Which Is Best For Wyoming Winters: Snowmobile or UTV With Tracks?
Wintertime in Wyoming offers so many fun activities and one of the coolest is riding around on a snowmobile or UTV/ATV with tracks.
Which is the best, though?
This question is one that has been on my mind for quite sometime.
As someone that has never owned a snowmobile and only driven one a couple times, I can tell you that my choice in the question is side by side with tracks.
This is how I got to my answer, then I'll break down the two in the eyes of the true experts.
Both types of machines are going to set you back a good amount of money. They're both lots of fun, but when I made my decision to buy a side by side, my primary thought was that I could use it year round. Once the snow is gone and the dry Wyoming ground is back, you can't really use a snowmobile.
One of the setback's with a side by side is that, most of the time, tracks have to be purchased separately. Then you can get a snow blade to put on the front and really put the machine to work for you. Again, that adds to your bill.
If you go with a snowmobile, once the snow melts, it's just sitting there until the next blast of winter.
You could always just bite the nail and get both, then you're covered either way.
Since this topic can be argued either way, I decided to look to UTV Ride.com and get their opinion on the matter. Hopefully this will help you in your decision.
The first pointed out by UTV Ride.com is that the UTV with tracks offers a few more features than a snowmobile. Like seats, heaters, enclosures, seatbelts and other 'luxury' items. The UTV with tracks is also safer to ride than a snowmobile that doesn't provide much for protection.
The snowmobile, on the other hand, is built for snow and performance in the snow. The less bulky build of a snowmobile, is ideal for getting into areas that may not be possible for the UTV and a lower center of gravity is better for handling.
A UTV with tracks is quite a bit slower because it struggles through heavy snow, where snowmobiles are built to handle larger amounts of snow. This has lots to do with weight. The average UTV weight is about 1,000 lbs, where the average snowmobile is about 500 lbs.
Both machines have their good points, but the UTV with tracks is easier to use for a beginner. There's quite a learning curve on a snowmobile, especially for someone that hasn't ever ridden one. The UTV is much like driving a car, with a steering wheel, accelerator and brake pedal.
On the snowmobile you have to learn the balance, technique and ability to stay on the machine while moving at high rates of speed on snowy surfaces.
Even after hearing the different opinions it all really comes down to one thing....personal preference.
Here are a coupe videos for you to check out that will show you pro's and con's of both machines.