Yeti vs Timbersled vs Mototrax vs Camso

Kit

I have no experience with the camso but, have owned/ridden the other three. I prefer the 120 with a 2.5 paddle. The mototrax kit will probably be the cheapest but require the most attention. I have a 17 120 enduro. I didn't care for the original 2" track on the mototrax. Much better with the timbersled 2.5 track. If the mototrax has all updates including front yoke it is an ok kit but probably least reliable of the four. Last timbersled was 16 120. Good kit. Good in snow. Other than the JT chains it was reliable. Don't care for Polaris bureaucracy so haven't tried newer ts. I prefer my 16.5 120 yeti kit to the other two. I installed the new yeti/camso 2.5 track which works good in deep. I notice and desire the lighter weigh of the yeti. It has been reliable. Handles good although ski is a bitch on hard pack/crust. With the mods I've done to mototrax it is the best handling kit of the three but requires more maintenance.

in my experience the mototrax requires the most maintenance attention and even more so with an aggressive rider. I think all will work, and of course prior care and condition of kits important as well. Lots of info on all those kits in this forum. Happy reading..

Yeti is the lightest by a decent margin, I think that would be a priority for a youngster. The yeti ski is great on ice and powder, bad on crusty stuff though. Suspension is good as long as it's not a model with fox floats and the kit is very predictable and confidence inspiring.

Timbersled is well known, works good and is more or less the standard that all others are compared to. Positives and negatives to each year.

Mototrax - as said above plan to spend some time tinkering. Deep snow performance isn't up to par IMO. Ski isn't very good either.

Camso - I don't know. Heavy! 50ish lbs more than a yeti and no 120 available.

My first kit was the Moto Trax Enduro 2017 model. After adding the yoke and a 2.5 convex track, it was ok, but not great in the deeper snow. Nowhere near my buddies 120 Timber Sled. Spring riding was where the swing arm style suspension shines. But the ski is not good in any condition. So I moved on to the 2019 Camso. MUCH better deep snow performance at a reasonable price. I don't jump, so the weight is not a big deal to me. The suspension is more than enough for the riding I do in North Idaho. And the ski is a huge improvement over the MT ski.

My Camso was just over $4K as a snow check. I recommend going with Camso. Or... I can make you a screaming good deal on my Moto Trax kit! Ha ha!

If the Yeti didn't break all the time I would be on one already. I've seen too many guys go home early for me to buy one, broken bolts, broken suspension arms, bolts falling out, belts derailing, tunnels cracking, no brakes, unicorn fuel can yada yada the list goes on. Hopefully the 2020's are dialed finally for reliability because I would like to eventually get one but not until they are truly reliable.

I also wouldn't buy a Yeti with a Maxtrack I or II (both are $hit its why they've been dropped), nor would I buy a TS with their track either it just doesn't keep up(might consider the 3" we will see how it does). If the kit doesn't have either a CMX track or the Camso/Yeti track I'm not interested, the design is that much better than anything else out there.

Pretty hard to beat the value of the Camso for the performance it gives.

Cons: It has VERY VERY basic suspension so if bumps are your thing then its not the kit for you (check out the Riot ), its heavy, not really very high tech.

Pros: It rocks in pow, has a wicked good track (does give up some in side hilling to other tracks) the ski is great in pow and bearable on the trail, the price is good, 2 year warranty with great service. Really good track approach angle, monorail suspension provides wheel like handling. It will lay the smack on any OLDER TS or Yeti.

Don't shop strictly by price and don't let weight be your sole criteria because when you are riding it doesn't make a ton of difference, jumpers excluded. I've passed stuck Yetis even on my old TS because they had the crappy tracks. Do lots of homework.

JMO FWIW Which generally seems to be zero. LOL


M5

Ive only been on a TS and a yeti. The yeti is a Ferrari ( with no Brakes) compared to a pick up truck.

