Testing the Trail Blizzer system from Qualipièces

I enjoy snowmobiling since my youngest age.  I have been lucky to grow up in a place with easy access to forested areas.  My parents and many uncles owned cabins where we spent the week-ends all year round.  Those were the years with real winters, the 70’s and 80’s.  What huge amount of snow we had back then !  

Today, the global warming produces much milder winters and warm spells on a regular basis. Then, cold weather comes back and we ride on icy trails where our snowmobile slides and engine tend to overheat due to lack of snow spray.  Also, snowmobiles with short bridge are no longer trendy and we see on trails sleds with 136 in. bridge, 137 in., 144 in. and even longer, that need even more and regular snow spray.

Fortunately, the manufacturers reacted to this and today, there is a wide variety of ice scratchers.  Since I tried it a few years ago, I just can’t ride without it now !  Yet, my first ones presented a problem : I could not back up when they were spread, or else the spring would turn upside down and break. Then, I had to install a new kit.

Right at the beginning of the last season, I had a different type of ice scratchers installed on my snowmobile : the Trail Blizzer device, from Qualipièces.  Its great advantage is that we can back up without any problem !

The Trail Blizzer is also installed on the slide rail, but instead of a stiff wire, it is made of a flexible metal cable with a carbide tip scratcher.  Once the cable is extended, the ice scratcher always touches the trail surface.  Part of the snow spray or ice spray produced by the scratcher is propelled under the snowmobile bridge, thus lubricating the slides  and cooling the engine through the heat exchanger.

 The previous versions of the Trail Blizzer had a tendancy to rotate at the fixing point to the rail.  Thus, the scratcher was unefficient because it was not at the right angle with the trail anymore.  Since last year, the device includes an anti-loosening plate where we fix a second retaining bolt that prevents rotation of the cable.

 We also had a problem.  The fixation bolt broke on 1 of the 5 snowmobiles equipped with the Trail Blizzer device.  We think it happened when a piece of ice went in the snowmobile bridge.  It seems that other snowmobilers had the same problem too.  On my part, I had no problem.

 If you are good with your hands, you could take the system off when winter is at its peak with perfect snow conditions and put it back on when trails become icy.  Personally, I will see that the Trail Blizzer is installed on my snowmobile right in January !

 We also noticed that a small notch has been formed in the upper part of the rail, where the wear point of the Trail Blizzer sits when not in use.  It stops growing after a while and  does not really impact the rail.  I would suggest that the manufacturer designs a fixing system that could be used to receive the wear point and thus could protect the rail.

 Overall, two major elements are to be remembered.  Firstly, when the Trail Blizzer is in use, we do not have to worry anymore about backing up.  Secondly, the Trail Blizzer has been very efficient in all trail conditions we had last winter, especially at the end of the  season when snow conditions were extremely icy and crusted.

 If you are looking for an efficient, affordable and easy to install ice scratcher device, you should seriously consider the Trail Blizzer system !

 Have a great winter !