ATVConnection.com

Moose has a long history with off-roading and the editors of ATV Connection can certainly appreciate that when it comes time to trust our collective nether-regions to a pair of pants. Think about it for a minute: All that separates one’s manhood (or womanhood) from the venerable war-zone that is ATV-riding comes in the form of a little nylon & polyester. Choose wisely!

We selected a pair of 2012 Moose Sahara pants in effort to determine whether they were up to the task. Here’s what we discovered:

What Is It?

As the name implies, the Sahara line of Moose’s race-wear catalog represents the warm weather set with emphasis on ventilation/ breathe-ability. As such, the Sahara is constructed of highly ventilated nylon/polyester and boasts the following features:
· Oversized knee area with perforated genuine leather inner panels
· Removable vented hip pads
· Reinforced high wear areas, knees and seat
· Pre-bent pant leg design
· Strategically placed badges for roost deflection and durability
· Integrated dual waist cinch straps, with grip tabs, allow you to fine tune fit
· Available in even waist sizes 28″-48″ and colors blue, orange, red, stealth, yellow and red/white/blue

We picked up a pair for $119 and more info can be found here.

Fit

Not that we expect you to follow the year to year sizing changes that across the various brand offerings, but we think you’d be pleased to know that for 2012 Moose focused on making their off-road gear fit and feel a bit more like street clothes. How did they accomplish this? By boosting their size scale by a half size across the board. Since we rarely come back after a long off-season skinnier than we started, this is much appreciated.

In action, you get a pair of cinch straps (one on each side of the waist) that offer about 2-inches of adjustability both ways. Even with the adjustable straps, you should considers ordering a size smaller than you currently wear if you’ve somehow managed to come out thinner than you were in the fall.

In Action

We can attest that the Moose Sahara pant flows some serious air. How can we be so sure? We had a chance to test them in sunny 45-degree days, sunny 60-degree days, and then finally on a sunny 83-degree day. We went from cold, to cool, to just right in that order. Another way to put it: The hotter the conditions, the more you’ll appreciate the Sahara.

Durability

We certainly applaud Moose for reinforcing the high wear areas like the knees and saddle region. Triple stitching in these regions is also appreciated. We suspect the pants will last multiple seasons with ease.

Complaints

Not too much to report here, except riders who typically rely on a single pair of pants for all conditions may want to consider checking out Moose’s XCR, M1, or Qualifier line as the Saharas are truly deliver as a warm-weather only affair.

The Situation:That old prankster Mother Nature decided to dump half a foot of powder atop a crispy layer of chunky frozen slush despite spring’s arrival. You’ve got the urge to shred but a miniscule budget and no love for chains.

The Solution:

The Slingshot tires from Excel come in at a reasonably priced $72.95 a pop (no pun intended) for 25” meats and $120.95 for the high lifting 27-inchers. Marketed as mud tires, those of us forced to endure the annual winter wonderland have long ago realized many of the traits that make for a good mud and gunk conquering tire also excel (there’s a bonus pun) at slicing through the pow pow.

The Product:At this pricepoint, the Slingshot can be considered a budget mud tire; a trait that’s especially impressive when you take an up close and personal look at the product. The Slingshot benefits from a deep lug pattern with self-cleaning treads and beefy 6-ply construction.

Generally in this type of situation, we would mount the snow (mud) tires to a spare set of rims to make for easy swapping between the more all-terrain friendly stockers as the conditions demand. However, we were pleased enough with the Slingshot’s hard-terrain performance to justify simply replacing our worn OEM tires with Slingshots all around. In fact, and very rare in the mud tire arena, the Excel Slingshot is Department of Transportation (DOT) certified.

The Test:

In a rare act of patience and maturity, the editors at ATV Connection managed to refrain from rounding out the lugs on their fresh set of Slingshots until the first 6+-inch snowfall of the season had thoroughly coated the trails. By then we were so eager to ride, critical cold-weather protection such as gloves and socks were forgotten in a fury of engine revs and airborne powder.

The charms of the Slingshot tires were immediately apparent, whether blasting through a layer of light powder or clawing for traction through deep packy accumulation. The wide-open nature of the tread design truly prevents packing between the lugs; the number one enemy to traction in the slick stuff. While the lugs themselves are spaced to act almost as paddles do in sand, dimpled tread elements on the surface of each lug offer additional bite that was felt especially in melted slush.

Finally large shoulder lugs wrap the sidewalls to provide side bite to keep you on point even when the slick stuff does its best to drag you sideways. Massive reinforced lugs extend right to the centerline of the tire to smooth things out on the hardpack. Again this is extremely rare for such an aggressive tread and the reason we felt comfortable in relying upon the Slingshots for our all-season needs.

Conclusion:

Whether mudding, swamping, snow going, or snow plowing, the Excel Slingshot offers a whole lot of performance without breaking the bank. We were unable to truly put their hardpack prowess to the test, and suspect we won’t have a chance to until at least July with the way things go around here, but were quite dazzled with how well the tire transitioned from slush to a solid ice base and through the deep snow whether powdery or packy. Ours even saw some paved driveway usage in the process of plow-based snow removal. The noticeable gains in traction were immediate and appreciated by all. Sure we would still prefer teleporting to somewhere tropical for the duration of the winter; at least the Excel Slingshots have alleviated some of the snowmobile-lust we experience without fail this time of year.