Now that I have had some seat time on a new XP 163”, a stock Apex, a turboed Apex, and my 04 Rev I can state my opinion on which one is the best all around sled.
Fist off I have had my REV for 4 years now and really love that sled. (now I just need more power) Anyway we had at least 2 feet of fresh powder and more in some places to compare these 4 sleds.
Climbing - Hands down the Turboed Apex wins the climbing contest, no question on that as I think most people would agree. The Stock Apex and XP were very close but I think the XP had just a little more than the Apex. As for my Rev, anyone have a bigger horsepower engine I can throw in it to keep up? I will be looking for other options soon. It sucks coming in last every time.
So
# 1 Apex Turboed
# 2 XP
# 3 Stock Apex
# 4 04 Rev
Trails - well honestly who cares about the trails on a mountain sled. They all perform well for as much as we have to be on trails I don’t care about it much.
All =
Sidehilling - Honestly my 04 Rev cut across any hill better that any of the other 3 listed. Maybe I am just used to my sled more but the other sleds were harder to keep on its side on the hill. The XP really wanted to go back down onto both skis. We did disconnect the stabilizer bar but it didn’t seem to help all that much. Maybe the center of gravity is too low now. I don’t know. The Apex’s were easier then the XP but you can tell it is a little heavier then the 2 skidoos, However the way it is weighted made it quite easy to keep it on its side on the hill. Not as much effort to keep it up as with the XP.
So
# 1 04 Rev
# 2 & 3 Apex’s
# 4 XP
Boondocking – Well this really goes hand in hand with sidehilling. I can carve through the trees, flats, hills, anywhere for that matter best on the 04 Rev. The only problem I had on the 04 Rev is it needs more power. In that deep of snow I was basically pinned everywhere I went. But getting it on its side was so much easier than the XP was. Also I could keep the 04 Rev on its side as long as I wanted to. With the XP you really have to tug on it to get it on its side. It takes way too much effort to get it over. I am a tall skinny guy (6’1” and all of 175lbs) so for such a light sled it sure didn’t impress me with its capabilities. Also once you got it over it still wanted to snap back down onto it’s other ski. Not a fun experience flying off the other side of the sled when it comes back down hard. Now the Apex’s. The stock apex did just fine. I could carve with it just about as well as I could with my 04 Rev. People say it is too heavy to boondock, yeah it might be heavy if you get it stuck and have to pull it out but as for riding the sled you can’t tell how heavy it really is. As for the Turboed Apex it was a blast to ride. It had enough power to turn back up the hill and do it all again. Didn’t have to worry about bogging down in the deep snow either. It was easy to get over and once it was over it was easy to keep it there.
So
# 1 Turboed Apex
# 2 04 Rev
# 3 Stock Apex
# 4 XP
If I had my choice on what to ride I would take a Turboed Apex for sure. However I don’t have 17 to 20 grand to have one of those so I guess I will just have to stick with my 04 Rev for a while. Yes the XP has a few improvements on my sled but I really wasn’t all that impressed with it. Also with all the problems it is having I would rather take an Apex. If all the issues get worked out and BRP takes some responsibility on fixing those problems with the sled it can be a very good sled. It does climb well (until the drive shaft breaks
) but that’s about it.
So over all which sled would I rather ride?
# 1 Turboed Apex for Sure
# 2 Stock Apex
# 3 04 REV (if I can get more power, any suggestions on getting more power in my REV)
# 4 XP
What really would be my ideal sled is my 04 REV Platform with a Turboed Apex engine stuffed in it. Can anybody do that for me? That my $.02 on the new sleds.
Oh yeah anyone that says you can’t boondock an Apex, stock or with a turbo, just needs more practice sledding. Keep riding to get better and then go try it again. Its much easier than you think it is.
Any opinions, comments, suggestions, on any parts are welcomed and encouraged. Keep it friendly though. No need to get all worked up over anything here. We all have fun on our own sleds.
Fist off I have had my REV for 4 years now and really love that sled. (now I just need more power) Anyway we had at least 2 feet of fresh powder and more in some places to compare these 4 sleds.
Climbing - Hands down the Turboed Apex wins the climbing contest, no question on that as I think most people would agree. The Stock Apex and XP were very close but I think the XP had just a little more than the Apex. As for my Rev, anyone have a bigger horsepower engine I can throw in it to keep up? I will be looking for other options soon. It sucks coming in last every time.
So
# 1 Apex Turboed
# 2 XP
# 3 Stock Apex
# 4 04 Rev
Trails - well honestly who cares about the trails on a mountain sled. They all perform well for as much as we have to be on trails I don’t care about it much.
All =
Sidehilling - Honestly my 04 Rev cut across any hill better that any of the other 3 listed. Maybe I am just used to my sled more but the other sleds were harder to keep on its side on the hill. The XP really wanted to go back down onto both skis. We did disconnect the stabilizer bar but it didn’t seem to help all that much. Maybe the center of gravity is too low now. I don’t know. The Apex’s were easier then the XP but you can tell it is a little heavier then the 2 skidoos, However the way it is weighted made it quite easy to keep it on its side on the hill. Not as much effort to keep it up as with the XP.
So
# 1 04 Rev
# 2 & 3 Apex’s
# 4 XP
Boondocking – Well this really goes hand in hand with sidehilling. I can carve through the trees, flats, hills, anywhere for that matter best on the 04 Rev. The only problem I had on the 04 Rev is it needs more power. In that deep of snow I was basically pinned everywhere I went. But getting it on its side was so much easier than the XP was. Also I could keep the 04 Rev on its side as long as I wanted to. With the XP you really have to tug on it to get it on its side. It takes way too much effort to get it over. I am a tall skinny guy (6’1” and all of 175lbs) so for such a light sled it sure didn’t impress me with its capabilities. Also once you got it over it still wanted to snap back down onto it’s other ski. Not a fun experience flying off the other side of the sled when it comes back down hard. Now the Apex’s. The stock apex did just fine. I could carve with it just about as well as I could with my 04 Rev. People say it is too heavy to boondock, yeah it might be heavy if you get it stuck and have to pull it out but as for riding the sled you can’t tell how heavy it really is. As for the Turboed Apex it was a blast to ride. It had enough power to turn back up the hill and do it all again. Didn’t have to worry about bogging down in the deep snow either. It was easy to get over and once it was over it was easy to keep it there.
So
# 1 Turboed Apex
# 2 04 Rev
# 3 Stock Apex
# 4 XP
If I had my choice on what to ride I would take a Turboed Apex for sure. However I don’t have 17 to 20 grand to have one of those so I guess I will just have to stick with my 04 Rev for a while. Yes the XP has a few improvements on my sled but I really wasn’t all that impressed with it. Also with all the problems it is having I would rather take an Apex. If all the issues get worked out and BRP takes some responsibility on fixing those problems with the sled it can be a very good sled. It does climb well (until the drive shaft breaks
) but that’s about it. So over all which sled would I rather ride?
# 1 Turboed Apex for Sure
# 2 Stock Apex
# 3 04 REV (if I can get more power, any suggestions on getting more power in my REV)
# 4 XP
What really would be my ideal sled is my 04 REV Platform with a Turboed Apex engine stuffed in it. Can anybody do that for me? That my $.02 on the new sleds.
Oh yeah anyone that says you can’t boondock an Apex, stock or with a turbo, just needs more practice sledding. Keep riding to get better and then go try it again. Its much easier than you think it is.
Any opinions, comments, suggestions, on any parts are welcomed and encouraged. Keep it friendly though. No need to get all worked up over anything here. We all have fun on our own sleds.
