Switchback Assault vs Freeride

I can't speak to the Skidoo as I've never ridden one or owned one .... But, I did snocheck a 2018 SBA last season and I absolutely loved it .... So here's my take on it -

The Axys SBA is the swiss army knife of snowmobiles. It is not the best at any one thing, but IMO does reasonably well at all of them. This is the beauty of the Axys chassis, as the concept of a "crossover" sled is not new .... IMO, its just that the current chassis is the only one I've ever ridden that really pulls off the idea well enough to make it worthwhile ..... ....The SBA is *NOT* a deep snow tree sled. The width of the sled and the uncoupled suspension do show weakness when trying to carve tight trees in deeper (say more than 6" of fresh) snow, but it DOES NOT mean you can't do so .... It just means that on the deep days if you're tree riding you're going to be stuck a lot less on an RMK. The SBA *DOES NOT* get up on top of the snow anywhere near as well as the RMK does when its fresh and deep .... On the days when the snow isn't that deep or we're not really tree riding, I seem to shoot up hills just fine on my SBA .... In fact, I'll even go so far as to say I kind of had more fun climbing hills on my SBA last year than my RMK .... because the RMK 174" makes it so easy that unless the snow is 3' deep its too easy .... There were a number of rides last season I chose to take the SBA instead of my RMK and all my riding buddies were like "WTF??!" .... And they were stunned that I was able to keep up with them 97% of the places we went .... That is, until, we got in the trees and ravines, and we had to make hard right 90 degree turns up a hill with no room to gain speed beforehand .... This is the type of thing where the SBA is a rough customer due mainly to the gearing and suspension, not even so much the shorter track IMO .... So, this year I'm looking to put the Skinz ARC coupler on my SBA for the few time I need to perform that maneuver and have the suspension stay coupled...

With all that said, the SBA is a joy to ride on rough trails. It soaks up bumps and moguls with ease. I even ran my SBA at a hill climb event last year and it did just fine ....

So, final verdict -

Is the SBA a deep snow tree sled? No, but you can dabble and still be happy, just don't expect too much.

Does the SBA do a lot better than you will expect it to in the back country? Yes.

Does the SBA have great trail manners? Yes.

If I could only have one sled living where I live it'd be an RMK 163" like I had for the '17 season, but if I lived somewhere that had snow but I was mainly riding flatter terrain with more hard packed snow, but I wanted to make some trips out west on occasion, the SBA would be my choice .... I think I wound up splitting my mileage about 50/50 between my SBA and RMK last year .... Over all I'm really happy with the way that sled turned out.

Regarding the 2018 vs. 2019 SBA, I think the only real difference is the 2019 gets the new 850 motor .... So yeah more power is always good, but I've seen some stupidly good deals on 2018 800s with 3 year warranties out there .... food for thought.

Other Options

Not a Ski-Doo owner, so no comment. Not a Polaris owner, but there too many documented 800 Cleanfire problems for my money; however the new 850 is supposed to address the past durability issues; Which brings up the SKS 146 850 for consideration. As a Cat owner I'd look at the High Country; better shock package & the Powerclaw track is hard to beat. My $.02:juggle:

I ride Polaris and like Polaris, so that is what I would probably buy.

If you like your Skidoo I would go for the freeride, you will be much more comfortable on that, it will be a huge upgrade from your renegade, but have a similar feel.

The Skidoo should be more reliable and hold its value better. They are a sensible buy.

Just look hard at things like warranty, price, and dealer. Buy what YOU like and what you think makes sense. They are all GOOD sleds that all ride differently and have their own quirks(nothing major). Comes down to personal preference really.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n2ZDcaLwp8

Good review.