out on its first trip last weekend to Cold Lake very happy

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[OL_JR]

Originally Posted by 35 whelen

I picked this one up about a month ago strictly for ice fishing took it out on its first trip last weekend to Cold Lake very happy

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Beauty sled 35, A buddy of mine growing up had what looks like that exact same sled color and everything. Last time I rode it was over twenty years ago and as far as I know it's still going strong today.

I had an 89 arctic cat cheetah 500 to bomb around on and let's just say that if a kid who hasn't even reached his teens yet can wreck a snowmobile over and over it's probably not built very well lol. I'm in the market right now as well and am going to stay away from the older Cat's but not sure how the newer ones are these days.

The newer Arctic Cat Bearcat's look ideal for ice fishing as well as the Yamaha's VK's but from what I can can gather it's really old technology. Over seas they are pretty much a staple it seems though.

One thing that bothers me is manufacturers selling utility snowmobiles without a pull start. Growing up when it was -40 and school was out that meant pond hockey and snowmobiling, only way to get a machine going was pull start.

[fordtruckin]

Originally Posted by OL_JR

Beauty sled 35, A buddy of mine growing up had what looks like that exact same sled color and everything. Last time I rode it was over twenty years ago and as far as I know it's still going strong today.

I had an 89 arctic cat cheetah 500 to bomb around on and let's just say that if a kid who hasn't even reached his teens yet can wreck a snowmobile over and over it's probably not built very well lol. I'm in the market right now as well and am going to stay away from the older Cat's but not sure how the newer ones are these days.

The newer Arctic Cat Bearcat's look ideal for ice fishing as well as the Yamaha's VK's but from what I can can gather it's really old technology. Over seas they are pretty much a staple it seems though.

One thing that bothers me is manufacturers selling utility snowmobiles without a pull start. Growing up when it was -40 and school was out that meant pond hockey and snowmobiling, only way to get a machine going was pull start.

Only the 4 strokes don’t have pull starts. If you opt for fan cooled 2 stroke it will come with it. As far as a good sled hard to beat a utility. A tundra vk50 a bravo etc... a mid 2000s arctic cat m6 or a Polaris RMK vertical edge or escape. (Cat has A arms Polaris has trailing arms) With a 144ish track. That will get you around on the ice as they were really more of a trail sled than mountain sled(compared to mountain sleds of today). Either way there are Plenty of those around. If you want new look at a Skidoo Expedition Sport. If I was getting a sled specifically for ice fishing trapping and some trail riding that’s what I would do. Those 600 and 900 ace engines are proving extremely reliable with many well over 10000miles over on the Dootalk forums. If you find a 90s Polaris Indy that would work well too if you don’t mind something a bit older. As long as it’s in good shape there’s no bent trailing arms torn seats missing lugs and the hifax is good. You may need to do a top end depending on miles but that’s just normal sled maintenance.

[S_Mooj]

i have a 06 Yamaha venture that i use. air cooled so i dont have to worry about having enough snow on the lakes for cooling. has reverse. electric start. it got the 2 up seat so i can pile myself and the 2 kid onto it. i picked it up for 2000 last year. great sled.

[Alberta Bigbore]

Originally Posted by 35 whelen

I picked this one up about a month ago strictly for ice fishing took it out on its first trip last weekend to Cold Lake very happy

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Id like a sled like that next year. Inwould never give up my Honda Rubicon for a sled though. Its served me well ice fishing and hunting seasons

[Drewski Canuck]

Find a Yamaha VK540. North West and I both have these machines.

20 inch track, 153" so floats great in deep snow. Unique rear connector that tilts up the track in reverse, essentially backing UP a ramp, that most do not. Trust me this is a life saver when stuck.

Then it has a 2 speed transmission, so if you are pulling something heavy, its got the low end power.

Finally, very tough engine and fan cooled so no problems on warm days or hard pack snow.

A very popular sled in Alaska, as it is easy to work on and very durable.

Most will have to be rebuilt to be brought up to standard, but it is worth it.

Yamaha re launched these sleds a couple years ago with mods to the engine to make it better for emissions, but still the same basic design. For a 4 stroke sled company to do that says something about the demand for that platform.

Drewski

[Whammies]

Valuable point Drewski on the tilt up on reverse.Thank for the input Bush,Sled,liketoshot and everyone. Something a guy can fix by himself. Don't need the bells and whistles. Looks like I have some searching to do.looking for a used one. $ depends on what I can find.

