Full Review of the 2019 Arctic Cat M 8000 Mountain Cat Alpha One

Luke's in the mountains reviewing Arctic Cat's 165-inch 2019 M 8000 Mountain Cat Alpha One featuring groundbreaking single beam rear suspension.
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[@LiamG903]

Have to give them credit this is a crazy new piece of tech and hats off to cat for pushing the big two in a way I didn't expect cat to do

[@beckn9ne756]

Lol, watching Luke go after the haters is hilarious. I ride a 800 ski doo and it has been great. My buddy is riding one of these and it has peaked my interest. Might be the next sled for me. Thanks for the review Luke.

[@ameyers67]

This is the review I've been waiting for.

[@ReelAlaska]

I'm racking up miles on my 154 and it's a beast. I've been slamming it pretty hard and no issues. It pulls like an absolute freight train on the hill, side hills and maintains traction like nothing else out there. It flat out works... A genuine argument can be made that no more of these rails are being damaged (proportionately) then any other. The simple fact is that people want it to fail, and there is so much more attention on it vs other rails. The knuckle dragger immediate common sense is that "two must be better than one right?". It's simply that "we've never done it this way before", therefore it must be wrong. In light of this, the ones that I'm aware of are (mostly) all due to damages inflicted by the rider that would damage any other rail. Regarding this video, I for one would really appreciate a more unbiased view. I appreciate the high quality cinematography and filmmaking, but due to the increasing bias, I'm quickly loosing interest and taste for SnowTrax. Also, this machine doesn't simply wash out, it's due to rider error. The alpha takes about 1/4-3/4 throttle to easily do what other machines do, due to it's far superior traction. If you over throttle it on a side hill, and over ride it with body input (like almost all axys riders do), it will then wash out. Not a design or flaw with the machine, but rider error..

[@pavmentsurfer13]

Unbiased... where was the bias? Even when we say we like a sled, you guys say were biased. This just proves that it doesnt matter what we say, youll still think were biased. I ONLY compared the Alpha 1 to the RMK on ONE point and its a valid one. I compared it to the RMK because it is the industries #1 selling mountain sled and has been for years. It is also well known to be one of the most precise mountain sleds ever made (even admitted by dedicated Arctic Cat riders). If you watched the review and listened to what I said youd have heard that I said overwhelmingly good things about the Alpha 1 because I genuinely DO like it. Let me ask you this, would a review that said the Alpha 1 is PERFECT, has NO flaws and every other mountain sled on the market is inferior... would THAT be an UNbiased review? No... it wouldnt. An UNbiased review is one that points out the good and the bad.... positives and negatives. Which is EXACTLY what I did in this review.

[@ReelAlaska]

@@pavmentsurfer13 It's important (at least to me) that you know that I am not the typical trash talking complaining youtube commenting arm chair quarterback. I genuinely enjoy an intelligent and respectful conversation. I do have a deep appreciation and respect for the time and quality that you invest in what you do. With that said I have ridden a lot of mountain sleds over the years from axys to doo, and this Alpha is something that has gotten me very excited in a way that I haven't been in a long time. BTW, if you haven't had the chance to throw a leg over the 154, you really should. Its a completely different sled then the 165", and easily the funnest thing I have EVER ridden . The rip your shoulders off cat-walking fun factor is pegged through the roof. The 165" is the steep and deep, slow and steady more predictable older brother. Whereas the 154" is the wild party animal "younger brother", who knows nothing but how to have fun, and lots of it. On to my comment about bias. I would humbly submit to you that from the outside, ST "appears" to have an overwhelming bias that rings pro Polaris. I have no idea, nor pretend to know about any potential financial incentives, or the politics involved. All I can do is relay the potential appearance as the consumer. In regards to Polaris' high sales volume, they have a brilliant marketing team, period. Like any market, you don't necessarily have to be the very best (not that the poo might not be), you simply need enough people to say and believe that you really are. AC has suffered from an extremely poor marketing team for over a decade, or perhaps longer. The 2019 Alpha single color scheme is a case in point. A fraction of the people love the retro cat colors, while the other part of the camp passionately hate it. It wasn't the most brilliant design and sales campaign.... The Alpha is probably the easiest sled and yet the most challenging mountain sled I have ever spent time on. It is so different, that it takes a complete reprograming of how you ride. The washout you discussed is rider error. It happens to me time and time again ONLY when I do not ride it correctly. It's been ingrained into my head from thousands of hours on traditional mountain sleds that you side hill one way, vs how the alpha requires. It's not bad, its actually fabulous and remarkably different. I threw my leg back over a newer axys on a really deep day a few weeks back. It was so much more "comfortable" to me based upon previous thousands of hours of training, and yet my alpha stomped it into the ground without sign of competition. The performance is not even a comparison, and the fun factor of the 154" Alpha is on a level that the poo can't comprehend. Anyways, is one sled better than the other? Probably.... But it comes down to whether a consumer believes that he/she received a good value, and if they enjoy what they ride. The only thing that I ask is that ST give a fair shake for all brands, and at least show the appearance of suggestion that the Alpha may in fact be the best mountain sled on the hill.... Time will tell. Best regards, and keep doing what you enjoy...

