if hes so worried about getting into stuff that bad, then he should also worry about his belt getting wet. im not saying go out and buy a honda, just dont buy a belt bandit.

 

Since you posted this on the honda forum I am going to pick the foreman 400 or 450, you can find good used ones out there priced to sell. They are dependable, nice large racks, good low gearing and can tow a loaded trailer with ease.

 

I love my Foreman but 3 wheel drive is NOT going to get me through the woods in the winter (at least around here...NW Ontario)...a locking front end, IRS and ground clearance are needed....I would never take the Foreman places I take my King Quad....just wanted to clarify based on my experiance in the north woods....I'm no trapper so maybe that changes everyything but in my limited experiance (Foreman and KQ) I would always choose the KQ.....now for WORK driving on 95% of the ground conditions I experiance the Foreman is the choice, just not the hills/rocks and snow.....

 

I have ridden at Tellico in the North Carolina mountains. This place is famous with extreme 4x4 clubs. Nothing but rocks, mud, rocks, ledges, rocks, water, and oh yeah, rocks. Never had a problem with my Foreman. I also have a 2003 Polaris 600 Sportsman. It wont go anywhere with its locker and IRS that my Foreman will not go.(Except to the repair shop).

 

I decided that an experiment was in order so I warmed up both the KQ and the Foreman (its -17 outside right now) and climbed both up the 4 ft snow drift (packed snow) and onto the front yard (snow about 2 ft deep)...both machines still have the original tires.....the Foreman went about 6 feet before it dug itself a hole it couldn't get out of, no amount of rocking back and forth would unstick me....then the KQ...I went about the same distance before I got stuck, then I locked the front diff, rocked it a bit and drove around the yard a couple times and pulled out the Foreman.....I will say no more cause I love both machines..... but with all due respect,...... having driven both the LOCKER IS A MUST...but thats just my humble opnion.......now I know someone out there with a Foreman or Rancher or Rincon or Rubi is gonna tell me how they pulled a 3/4 ton truck full of nuns out of a mud hole and up a hill.....but Farmerman asked about...snow and deep mud...I'm just refering to snow...I NEVER take my machines in the deep mud (too chicken)......

 

hey farmerman im 17 years old i hunt and trapp and all that other good stuff and i have a 04 forman with a warn winch . i drive that thing threw creeks and so big deep mud wholes and everything u can emagine and i have got stuck yet not saying i wont but i havent yet . my box traps strap right up fine on the racks and everything. the only thing iv used the winch for is to hold my deer on the front rack. and if u do get into a tight spot and u need to man handel the bike around 595lbs isnt to bad to move around

 

It's kind of obvious that I am a Honda guy and love them, but in honesty a locker sure doesn't hurt to have as an option. The IRS, well I HEAR so many stories of lack of stability on off chanbers, and had scary Grizzly experiances that scared me away from IRS, but I also heard the KQ makes that problem a thing of the past.........So I really can't comment.
Anyway, thanks for posting your experiment to help this member out.

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

i think im going to get a cte rubicon and detroit gearless locker

 

Yeah Tellico is a great place to test out you and your machine, I am probably going there this Thursday, I'm Very Lucky I only live 30 miles from there.
But anyways almost any reliable 4x4 quad would do you good but hey I would rather have my winch pull out a smaller quad than a bahemith that standing on solid ground you can hardly grab the back rack to pull it up.
Hey speeking of Polaris the last time I was down at Tellico I saw one with eaither two broke shock mounts or shocks because it came by and it looked just like the rear suspension was bottemed out but it was just driving down the road. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-mad.gif[/img]

 

if you wanna locker, get one that come standerd. i recomend the polaris sportsman 425 or the bombardier outlander 400HO.

both amazing quads.