Everyone's saying to upgrade skis why not powder pros or another reputable ski
Grippers or powder pros???? What's better and why
- Thread starter Krause09
- Start date
I've tried all the SLP skis. They all work great in a certain snow condition or technical skill, and fall off in another category. The grippers on the other hand work good in every condition other than maybe trail riding. For me it came down to what ski is the most universally neutral and predictable in every snow condition. And the gripper always came out ahead of the SLP skis. I attribute this mostly to the traditional design of the bottom of the ski, and having a wide and deep keel.
Grippers really are the ticket. They flat work on the cat. Much prefer them to powder pros. Also you can pick up take off grippers for about half the price of the SLP skis.
Hey guys, just ran across your thread and thought I would add a little more info to the discussion.
While the gripper ski is better than the skis offered in the past by the factory, it is still quite limited in its ability to provide the necessary bite and precision handling that you need in the deep powder when backcountry riding when compared to either the Powder Pro or the MoHawk Ski.
The gripper is a wide flat ski with a wide center keel. Because of the extra overall width, the flotation is ok, but still not nearly as good as either the Powder Pro or Mowhawk. Where you really see a difference between the SLP skis and the gripper is when technical riding, trying to hold a steep sidehill or pick your way through a tight section of trees. The gripper requires a significant amount of body english and pulling on handlebars, where the Powder Pro or MoHawk make it easy because they enhance your manueverability in the deep snow.
To demonstrate why and how, take a gripper ski and turn it on edge (like it would be if you are initiating a turn or bringing the sled up on a sidehill). You will find that the surface area of the gripper ski is severely reduced when not parallel to the surface of the snow. Because it has no surface area to bite on, the ski sinks in and reduces the bite that you get. The Power Pro and MoHawk skis have a wing on the side of the ski that provides surface area for the ski even when the sled is on its side and captures the snow to provide bite and handling regardless of the sled's attitude to the snow.
The bottom line is you can do most backcountry riding with a gripper ski, but you will find it requires putting much more energy into getting the sled to twist and turn the way you want it to when compared to the either the MoHawk or Powder Pro Ski.
While the gripper ski is better than the skis offered in the past by the factory, it is still quite limited in its ability to provide the necessary bite and precision handling that you need in the deep powder when backcountry riding when compared to either the Powder Pro or the MoHawk Ski.
The gripper is a wide flat ski with a wide center keel. Because of the extra overall width, the flotation is ok, but still not nearly as good as either the Powder Pro or Mowhawk. Where you really see a difference between the SLP skis and the gripper is when technical riding, trying to hold a steep sidehill or pick your way through a tight section of trees. The gripper requires a significant amount of body english and pulling on handlebars, where the Powder Pro or MoHawk make it easy because they enhance your manueverability in the deep snow.
To demonstrate why and how, take a gripper ski and turn it on edge (like it would be if you are initiating a turn or bringing the sled up on a sidehill). You will find that the surface area of the gripper ski is severely reduced when not parallel to the surface of the snow. Because it has no surface area to bite on, the ski sinks in and reduces the bite that you get. The Power Pro and MoHawk skis have a wing on the side of the ski that provides surface area for the ski even when the sled is on its side and captures the snow to provide bite and handling regardless of the sled's attitude to the snow.
The bottom line is you can do most backcountry riding with a gripper ski, but you will find it requires putting much more energy into getting the sled to twist and turn the way you want it to when compared to the either the MoHawk or Powder Pro Ski.
K
Its odd that if the gripper are so good, why are the Polaris guys so quick to get rid on them.
M
I had both a proclimb chassis and an axys chassis last year.. sold the axys this summer actually.. but I can see how a more aggressive ski would help the axys. it seemed kinda "loose" on the front end, don't get me wrong it was like a billy goat in a side hill.. but it really did seem there was room for improvement. Where as the proclimb worked extremely well with the same ski..
Its all personal preference, you really need to try it for yourself to see what you like. I don't think anyone is right or wrong when it comes to this sort of thing.
Personal preference...
