region in the U. S. received dependable snow for the past two seasons: the mountain states. Last year, the snow came early and stayed late. It’ s enough to make any flatlander consider a mountain sled and a road trip. The consistent storms and patterns in 2025 kept the pack building. The season provided fresh tracks each weekend— even into terrain often inaccessible without the depth to cover rocks, downfallen trees and coulees. It’ s enough to make any mountain rider consider an upgrade to a new model.

The mountain sled selection continues to evolve, with sleds becoming more specialized( and expensive). It’ s as important as ever to make a wise choice when purchasing a snowmobile. Each machine we compared meets general expectations, but it’ s the nuances that will distinguish the overall experience from oh-yeah to oh-no. And this reaction will vary between riders, experience levels, riding conditions, brand preference or expectations of what makes a great day on the snow. The best choice depends on a rider’ s goals during a single ride, throughout a season or for the next eight years.

Follow along as we dig deep through what Polaris, Ski-Doo and Lynx offer for the 2026 model year.

Our testers evaluated two top-tier 850cc-class mountain machines from each manufacturer, setting a duel between sleds within each brand. They’ ll all do what a rider wants, just in different ways through varying degrees of effort. We compare:

• The Polaris Patriot 9R RMK Khaos 155 Limited Edition 275 and Patriot Boost Pro RMK 155 Limited Edition 325

• The Ski-Doo Summit X 850 E-Tec Turbo R 154 Expert Package and Summit X 850 E-Tec 154

• The Lynx Shredder DS 850 E-Tec Turbo R 3900 and Shredder RE 850 E-Tec 3900

All three brands provide stellar machines for each type of mindset, each area code, each snow condition, each elevation, each desired color. The options seem endless in track lengths, features and configurations depending on the desired sled behavior. In fact, the Ski-Doo Summit X 850 E-TEC Turbo R 154 Expert Package was named Snow Goer’ s 2026 Snowmobile of the Year. It’ s up to riders, though, to determine which one will be the best for their unique style.

FEBRUARY 2026 / SNOWGOER. COM / 15