After all, if you’re spending between $15,000-$18,000 for a snowmobile you might as well get exactly what suits your needs.

Let’s start by saying any of these three sleds are capable mountain sleds and can handle the steep and deep with the best on the market. All three have turbo options (which ups the ante by about $3,500, putting your total price over $21,500). All three have track options. So to figure out what you need, let’s start with what each snowmobile is designed specifically to do.

The 600s are just easier to ride. They ride lighter because the powerband is much more friendly and forgiving. But most western snowmobilers tend to overlook this class because, well, it’s a 600. Real men ride the biggest, baddest sleds on the snow.

But if you can set aside your man card for just a few moments, you may find there’s a 600 that is a much better fit for your needs, not to mention your wallet.

Then a few mountain sled designs started incorporating better suspensions … but maintained the longer tracks. And a few trail sleds started stretching out the rear suspension and using a more aggressive track. It sort of became “Who put peanut butter on my chocolate?”

Now, the Crossover Segment of the industry has designed snowmobiles that are basically glorified mountain trail sleds. And many in the Midwest market are finding that these sleds not only work great on groomed trails, but also function well in those winter vacation hotspots in the Black Hills of South Dakota or the western mountain states.

It’s also been 50 years since a young Darryl Harris decided “on a wing and a prayer” to publish a magazine focusing on western snowmobiling.

In the 1960s there was an explosion in the snowmobile industry throughout the Midwest. Everyone and their dog seemed to be building sleds … to the point that by 1972 the market was saturated. Snowmobiling started its transition from a novelty to an industry. Snowmobile manufacturers were coming and going, mostly dependent on manufacturing capabilities and the strength of the dealer network. The industry started spreading westward in search of new markets.