2016 Ski Doo Backcountry Renegade
By Tim Petersen(Owner), Nov. 4, 2018
I am a 53 year old who has been riding for 30+ years. I am pretty aggressive rider, still willing to go for it off trail, but slowing down some on trail due to the dangers at high speeds. I live in Minnesota and ride MN, WI, and the UP. Much of that riding is on trail, but we to spend as much time o
...ff trail as possible, probably a 40% on and 60% off mix. The snow we get for off trail varies from well packed to deep powder. Much of our off trail riding is in the woods with pretty tight conditions. I love a good hill climb when we find one.
I have owned all makes and model sleds over years and have not specific loyalty to Ski Doo, but in my opinion they make the most reliable sleds at this point and their motors are great.
I bought my 2016 Backcountry used in 2017, got a good deal and it only had 1600 miles on it, pretty much stock with a 1.6 ice ripper track. This is my first Gen3 sled, but my 4th rev and 2nd Renegade. My last sled was a 2007 Blizzard with a 121 track. I have really enjoyed riding it the BC, it handles really well on trail since it has the wider front end. Mine does not have electric start, but it always starts with 1-2 pulls and I like the no battery and starter (Etec motors do not need a battery to run), less weight, think it saves about 20 pounds.
The Etec 600 motor is the best I have ever had, smooth, strong, quiet, reliable, fuel efficient, and burns very clean. I just works great. Best motor out there, no doubt. i have had 800's also, they seem to have more issues and do not run nearly as smooth as the 600. I notice very little difference between the motors from 0-40 MPH, from 40-60 the 800 starts pulling ahead, and after 60 MPH the 800 walks away. But 60+ is the danger zone on trails. The 600 keeps me from going too fast but still pulls very hard up to 60 MPH. keep in mind all my riding is happening below 2000 feet, so no loss to elevation.
Off trail the BC is great, it has a 146 track and mine has the shorter lugs so it is not like riding a summit, but it is great for the areas we ride. If we have more deep powder i would want a 2+ inch track on this sled. I don't mind the wider front end off trail since we are not side-hilling in deep snow that much. The 146 track provides enough float to go slow through the woods but you can still get stuck in the deep stuff. My buddy has a a 137 Renegade and we do see him getting stuck a little more than me off trail.
On trail the sled rides great, the suspension is excellent, I weigh about 200 LBS geared up and it almost never bottoms out when pounding on it. The T motion suspension on my BC is not an advantage in my opinion, I have ridden R motion and prefer it since it has more control on the trail and when you are riding deep snow how much does your suspension do anyway. Last year my sled would corner great up to a point and as you pushed harder it would pop the inside ski up unexpectedly, a little spooky at times. I have since tightened the limiter strap to provide more ski weight, hopefully that will help, if not I will be locking out the T motion or replacing it with R motion parts.
Overall I am very happy with my 2016 Backcountry. Considering how we ride it has the perfect combination of on and off trail abilities for my riding area. If I was in deep powder more (which I would love, but don't find very often) I would change the track.
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