hmmmmm i would rather climb hills wit gears but i think that anything is really a good hill climber depending on your skill.......iv climbed sum pretty nasty hills with my kodiak

 

From my expierience i would have to say the recon is a better hill climber.It has the best power to weight ratio of all honda quads.It climbs like a b!tch!

 

This really can be divided into two types of hillclimbing.

The first being even dirt or sand hills that are relatively smooth surfaced whether they be loose dirt or mud or whatever. Either way, something that you can blast up without fear of falling into a huge rut or flipping. In this type, power takes the cake. These are the situations that you hear "my Blaster is a great hillclimber!" in.

The second is like rocky type hills off in the woods with ruts and roots and uneven crap that you have to go extremely slow in to keep from flipping over or falling off into a nearby rut or something. This is a utility quad type hillclimb. 4wheel drive machine territory. Also a place where "my kick *** blaster" (I don't own one, just an analogy) wouldn't quite cut it. This is where a machine like a king quad or polaris with both fronts pulling would shine out in. Power is important also, but not as much as traction and stability. A kodiak is as good as most in this situation, but nowhere near the best unless it is locked.

 

Indy Dave,
I did'nt buy the Scrambler because I also need to haul trailor loads of fire wood with the quad occasionally to.The Scrambler has no low range.You hit the nail on the head when you said the word,''Versatility''.====Bill

 

having one of each, I think I can give you a good answer. The Rancher2x4 will most certainly out climb the Recon. There is still good points on both. With the Recon your able to have a lot of fun throwing the thing around as you wish. The Rancher being more stable is great but you do loose some of control when you want to fly around tight trails and stuff.
My wife is able to do a lot more on the Rancher than the Recon, but then she's not as crazy as most of us guys are.