Skis are a personal preference, much the same as choosing a significant other. No disrespect to SLP, as I've run Powder Pros on all of my M-series sleds, but found them to be a bit too aggressive on the Proclimb in the heavier wet snow we get in the BC interior. I would rather have a ski that pushes on the trail to get a light front end, so my preference on the Proclimb chassis is the Grippers, and though I haven't tried C&A MTX's, I have tried Powder Pros, Mohawks, USI Triple Threats, MODS, Pilot 6.9's, Pilot DS, and Slydogs, as well as the factory Cat skis. For me (again, personal preference), the Grippers are a winner, even on my M1100T four stroke. The Pro RMK we have works really well with Powder Pros or MODS, the 7" Slydogs never did impress me...
Skis are a personal preference, much the same as choosing a significant other. No disrespect to SLP, as I've run Powder Pros on all of my M-series sleds, but found them to be a bit too aggressive on the Proclimb in the heavier wet snow we get in the BC interior. I would rather have a ski that pushes on the trail to get a light front end, so my preference on the Proclimb chassis is the Grippers, and though I haven't tried C&A MTX's, I have tried Powder Pros, Mohawks, USI Triple Threats, MODS, Pilot 6.9's, Pilot DS, and Slydogs, as well as the factory Cat skis. For me (again, personal preference), the Grippers are a winner, even on my M1100T four stroke. The Pro RMK we have works really well with Powder Pros or MODS, the 7" Slydogs never did impress me...
S
having tried six different skis over the last 4 years, i settled on the mohawk for the light, deep powder in the ut, wyo, southern idaho area...:face-icon-small-hap
Are they? I havent met many, if even any Polaris rider that arnt happy with their stock skies.
You cant argue that the gripper is the best allround ski that comes stock on a sled.
Very happy with the grippers, im going with them on my new 2018 Arctic Cat.
E
All i can say is the grippers made a huge difference over my 15's stock skis, floated better, steered better, did trails just fine, and seemed to be pretty durable. Zero complaints, and they took an off the shelf carbide every dealer has.
I have no plan to swap them out on my sks either, great ski. I think for the polaris guys they wanna change stuff just to change stuff since they are usually pretty damn happy with their stuff.
I have no plan to swap them out on my sks either, great ski. I think for the polaris guys they wanna change stuff just to change stuff since they are usually pretty damn happy with their stuff.
M
SKIS???
Snowmobile.com loved the '17 Yamaha mountain skis on the Pro-climb chassis. Anyone here tried them? The advantages as I see it would be less plastic fabrication to the Polaris, while retaining the full 4" range of adjustment to the ski stance, that is if they are as good as the Grippers?:face-icon-small-sho:face-icon-small-con
Snowmobile.com loved the '17 Yamaha mountain skis on the Pro-climb chassis. Anyone here tried them? The advantages as I see it would be less plastic fabrication to the Polaris, while retaining the full 4" range of adjustment to the ski stance, that is if they are as good as the Grippers?:face-icon-small-sho:face-icon-small-con
I would say 90% of Polaris guys don't change skis. The ones that do are doing so mostly for customization. Also the polaris and cat are different sleds. The polaris benefits some from the more aggressive ski. The cat benefits from a ski that make the front end feel lighter and adds float but an aggressive ski makes the front of the cat feel heavy.
IMO the powderpro and Mohawk are too aggressive on the proclimb. Used them and don't like them. Gripper is the best powder ski for the PC chassis. Plus the gripper is lighter than the stock or slp ski.
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With as much praise as the grippers get I wouldn't mind trying a set. However, my Powder Pros have been serving me well. They do have a lot of bite, but they turn immediately. My last ride out was the first with my kmod skid and I can see going to a less aggressive ski with the added ski pressure. It was heavy spring snow though so I want another ride on good snow before I decide if I need to switch.
i think there may be a difference in how they feel on extended chaincase proclimb/ascender models, as i have the mohawks on a 17MC and they are LESS aggressive bite than stock... about perfect imo. hold lines well. float much better, much less darting.
id like to try them all tho, anything is likely an improvement over the floppy wide tipped cat skis.
id like to try them all tho, anything is likely an improvement over the floppy wide tipped cat skis.
Riding my dad's stock 2017 Mountain Cat 162 back to back with my 2014 that has the updated front end, MC drop and roll and 162 track his front end felt like it was all over the place compared to mine. He's running 36" width and I'm at 38", but the main difference was mine felt way less grabby and inconsistent than his. My sled didn't go anywhere I didn't want it to and his would try to get a mind of its own once in a while.
That being said, if I had a set of Mohawks I think I'd use the em.
