Riot Is A Riot
Riding the Riot in the mountains was, well, a riot. It’s quick, powerful and playful. It’s easy to turn, allowing you to attack mountain trails. But once you dive off into the powder, well, it’s a little more work. You have to keep your momentum and pick your battles. One mistake and it becomes a lot more work. Without the longer track for flotation and the deeper paddles for thrust, the Riot tends to spin down and get hung up on the running boards.
Now the opposite is true with the Alpha One. It thrives in the steep and deep … but is a little clumsy on the trails and in the corners. It has an aggressive track designed to get on top of the fresh powder. But it does push hard in the turns. It will beat you up on the trails … but lift you up in the snow.
We enjoyed both models last spring … but we had the luxury of riding the Riot when we were in “riot-like” conditions … and then hopping on the Alpha One when we wanted to attack the deep-snow conditions in the trees and north-facing slopes.
It was easy to see that these two snowmobiles, coming from the same DNA, had very distinctly different personalities. It is also important to know what your riding personality is in order to purchase the right sled. If you spend almost all of your time on trails in hardpack conditions, the Riot is going to be the most enjoyable of the two. But if the trails are only an excuse to access backcountry riding, go with the Alpha One: it’s a proven mountain sled and flourishes in deep snow.