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Gripper skis vs. Pro Steers ... specifically on Matryx flat land sleds


Bontz

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I've been toying with the idea of swapping out the stock Pro-Steer skis with a set of Grippers ... assuming my nephew can get them for me.  I know many people claim the Pro-Steer skis are really only good if riding on hard pack type surfaces, which honestly is probably more than half of what we ride (trails, forest roads and lake trails).  But I like the idea of the Grippers for when there's fresh snow, or when we horse around on the lakes or find a play area.  One of the challenges I've heard others describe with the install, is that the stock ski rubbers that come with the Pro-Steers wont work with the Grippers ... and the recommendation is to get a set of RMK ski rubbers to use.  Anyone with first hand experience have suggestions on this - or if there's better options?  FWIW - this is a 2022 XCR (650) that I'm going to be doing this ... assuming it comes in this season! LOL   Kind of curious on others who've done this to Matryx (or even AXYS) flat land sleds?

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Not on a Matryx on my end, but my neighbor and I have identical sleds.  We compared back to back with a baseline setup the ProSteers & Grippers.  The only value in my opinion of the prosteers are for the W or someone who is really non-aggressive.  On hard pack the predictability of the grippers is far better than the prosteers.  As for the rubbers, you are right you need them off an RMK.  I wouldn't hesitate at all.

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IDK if Poo changed the ski rubbers for the Matryx or not, but the ski rubbers on all the Pro and Axys sleds with gripper skis are complete shit. 

Ski doo rubbers fit and work better, or DuraPro work great though they are stupid expensive. Ive used both. DuraPro are guaranteed for life. My riding bud actually lost one (he is very aggressive mtn rider, Burandt, Adams type of rider and close to same skill set) and DuraPro sent him 2 for free. 

I changed my pro steer skis on my trail sled years ago. I didnt like them at all. I put on Slydog skis and they are "good enough". (I'm not a big trail rider so maybe my opinion on that isn't the best)

I have gripper skis on my 163" sleds. And tbh I see alot of mtn guys claim they are so much better on trail. I personally think they suck on trail BUT, I am riding a 163" track that doesn't have much ski psi at all. So that opinion might not work for you either.

 

Like I said, the Poo gripper ski rubbers are shit. Thats a solid fact. 

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Always thought the Pro-Steers were OK until you get into loose snow.  Then they are lacking and push through the corners.  I always have sharp carbides normally change to a sharpened pair everyother ride.  So on tighter packed trails they work fine.  It's when you get in the loose snow regardless of how good of carbides you have if the skies are shimmied or not they push thru the corners.

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Installed grippers on my pros last year and what a difference!!

get into any loose snow with pro steers and your hitting brakes!!

with grippers sled goes where you point it in all conditions!!!

sled can be a bitty jumpy on hard packed trails though!

They way it sounds need mountain bushing for correct fit.

I used dura pro on my pros!

looking forward to trying them on a Matryx!

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  • 2 weeks later...

OK - kind of a dumb question here, but looking to confirm if anyone else has been in this situation.  I have a set of almost new Bergstrom's 6" Triple Points that I planned to install on my XCR.  However, if I change from the stock Pro-Steer skis to Grippers it looks like my carbides won't work.  I was looking at Bergstrom's website it looks like they're different carbides (H-PS for the Pro-Steer -and- H08 for the Gripper).  Guess I might have to sell my current carbides and pick up a new set ... but curious what others may have seen/done.

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5 minutes ago, Deephaven said:

Different carbides.  Can't say I will ever buy triples again.  They work, they last a while, but not longer than the price.  I like to have an old set early season for rock bashing and change to newer ones once there is snow.

Exactly what I'm doing this year with the Stud Boy 9" Dually's I like to run.  Last years "Thin" snow conditions really did a number on them in 3320 miles.

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14 minutes ago, Deephaven said:

Different carbides.  Can't say I will ever buy triples again.  They work, they last a while, but not longer than the price.  I like to have an old set early season for rock bashing and change to newer ones once there is snow.

I have a diamond wheel not be be confused with a green wheel that I use to sharpen carbides. Earlier on in the season I'll put some of the older carbides on like you said with all the rocks.  After we get a base then I'll change the carbides out with a sharpened set every other weekend normally.  I have a guide on the grinder and can sharpen singles and duals but can't sharpen the triple points.