I have been on both TS and Yeti and prefer the Yeti. Both work but the Yeti just works better all round. The weight savings is a considerable benefit. My experience has been different than M5's. Yes the Yeti requires a bit more attention to detail, bolt checks, belt deflection checks, etc. but we have had minimal issues. (bear in mind we are old guys riding technical trees generally, not big into lumping or anything like that)
As for the Maxtrack tracks, they work great in the soft, we have only had one day with a hard crust where they did not work well at all. One day in two seasons is pretty reasonable, and even on the day it was not working well it still worked pretty damn good. There are better tracks for sure but it has not been a significant issue for us at all.
Agree on the brakes comment, Yeti's are poor, the enclosed brake I have currently on a TS ARO has been flawless. Guys are building covers for the Yeti rotor which should solve this issue.
IMHO, if you are looking to get into the sport don't over think it. They all work pretty damn good and likely after a season or three you will want to upgrade so don't freak about about buying the perfect kit the first time.
If you want best possible performance and don't mind maintenance and attention to detail Yeti all the way.
If you want durable and don't mind a little extra weight the TS will treat you right. The ARO is only half the weigh penalty of the old style TS.
The ARO track seems to be superior to the older TS tracks but both still work quite well.
New Camso's seem to work well and they do have the best track from what I can tell, but I have not owned one or rode one. Heaviest of them all.
If you are in trees and powder like the OP indicated and not super deep the 120" kits work great, 129" likely best all round in my opinion but we encounter deep pow quite often.
Hope this helps.

You will love it! Blue locktite all fasteners and bolt check every ride. Literally takes 5-10 mins. Important to use torque wrench and proper torque on all bolts. They are Ti fasteners into aluminum and this is critical. Check belt tension and don't skip the bolt check and torque spec's on your belt drive pulleys and tensioner idler. Do that and your Yeti will keep you smiling.......
Also, set-up in regards to strut rod length and how the skid sits on the ground is important to get right and small changes make a big difference in handling and ski pressure. Don't be afraid to play with it a bit, the difference between a good set up and one that is off will have a dramatic impact on your riding experience. There are some good older videos on Yeti's website that will help.

If the deal falls through I will be selling my 2019 Freeride 129 for a good deal, and it comes with a spare tunnel. I enjoyed riding it a lot.

Tossing in my 3 pennies.

New to the Snowbike world, just not to the snow world. Been on sleds for many years and still plan on keeping my sled. During this mid season of snow and watching one of the "Kats"' in our group on his bike for the second season I opted to invest into a snowbike. As title says why just shake the bush, lets do this. I went with a 2019 Kawi KX450f with a snowcheck 2020 Yeti 129 Freeride. Another one in our group opted to snowbike, unfortunately he had to turn his sled into one. His bike of choice was the same bike with a Timbersled Aro 129 LE with the TSS shock. Come this season it will be interesting in how the two exact bikes compare with the two different kits. I will keep you posted as the season begins for those that might be interested.

On a side note: I've been looking at youth bikes, but in the 140 to 150cc and looking into who makes a kit that fits. I like the idea of the Timbersled 93 Ripper, but have checked and they only make a fit kit for the 110s. ):

GKR said:

You will love it! Blue locktite all fasteners and bolt check every ride. Literally takes 5-10 mins. Important to use torque wrench and proper torque on all bolts. They are Ti fasteners into aluminum and this is critical. Check belt tension and don't skip the bolt check and torque spec's on your belt drive pulleys and tensioner idler. Do that and your Yeti will keep you smiling.......
Also, set-up in regards to strut rod length and how the skid sits on the ground is important to get right and small changes make a big difference in handling and ski pressure. Don't be afraid to play with it a bit, the difference between a good set up and one that is off will have a dramatic impact on your riding experience. There are some good older videos on Yeti's website that will help.

Click to expand...

This isn't a very encouraging review. I mean I dont know much and haven't ever ridden a yeti, but the old 2013 TS kit that I've ridden for the last 5 years shelled out 1 bearing last year and that's it. Never tightened a bolt, rebuilt a shock, or done anything but grease it couple times a season. And I knew the bearings were old, just pushed it one too many rides.

I did check the bolts a couple times after I first bought it, but ...

People tend to make a big deal of this and I'm not sure why? There is clearly a difference in the construction between these two brands but both work very well. I bolt check every ride and rarely find any issues but I do it for peace of mind and reliability in the back country. I would do the same thing whether I rode a TS or a Yeti. If you are not keen on maintenance and just want to ride day after day with minimum effort in doing these checks definitely buy a TS, just know that they fail too and nothing is immune to these problems. You will sacrifice performance for this perceived durability but overall I would say you will have a better result if "pull and go" is the most important thing for you. Not unlike many forms of motorsports, if you want the best possible performance it often comes with a little more effort and attention to detail.

All day long my son has been riding for the past 2 years and just turned 12...yz250... only have to make sure he sticks to where I go so the right decisions are made any wise ...

70 hours on mine this winter... loctite everything from the beginning.... in a warm shop so it could cure... never had to tighten a thing... .. have Camso ( great for beginner and deep snow) had a 15 timbersled it was ok, have a 19 as yeti 129 it's a freaking blast .... but for sure needs to be set up right... going with the 20 next season.

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