[C & C]

Originally Posted by Whammies

Hi all. I've never owned a sled. I'm curious to know what is a reliable sled for ice fishing. Good cold starting and to keep the equipment on the sled. More power than speed. I'm thinking of trading an 03 Honda 350 rancher 4x4, direct drive, Air cooled,for a sled. Thanks in advance for your input on this

I am in a similar situation as you only I will be buying with no trade in. I have been considering a quad or SxS with track options. One machine but dual purpose I am hoping. Where I live now the snow can be 2-3 feet on the lakes now.

[SamSteele]

Thing I learned is that reverse on a sled is very valuable, particularly if you unload by yourself. If there is no reverse, an air cooled sled is lighter and easier to unload solo.

[Whammies]

I haven't used that quad in 4 years as I'm not hunting anymore for various reasons. I'm thinking of a used one. By looking at the ones on Kijiji I see the deprecation value is down considerably. Skidoo tundra with reverse looks like one I'd be into.

[liketoshoot]

Find a 550f , its a great sled, even if you can find an 08 summit with a 550f, was the last year they made them. You will be very happy

[liketoshoot]

Couple yamaha bravo’s on kijiji, great fishing sled but not as comfy if your doing some trail riding

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by Whammies

Hi all. I've never owned a sled. I'm curious to know what is a reliable sled for ice fishing. Good cold starting and to keep the equipment on the sled. More power than speed. I'm thinking of trading an 03 Honda 350 rancher 4x4, direct drive, Air cooled,for a sled. Thanks in advance for your input on this

I would keep the quad....90 percent of the time you will do fine ice fishing with the quad plus the rest of the year for other activities.

I too have hymned and hawed about a sled but always fell short logically thinking but to keep harmony and to enjoy the winter months I would go with a touring type sled....I like the Yamaha venture models....if your by yourself ample space to put all your gear on.

[Sledin]

My father-in-law has a ‘93 Tundra 280cc, he bought it for going into his cabin, it’s really good in tight timber and swamps. But if a lake has 3” of slush? It’s turn around and drive 3 hours home, it quickly turns into a nightmare.
I’ve thought of on years like this with little snow that a quad would be an option for going to the cabin, but it scares me that if I’m on a creek and the ice gets thin a quad doesn’t glide over, it plows it


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[58thecat]

Originally Posted by Sledin

My father-in-law has a ‘93 Tundra 280cc, he bought it for going into his cabin, it’s really good in tight timber and swamps. But if a lake has 3” of slush? It’s turn around and drive 3 hours home, it quickly turns into a nightmare.
I’ve thought of on years like this with little snow that a quad would be an option for going to the cabin, but it scares me that if I’m on a creek and the ice gets thin a quad doesn’t glide over, it plows it


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mud lites 1 1/4" lugs lean back and pin it...plus what an outing without an adventure

[FishHunterPro]

Keep the quad, there are very affordable sled on the market today. Any of the Polaris indy’s in the 550 fan cooled are very reliable. I bought a used sled years ago and it was a nightmare for me so I decided to get the Polaris Indy 550 LXT and it was $8,200 out the door with tax. Pretty reasonable price and it’s been great since and who knows how long this sled will last me.

[dth_]

You will definitely get beat up on a trade in for that quad. What are you looking to spend? There are a lot of great used sleds out there if you know what to look for

[Fwee6]

My 2 cents...

Tracks on a quad pale in comparison to the effectiveness of an actual snowmobile in snow. Quad provides very little flotation with tracks, has to work way harder than expected to turn the tracks, and on top of all that a set of good tracks is far from cheap.

Enough other responses are bang-on with the recommendations of great sled alternatives. I would highly recommend the Polaris Indy line of sleds -- we've had them for years growing up. My uncle still has a '94 Trail Deluxe that runs like a Swiss watch.

[Cold lake guy]

Do not buy a nytro they are cheap for a reason, I had one.....guy I bought it from paid 15k I paid 7k with only 1000km on it. Great deal I thought, they run great that’s true. BUT they have some big design flaws like the exhaust is above the track and it exposed so the snow hits the exhaust melts and forms huge amounts of ice in the tunnel. Doubles the weight of the sled in a couple of hours of riding and starts to rub the track, nose is extremely heavy so let off the gas and it dives into powder, your feet get wet from melting snow off the engine, and if you do get stuck they are so heavy your screwed if your alone. And they like to go fast so they are not a good tow sled. And like I said before they will not start in cold weather even if only sitting for a few hours in the wind, oil filters are very expensive. Google all these issues and you will find fix kits but it’s just not a good design
Skandic 550 will go 80km pulling all my gear which is plenty fast, 2 speed trans I rarely use 2nd because it’s fast enough.