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I kinda figured that was going to be the answer (existing carbides won't work).  And yeah, I'm also kind of at the point of trying another option for carbides.  I used to use Shaper bars but they seem so soft/cheap ... I would find missing sections of carbide "pads" even when riding in decent snow conditions.  That's what drove me to try the Bergstrom's ... and to be fair, I've been happy with those.  Like a lot of you guys, I have never run those in early season conditions and have generally run the stock 4" carbides despite being studded tracks.  I'll have to weigh my options and see what I want to do.  Thanks fellas

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Side note here is a diamond grinding wheel similar to the one I've had for 4-5 years and sharpen carbides with.  There main purpose is to sharpen carbide tooling inserts.  They're not cheap between $200- $250 but last a long time and extend the life/edge of carbides.

0357166I-21.jpg

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2 hours ago, Doug said:

Side note here is a diamond grinding wheel similar to the one I've had for 4-5 years and sharpen carbides with.  There main purpose is to sharpen carbide tooling inserts.  They're not cheap between $200- $250 but last a long time and extend the life/edge of carbides.

0357166I-21.jpg

I’ll just take mine to work and use the diamond wheel in the welding room. :lol:

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1 hour ago, SayatodaU.P.eh? said:

I’ll just take mine to work and use the diamond wheel in the welding room. :lol:

I use to be in charge of our tool room.  We had some wheels that were at the end of their life so we had to replace them.  They do work good and last a long time.

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I find it interesting that Polaris owners (on the internet) seem to try different OEM skis within their brand, and most Cat guys seem to go directly to C&A's or other AM without thought.  Rarely do I read about Polaris owners adjusting ski spring, fts spring and torsion spring pressures to dial in turning ability, mainly the rubbers/skis and skags3. 

Friend had a '19 600 Assault, I have no idea what skis were on it, he was prettty light and it pushed, I fiddled with the springs and it got better, but still pushed and was inconsistent.  He also didn't care for the stock skis off trail.  Another friend had a set of XCS's we took off his Doo that bought my Curve's and we put them on the Assault, dialed it in with the springs one afternoon and it made a substantial difference on trail and a marked improvement (according to him) off trail.  On trail, I was actually quite impressed with how well it turned for a sled that's longer than I'm accustomed to.   

So... that's my observation/experience. 

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47 minutes ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

I find it interesting that Polaris owners (on the internet) seem to try different OEM skis within their brand, and most Cat guys seem to go directly to C&A's or other AM without thought.  Rarely do I read about Polaris owners adjusting ski spring, fts spring and torsion spring pressures to dial in turning ability, mainly the rubbers/skis and skags3. 

Friend had a '19 600 Assault, I have no idea what skis were on it, he was prettty light and it pushed, I fiddled with the springs and it got better, but still pushed and was inconsistent.  He also didn't care for the stock skis off trail.  Another friend had a set of XCS's we took off his Doo that bought my Curve's and we put them on the Assault, dialed it in with the springs one afternoon and it made a substantial difference on trail and a marked improvement (according to him) off trail.  On trail, I was actually quite impressed with how well it turned for a sled that's longer than I'm accustomed to.   

So... that's my observation/experience. 

I would assume most people (trail riders) would adjust there shit to try to make it better before spending money. 

Off trail sleds are a whole different ball game. You set the sled up for the snow conditions where you are riding and it is what it is on the trail. Most trails out west near the good riding areas are whooped out shit anyway. Some dont get groomed ever, basically goat trails. I try not to be on the trail any longer than I have to. 

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  • 1 month later...
On 10/22/2021 at 10:11 PM, Crnr2Crnr said:

I find it interesting that Polaris owners (on the internet) seem to try different OEM skis within their brand, and most Cat guys seem to go directly to C&A's or other AM without thought.  Rarely do I read about Polaris owners adjusting ski spring, fts spring and torsion spring pressures to dial in turning ability, mainly the rubbers/skis and skags3. 

