155-163-174 WHICH ONE

I own the 174LE and also have a couple 850 154's. After taking folks out, both experienced and 1st timers, I've found the following:

1) Rider Weight/Size: If you are a bigger guy (not necessarily fat but 230 lbs.+), and you are comfortable putting a machine on edge, you will love the 174" in the trees and for climbing, especially when you like to do both at the same time, e.g., Matt Entz Instagram or Chris Burandt at Grizzly Peaks Lodge. Normal framed guys will naturally find the smaller sled to be easier to flick around simply because the laws of physics apply

2) Rider Ability: IMO, the shorter tracks are more forgiving for teaching new riders in powder and also for riding in hardpack (people do this more often than I thought), tearing up meadows, wheelies and really tight trees/jumping. As was said previously in the thread, a good rider on a 174" can lose folks in the trees because of where that track will take you before it trenches out. If you are confident riding with your sled on edge 95% of the time, I don't see why the extra track length would become a "hindrance" as most guys put it. You can turn a 174" every bit as sharp as "most guys" on shorter tracks if you are confident laying it down and ripping the throttle. The hardest part is simply holding on as that track hooks

3) Conditions/Terrain: Powder and steepness are your friends on a 174. The more powder and the steeper the terrain, trees or not, the better. The downside to that is when you get buried on a 174" you are usually on your own because your buddies didn't make it up as high as you - not trying to talk down on shorter tracks, just something that has happened several times this year where I've had to get unstuck on my own, not to mention that it's a handful to get unstuck on the rare occasion that you absolutely bury it. As far as riding in hardpack is concerned, shorter tracks feel easier to maneuver on crusted, rutted out days (people ride on these days?) Despite popular belief, you can definitely do a sharp downhill turn and hopover with ease on a 174". Can you do a downhill turn on a 174 in hard pack/rutted out snow? Yes, but it won't be nearly as easy as on a shorter track. Will your hopovers be an amazing feat of showmanship like on a boosted 155" or 163"? Nope. It stays planted and isn't nearly as cool to watch. If you want to do those awesome vertical hopover turns, better go with the shorter track unless you are playing on a big cornice because it takes a lot to unplant that longer skid. I will be boosting the 174" this off season and will come back with some videos of me trying (and likely failing) to do the fancy hopovers that we see on Instagram all the time

4) Riding Style: I'm not 100% convinced that the shorter track is necessarily "easier" to ride, especially in powder. I'm from the train of thought that the width of the sled is not affected by the length of the skid. Yes you'll have the track push the skis, but in the mountains how often do you turn with both skis on the ground? And, if you're not in the mountains, why do you have a 174"? To me, the Doo's feel tippy compared to my axys. I suspect it is mainly attributable to the very narrow front end, T-Motion and really weak stock suspension. If I end up putting the 36" Zbros front end on mine, I'll lock out the T-motion and do a video comparison between the two once the front ends are the same width.

All in all, it really just depends on your preferences and abilities. Ideally, I want to get an assault for that spring "go anywhere" snow, but keep my 174" for the bulk of the deep powder season. I don't think you can go wrong either way as long as you find a sled that fits you and get it set up properly (suspension, ergo, etc.) so that you can ride all day with a smile on your face :rockon:

I definitely want to try a 174". I ride a 155" right now and tried my buddies 163" this past weekend. The 163" seemed to get on top of the snow a lot quicker when I turning up hill from a side hill. I think the 174" would be even more forgiving when your in the trees. Sometimes there might not be a opening to keep going across the side hill and the 174" would help when your only option is to turn the sled uphill. Matt Entz seems to be loving his 174". I still would like to put a leg over one before making the decision but having more traction would be a huge benefit.

All things being equal, if you want to get stuck more get a 155. Much easier to make a little mistake and dig a hole. If you live in a deep snow mecca maybe the 174 is justified but for me the 163 is best in most conditions and you can still brap a donut on a dime.