[ehrgeiz]

Many thanks for the intel on the Yamaha. I had read about those issues, but didn't really understand how it might impact me. I definitely hadn't considered that the weight of the sled would grow with the icing from the exhaust, but that seems obvious now. I was also curious about how the power delivery was on these mountain sleds, it sounds like they're hard to drive slow and you kinda need to wring 'em out to enjoy their handling properties. Given I ride a TW200 in the summer I suspect I'm not actually going to be a speed demon on a snowmobile, but it sure sounds nice to have an extra 100hp if it can be moderated with throttle input. Sounds like that might not be the case.

It's tough sledding trying to figure what to go with, I might just have to jump into the market somewhere and figure out first hand what I actually want. Could the Skandic handle some mountain trail work or deep powder? Studying reviews of the Skandic I see criticism for the 20" track being difficult to maneuver and fuel economy. I'm also still a bit off about the 2 stroke. It is convenient to have one less thing to change oil on, but I can sometimes smell those 2 stroke sleds a few hundred meters away when ice fishing. It's not particularly enjoyable and I'd imagine it's real bad at idle.

Outside of the Nytro, any other 4 strokes you'd suggest that don't have adverse properties you described?

Thanks again for your time and input, greatly appreciated.

[RockyMountainMusic]

Originally Posted by ehrgeiz

Many thanks for the intel on the Yamaha. I had read about those issues, but didn't really understand how it might impact me. I definitely hadn't considered that the weight of the sled would grow with the icing from the exhaust, but that seems obvious now. I was also curious about how the power delivery was on these mountain sleds, it sounds like they're hard to drive slow and you kinda need to wring 'em out to enjoy their handling properties. Given I ride a TW200 in the summer I suspect I'm not actually going to be a speed demon on a snowmobile, but it sure sounds nice to have an extra 100hp if it can be moderated with throttle input. Sounds like that might not be the case.

It's tough sledding trying to figure what to go with, I might just have to jump into the market somewhere and figure out first hand what I actually want. Could the Skandic handle some mountain trail work or deep powder? Studying reviews of the Skandic I see criticism for the 20" track being difficult to maneuver and fuel economy. I'm also still a bit off about the 2 stroke. It is convenient to have one less thing to change oil on, but I can sometimes smell those 2 stroke sleds a few hundred meters away when ice fishing. It's not particularly enjoyable and I'd imagine it's real bad at idle.

Outside of the Nytro, any other 4 strokes you'd suggest that don't have adverse properties you described?

Thanks again for your time and input, greatly appreciated.

IMO you can not go wrong with the skandic, between myself and a couple trapping buddies I have tried lots of machines. I used the 550F 2 stroke which is a great skidoo but i'm not a fan of the stinky smoke especially on the trapline and fuel econ sucks and having to need oil with you but they are reliable, I owned a 600 ACE for 10 years with 20 WT and they can handle mountain trail work and deep powder no problem and the fuel mileage is great, ya they can be a bit tippy especially if someone comes down your trail on a quad in mid winter but you can also change the stance of the skies and put skins on to help that. But I must say I recently purchased a new 2020 skandic SWT with the 900 Ace and omg I love it, fuel economy great, torque great, powder or breaking trail a breeze and its sooo quiet and smooth. The SWT is way less tippy than the 20 WT what a difference. I know some guys worry about the 4 stroke starting in extreme cold I was one of them, I bought one of those booster packs from CT just to have in case and in 10 years at temps down below -50c with wind I have never not had the skandics start for me yet. They are a lot of money and it is nice if you can find a few with the machines your thinking of to try first but I know if I needed a sled again it would be the 900 ace SWT. I deal with Riderz in Edson and they have been great to deal with so far, my last one was Stojans in GP and won't be back there.

[DeanHrehirc]

We use a skidoo expedition 600, great little sled, not the lightest by any means. Comes with reverse as well as an articulating track. Works really well. 2 adults and a 6ft toboggan loaded and it pulls fairly well. it does work a bit harder if in deep snow. We were on Carson lake family day weekend and it worked hard in 18 inches of snow with 3 to 4 inches of flood water/ slush. You may want to go with the 900 if you are carry a significant amount of weight. It works well for what we need, and it beats getting the trucks stuck out on the lake.