Friend had a '19 600 Assault, I have no idea what skis were on it, he was prettty light and it pushed, I fiddled with the springs and it got better, but still pushed and was inconsistent.  He also didn't care for the stock skis off trail.  Another friend had a set of XCS's we took off his Doo that bought my Curve's and we put them on the Assault, dialed it in with the springs one afternoon and it made a substantial difference on trail and a marked improvement (according to him) off trail.  On trail, I was actually quite impressed with how well it turned for a sled that's longer than I'm accustomed to.   

So... that's my observation/experience. 

It’s like some secret code that Cat guys have to run C&As. I’m serious too, not just poking fun. Almost every single Cat guy I know puts a set of C&As on their trail sled before they even ride the damn thing. Over the years, I’ve had Slydog and SLTs on my Polaris trail sleds but I like to tinker with suspension settings to get my trail sleds to handle how I like. I don’t hate Pro Steers but I’ve been able to make them work on past sleds, and they are relatively cheap (come on the sled) so I will most likely keep them on my Indy. 
 

Off trail Polaris sleds come with grippers and they just flat work. I put a set of PPs on one of my Assaults because I wanted them for the color. Didn’t notice a ton of difference between them and the grippers I took off so that’s why I just stick to the PPs on my RMK. 

On 10/22/2021 at 11:05 PM, Legend said:

I would assume most people (trail riders) would adjust there shit to try to make it better before spending money. 

Off trail sleds are a whole different ball game. You set the sled up for the snow conditions where you are riding and it is what it is on the trail. Most trails out west near the good riding areas are whooped out shit anyway. Some dont get groomed ever, basically goat trails. I try not to be on the trail any longer than I have to. 

When we are out playing around with the big sleds it’s the same here. Most people would barrel roll an off trail sled when trying to ride it like their trail sled, on the trail. :lol:

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1 hour ago, Rigid1 said:

I'm going to be tossing a set of Curve Skis on my XC, selling my pro steers if anybody wants them..

Interested to see what you think of them. 
 

Plus, if your Pro Steers were white, I’d be interested. 

Edited by SayatodaU.P.eh?
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Just now, SayatodaU.P.eh? said:

I looked at Curves but even though my XC is my trail sled, I won’t hesitate to run the occasional logging road with it and those Curves look like they would sink like a stone in those conditions. Still interested to see what you think of them though. 
 

Plus, if your Pro Steers were white, I’d be interested. 

Actually completely the opposite, ski of choice for the nose heavy Yamahas, I've had a couple sets of them on different sleds. I really like the ski, does everything well

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20 minutes ago, Rigid1 said:

Actually completely the opposite, ski of choice for the nose heavy Yamahas, I've had a couple sets of them on different sleds. I really like the ski, does everything well

Corrected my post. I was thinking of a different ski. :bc:

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2 hours ago, SayatodaU.P.eh? said:

It’s like some secret code that Cat guys have to run C&As. I’m serious too, not just poking fun. Almost every single Cat guy I know puts a set of C&As on their trail sled before they even ride the damn thing. Over the years, I’ve had Slydog and SLTs on my Polaris trail sleds but I like to tinker with suspension settings to get my trail sleds to handle how I like. I don’t hate Pro Steers but I’ve been able to make them work on past sleds, and they are relatively cheap (come on the sled) so I will most likely keep them on my Indy. 

the stock Cat trail skis aren't anything spectacular, just 'ok'

getting the front to rear balance for ideal ski pressure requires tinkering, and it's tinkering I bet the majority never bother to do or understand.  just crank up the torsions, tighten the ski springs and GO!!!  :lol:   

the FTS spring, is where the magic happens ;)

 

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I wonder how many Cat guys are putting aftermarket skis on their sleds based on the absolute shit skis that used to come on the Firecats?  I know that's where my experience began with changing out skis ... I started with USI's on my Cats, and the 2007 Barney ended up getting the last of the VX1's (USI).  When I went to Polaris in '09, I continued to go with aftermarkets strictly out of habit, and did a new set of X2's from USI & then went to Curve XS skis.  By the mid 2010's guys were claiming how the ProSteers worked pretty well with a good set of carbides, so I gave them a shot with my 2018 and 2019 sleds.  Add to that, aftermarket skis seemed like they had gone up by about 40% ... so I decided to stay with the OEM's and have run Bergstrom's the past several years.

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