Now that’s what you call breaking trail…the hard way. Sure hate that when it happens!

Great picture by the way!

The biggest problem with the small light machines is that they don't make any, any more. All the ones out there are old (09 was the last year of the little Tundras, not sure on a small Bravo) and worn out. I am usually by myself and often twenty or more miles in, sometimes over fifty miles, I will be buying a new machine next year because I need a reliable machine. While I can snowshoe out if I have to, it doesn't take many times of that to make you decide to buy a newer, hopefully more reliable machine.

Also sucks for kids these days, the little machines like the, Ovation, Enticer and Polaris 340, etc. have become in much demand in this country because people are buying them up for their kids to ride because even if they are willing to spend the price of a new machine for their kid to ride and outgrow in a couple years; they simply aren't made. The Bravo and Tundra are in too much demand by trappers and houndmen for them to ever make it to the kid market.

Conditions are the same here as every year. Terrible. Actually somehow things got worse with all the dead spruce falling down everywhere every wind storm. Good thing I can snake round them through and under the brush, or man handle the sno go over them. My new gig requires a lot of snaking through the jungle.

Hopefully most of your trails don't run due east-west! That would be a constant workout with all those trees always falling north-south.

Drasselt I feel for you guys, that looked like a wet sticky situation and a good distance from shore.

A machine is only as good as the maintenance.

Those old machines were well made, why are they still around and in demand? They are all over the state being used every day.

These modern sleds are being made for comfort, and the mileage is not that good once you get away from the 600 ace. As the price goes up the quality goes down, and standard features become "options" They are big and heavy loaded down with all the gear you need to get them unstuck. Don't get me wrong I like my expedition and tundra four strokes, but still have three old tundras that are not depreciating as fast as those new ones. Sled prices right now are ridiculous.

Traplines vary from out of your yard, to off the trailer, to flown in with a cub. The only sled that could be used at all of those are the old ones. Not everyone traps off the road system.

I agree Nooksack. I laugh at people who laugh at others for using the equipment that works best under individual circumstances.

If you're riding a seismic line, section line, logging road, power line etc then it might make sense to use a Cadillac. But when you are running your old dogsled trail in rough terrain a lightweight sled makes it possible.

I still run two 1981 Elan's, one 1996 Tundra 2 LT, and a 2011 Bravo. I still find I have to chop a tree out to get the skis through the narrow spots

The other nice thing is I can get my Elan in a Cessna 185. I'll bet that can't be done with an Expedition etc.

Speaking of mid 90's Tundra II's;
I have one down in Washington, I use it to get to our lake property. Everyone I know wants to buy one, except you never see them on the market in the lower 48.
Can they still be found on the used market in interior Alaska or B.C. and Alberta?
I don't know what it would cost to ship one to the lower 48, but I might consider it. Maybe on a backhaul it would be economical.

I like to leave 3 foot wide narrow spots on the trail. Those are road blocks for everybody but me.

Guy down river cut a trail for a widetrack. The moose hunters checked his traps for him after that.

Waggler, buying one right now is not economical. If you could find one for $2,000 you would be lucky. Most are priced at $2,500 and up, and don't last long. All used sleds are selling 30-40% higher than actual value. Even the gas guzzling Tudras with the 550 fan are selling in a day or two at new Tundra prices.

I would think that in a year or two this craze in the market will fade and all of these sleds (new and used) will be back on the market at much lower prices. Some dealers last year spring checked 10 times the normal amount of sleds.

Waggler, I'll keep an eye out, I see them for sale here occasionally, but they are usually well worn out. And right now is the wrong time of year to find one, give it a couple months and people will be selling them after they have made it through the winter with them. Expect to pay about what nooksack is quoting though for one in good running condition.

I've rode and owned snowmachines since 1964-Rode many different snowmachines.The first Ski doo dealership in Ontario was in Cochrane Ont.

Sold a 97 tundra a few years back and bought an 02 tundra r,kept it for a spare after I got the 550 tundra in 08,then sold it in 17 when i picked up my skandik 600 ace-awesome machine.Best trailbreaking machine I ever rode.Always stuck breaking trail in the deep powder with the small machines.

I'm with Jim,I woldnt go back to the small ones for a working machine.

There are quite a few elans and old tundras rebuilt for people who buy them for their kids.

The catch is that you still have to get the machine to the area you want to use it.

Then too, you need a road crew to cut your trail.

Only have to cut the big stuff,with the skandik just plow right thru the willow and smaller stuff that would flip the small machines.
I dont find any difference trail cutting with the skandik over the tundra.
The little narrow elans would weave thru the black spruce pretty good though.
At one time a lot of bush trappers used double tracks,like two eland glued together side by sidel.

Too old now to ride all day with my knees up beside my ears,lol.
Another thing about the elan was their portability.besides transporting by air,they were easy to throw into the bed of a pick up.

The little machines have their place, if they made a new Tundra 300F I would buy one for my wife, and they are nice to weave through the trees with, if you get in too tight a spot you can get off and grab one end and throw it around. But I like the wide track and in particular the swt for breaking trail, the deep stuff, and pulling heavier loads with. And I like the better fuel mileage (yes even over the little machines) of the 4 stroke. Also they are not as tippy.

I've never noticed a difference cutting trail for a bigger machine, what I have noticed is trying to go down a trail cut by someone with a Tundra with my current Arctic Cat! I have to cut it all over like it hasn't been cut. But that extra eight inches or foot I need to cut I never notice when cutting for myself. One thing we have here is a lot of gated roads that you can legally drive behind with a snowmachine, until the snow is deep enough to drive over the gates, some of them are a right pain to get one of these big machines around, much easier with a little machine. The Skandic is kind of a happy medium in width between the Tundras and the Bearcat I am currently running, they won't fit all the places an old Tundra or Elan will, but they will fit a heck of a lot more of them than the Bearcat will.

If I was having to fly my machine in, I'd really be cussing Skidoo for discontinueing the Tundra 300F.

I have six running Bravos . Newest is a 93. Since none of them were running when I got them, I guess they were wore out to the previous owners.

I started with an Olympic to Elan and in 1983 I bought the best machine I ever owned, I could put it anywhere and deep snow would not stop it. The valley below the machine was an old foot trail from times past and when I found it was able to open it up with the Alpine!



There is one for sale right now and tempted to buy it BUT it’s been almost 40 years ago. No way I could drive one now. Just good memories with that sled. I was one of the people that established a small portion of the Yukon Quest trail from Chena Hot Springs to 101 mile Steese Hiway and that was over Rosebud and used that machine in the beginning.

Thats quite the collection of Bravos, impressive they are all running.

Why? They are pretty simple machine. Parts wear out or break, not machines. Just replace the parts. Even the body's can be repaired. Lot less parts to go bad on a single cylinder/ simple machine.