I wonder where we will be in 15 years ? This same discussion was happening 15 years ago when doo released 151. It was hard choice 136,141,144, and 151 all in a 2 in paddle. I keep going longer or staying the same length when updating never going shorter.

i need to know if we're gonna keep getting these amazing
winters in the west ? i really hope sooooooo !

if money was not a factor i'd have
a 146 and a 163

So I'm also thinking about a 174. I have a few questions for the guys who have a 174

1- do you need it or did you have it geared different than it comes from the factory?

2- other than boosted, have you put the slp stage 2 kit on it and if so was it a big difference?

3- What Mod if any made the best bang for the buck?

Any info would be great. I had a 163 stage 2 slp and loved it but the 174 has me thinking.... should I try it.

I've had 4 different 163s in the past ten years. Last year I bought my 16 year old son a 155 Axys. It felt a lot more nimble and playful. The only downside was in the steep and deep sidehills. He saved his $$ and put a Silber Turbo on it. WOW!! I fell in Love and traded my 16 Axys 163 in for a leftover 155 and just installed a Silber Turbo on it. Still waiting for some snow here in Colorado. Super excited and stoked!! Also installed a finger throttle. Seems way more intuitive to use.

155 is just plain out of control, if you like wheelies and buying rear bumper than go for it, sled washes out big time on steep side hills making it very frustrating on tight spots. 163" being a 1/2 bogey wheel longer not sure if it would be sufficient to do what I like doing, going up creeks is a lot more fun than going up trees.! So maybe 174" would be just the right length I don't know but the 155 sure don't go where the 163 goes. Just undecided on 163 or 174. 174 being a whole rear bogey wheel longer than a 155 I don't think that extra length will hinder having fun. Just gotta know how to ride it to its max abilities. Same as buying a 800, if you can keep you 600 pined all day then it's time to buy an 800, same goes with track length if your alway out of control than a guy needs to jump to next track size .
Buy and ride what you want but longer has always been better if you have the abilities to ride it.

My question is has anyone ever bought a 174 and regretted going that long?? I ride a 163 and find it perfect but would also like to spend a day on a 174!


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I snowchecked my 174 last spring. I moved up from a 04' Vertical Escape so I made a HUGE leap in machines.

I absolutely love the forgiveness that the 174 has in any kind of deeper snow, it really does give you a chance to slow down and pick your lines, choose where to go etc. it does excel in the trees as you would expect. At the same time it rides like a long sled, I know surprise surprise, I commented one time that it's a really good thing it's so forgiving in the trees because I'm having to ride slower to pick lines that I can make work. It does tend to push in the front and since it is long it's sometimes not as quick to get turned.

A buddy and I switched sleds for a bit one day, his is a 16' 155 with 3" lugs. The snow wasn't good on this day and clearly wasn't a 174" track day. The difference was pretty amazing how much easier his 155 was to get on edge and get around on than my 174. Again it was a day that the snow was really setup and to knock the 174 for being a tank on that day is unfair but it did happen. Go forward a few weeks and on a day where we had a few feet of fresh snow and the base had softened up my 174 was great, side hills, long climbs etc.

If I had to compare it I would say the 174 is like a crew cab diesel truck, it does great where it's meant to be and do what it's meant to do. The 155 is like a sports car, it's small, quick, light and is fun to drive, but again it has it's limitations.

I really do like almost everything about my sled, the GPS in the Dash (PIDD) is awesome, the adjustable shocks are nice, storage etc. My dislikes are that it really doesn't like to pickup the skis, like on a steep climb if you go over a rise and the nose comes up you can just stay with it cause it will plant the nose back down. Watch a 155 go over that same place and they have to either let out or keep the skis in the air cause it's not coming down on it's own. The lack of ski lift has been a blessing and a curse IMO. I also feel like with the lack of ski lift sometimes it's difficult to initiate a side hill or quick turn. See above about being in the trees.

My intended solution is a 36" front end and hopefully if my $/wife allows a Boondocker sidekick.

If I could own two sleds I would have a 155 and 174. But I can really only have 1 so I'll play with boost.