Took my Arctic Cat out on a frozen lake near Brainerd today

I've always heard you need to stud your tracks for ice, but I tried running my stock setup on about 8 inches of clear ice just to see what would happen. It actually did okay for about 10 minutes, then I hit a patch of glare ice and spun like crazy. Lesson learned, I'm ordering a set of 144 ice studs tonight. Anyone else tried lake riding without studs and had similar luck?

2 comments

2 Comments

charlie_fisher4515d ago

Man I had pretty much the exact same thing happen on Mille Lacs last winter. Stock track gripped fine on the snow covered parts but soon as I hit one of those slick wind-scoured patches I was just digging a hole. The 144 ice studs are a solid choice, I run 96 on my 137 and it made a night and day difference on glare ice. Just make sure you get the ones with the carbide tips, the cheap steel ones wear down fast if you hit any gravel. Also watch your stud pattern, too many in the center and you'll push instead of hook up on hardpack. That first ride after studding felt like a whole new machine.

the_val15d ago

I read somewhere that the carbide tips actually help the studs last through multiple seasons if you don't ride on bare pavement too much. Makes sense that cheap steel ones would just round off after a few hard hits.