I'm trying to decide which ATV to get for my 15 year old son, wife, and the occasional friend to ride with me on my 400 Scrambler with RCR kit. We ride mountain trails at 8000-12000 foot altitude here in Colorado. I can get used ATV's for these prices here:

2000 Trailblazer $2500 + $400 RCR kit = $2900
1998 or 1999 Honda 300EX = $3400-$3600
1998 or 1999 Warrior = $3500

Son = Aggressive dirt bike rider, 5'8", 130 pounds, 15 years old, wants fast, sporty (of course).
Wife = Intermediate dirt bike rider, 5'7", 120 pounds, wants fast, sporty, easy to ride, comfortable.
Friends = Expert dirt bike riders, approx. 175 pounds, 5'11", etc. I want to "convert" them to ATV riders so I'll have more people to ride with. I can always trade off with them with the Scrambler.
Me = Trying to get the Scrambler up to "dirt bike" performance levels, but having a blast on it.

Terrain = 60% woods trails, 30% forest roads, 10% slow technical trails, all of these above (sometimes WAY above) 8000 foot altitude.

The altitude we ride at takes about 25% of the available horse power away from everything, so I want to make sure there is enough power left to have fun, but it would be nice to keep the weight down for handling. The Trail Blazer with the automatic sounds great, but I'm worried about having enough power and low end torque for the technical stuff. The Honda seems light, reliable, but maybe slightly under powered, the Warrior heavier and kind of "clunky/outdated", and the Trailblazer comfortable but maybe under powered (or does the RCR stage 1 kit make it faster than the Honda?). The Honda 400EX is a lot more money.
What would you do?

Any advice you can give me would really be appreciated.

Thanks,
Lorrin Lee

 

Although it's the most expensive...I'd say the 300EX is good. The trailblazer is a 2 stroke -> more sensible to altitude changes (and lose more power). The Warrior is a bit old in my opinion, although it is bulletproof. The 300EX is the sportiest of all...and has reverse, if my rememberings are right.
For aggressive riding, my thought are that the 300EX is what you need. I would stay away from the trailblazer since it's a 2 stroke (this is right?) and altitude changes will make you play with the jetting much more than you would on the 4 strokes. Automatic advantage? I don't like it myself, so I can't tell you it's better.