Seems our windshield article on this website stirred up a little angst. We’ve had comments from people agreeing and disagreeing with our stand on the industry’s need for larger, more functional windshields on snowmobiles. Gee, we didn’t know anyone was reading this stuff!
Seriously, we still think every manufacturer needs to take a look at some basic things about snowmobiles and tailor the aesthetics to match the kinds of conditions sleds are actually being ridden in.
Low windshields are okay if you’re in the mountains and the sun is blazing down on a snowy hillside all day. In these conditions speeds are lower, although the technical aspects of the terrain are much more difficult and riders tend to wear less insulated clothing because they’re moving around so much and generating a lot of body heat.
However, for trail riding on a minus-freezing day, you need warmth. The wind chill if you don’t have a decent windshield is pretty overwhelming.
We’d like the rest of industry to adopt Polaris’ policy of letting you choose the type of windshield you want when you buy the sled. You can swap out a low one for a high one or vice versa without an up-charge.
Apparently this works pretty well because the people who want low ones, despite our rants, balance out those more intelligent folks who actually ride in winter climates and want a higher one.
