In mid-March, I had the privilege of playing in the snow of my wife’s native Gaspé Peninsula with the PRO-RMK 850, which was loaned to our team by Polaris for the season. Not being the first to try it, I won’t surprise anyone by saying that it is a real war machine! Here are the impressions of a guy who learned a lot from that machine.
Having mostly driven utility machines (20“) off the trail, I had to adapt my driving style significantly, in addition to learning how to ride a new mount. Used to “fighting” against the weight and width of my usual snowmobile, I was surprised by how easy it was to tilt the Pro-RMK. Almost too easy even since I transferred too much weight in my first side-hill. Lying on the ground, the snowmobile on the side, I naturally started laughing!
As with every new trial, the first few miles were used to assess this beast. Its weight, its width, its predictability, the power of its 850 Patriot engine, its centre of gravity, everything had to be discovered. And what a discovery! Despite the less than ideal conditions due to the recent rain, I had a lot of fun riding behind the handlebars.
The stiffness of the AXYS chassis, which is recognized as one of the great qualities of the Pro-RMK, gave me a hard time at first. It took me about one to two hours to adjust to its responsiveness and to be able to predict its behaviour. But once that was done, the rigidity of the Polaris became my best friend, allowing me to perform complex off-trail manoeuvres that I found myself doing more easily than expected.
Unfortunately, the hardened snow crust left by Mother Nature only hidden by a dozen inches of powder, it was difficult for me to evaluate the agility of the King of the Mountain in a real side-hill situation. So I took advantage of the increased traction that this crust gave me to push the 850 engine a bit and have fun doing some wheelies. The feedback is mind-boggling, so much so that my hands were stiff for a few days!
So, of course, I would like to thank Polaris and the team at Sledmagazine.com for allowing me to have this incredible weekend. For sure, the 2019 PRO-RMK 850 PATRIOT is a must-have when off-trail adventures call. Skill, manoeuvrability, predictability, power and responsiveness are all words that can describe it, but in my case, only one word resonates:PLEASURE!