[@mainetroutwhisperer]

Well look at that.. snowtrax actually said something positive about AC 😂

[@owenolson9024]

Haha it's about time, give it a month when some nuckle head manages to mess it up somehow and they come out with a whole book on how they take back what they siad and that they recommend not buying the alpha one....lmao🤣🤣🤣

[@H3431-h6j]

ya and that's hard to do

[@Triplethreatindustries]

Ya he did but then he compared it to an RMK and any alpha owner knows that the alpha will give any Polaris a beat down .

[@arandomstateofmind5897]

So far so good 😂 I'm gonna convert my 2011 m8 to an alpha one rail, somehow make it work

[@duckdestroyer2412]

Last time if I remember correctly was 2014 about the El Tigre which was the only AC sled of the year that I have seen.

[@bflo716]

This technology is here to stay. This is a game changer for mountain sleds. With any first generation there are problems, but as this skid progresses year after year skidoo and Polaris will have some major catching up to do. If my riding areas weren’t trails I would hands down buy the Alpha.

[@Icutmetal]

Was just out in West Yellowstone with a group riding mixed brands. One AC guy rented an Alpha 165” after his M8000 153” took a poop. He commented that it carved and laid over extremely easy in comparison, but absolutely sucked going down trails- just as you’d expect. Another AC guy as well as a Doo guy took it for a quick rip near Cabin Creek and both said the same about it’s ease of maneuvering.

[@flagovhate]

Who the fuck cares how it handles on trail?

[@barbecuesquirrel2324]

@@flagovhate ikr. I would ride it on the trail. I don’t care if it’s a bit tippy

[@camaro69green31]

Well done all you Freaky little engineers in Thief River falls.... You are brave and risky little geniuses. Nice.... I'm a Long time Cat owner rider. Owned so many since my '81 El' Tigre 6000. Trail sleds and mountain sleds. Cats A arms were an industry first..... Batteryless EFI, lay down twins, now the single beam rear...… Exciting to say the least.

[@thomaslenhart832]

Camaro69 Green my dad worked at Arctic cat wen he was 18 and his job was to test drive the jet skis and they would ride them in the ditches out front and he worked there for 20 years and ever sence then we have been a arctic cat fam for life and live in Lancaster now witch is 1 hour north of Thief River Falls and my uncle still lives there, it is amazing to know I love so close to two amazing snowmobile companies which my dad worked at both Polaris and Arctic cat

[@camaro69green31]

@@thomaslenhart832 That is some great history you have there when it comes to Arctic cat. So cool. I live in Alberta and have a very long history of a family who bought Cats back in '74. Panthers. 440's. Then '77 Panthers, two of them.... Dad bought a brand new '81 El Tigre 6000, flat out the fastest sled at the time bar none. This started my passion of a product that delivered on many aspects...… FUN, performance and always the fastest. Cat has always served me well as a product. Your Dad did a great job test riding "Tiger Sharks", maybe not Jet skis.... but I Hear you, working at both Polaris and Arctic Cat would be my dream jobs.... thanks for the reply. Your Dad is COOL.

[@thomaslenhart832]

Camaro69 Green ya my dads dad worked at Arctic cat his whole life also so we have a lot of older sleds to many that I can’t remember the names but yes I couldn’t remember the name tiger sharks so I just said jet skis but evan wen we bought an older sea doo he called it a tiger shark but ya it is so amazing knowing my dad has worked at both of the biggest producing off-road vehicles (Polaris and Arctic Cat) in the world and I live within an hour of both and for school I can remember we have toured both places at least 3 times each

[@Aviationlover1]

Heck ya

[@iloveyoualot4237]

is a 2015 arctic cat m800 155 a good sled since both of you guys are arctic cat people.. I don’t know anything about them, help me out please

[@keepridingfun]

Lol @ those 5 dislikes. Get over it brand loyalists. Innovation is good for all of us.

[@sturgeonkiller1]

I love my Alpha 1 165. Awesome powder machine

[@Kevin-ix4qz]

Awesome idea for a mountain sled. I hope it works in the long run for cat. Might be the thing that saves them..... Love the fact snow can't build up in the skid. That is a huge plus (I'm not an expert mountain rider by any means)

[@Papadooskiss]

Is it just me that feels like SnowTrax has a hard time saying they like anything arctic cat makes?

[@pavmentsurfer13]

We just did... did you watch the segment. TONS of praise for the Alpha 1. Our job is to point out the positives AND negatives... just because we highlight negatives does NOT mean we DONT like a sled. If you cant gather from this video that I DO like the Alpha 1 your just looking for things to be upset at US for.

[@ryanvtec3885]

until it comes to reliable then the cat takes the win

[@rchelistef506]

Great vid man

[@snowtrax]

Thank you!!

[@jjkcollins]

Man this guy loves Polaris always comparing it and still can't admit that arctic cat is going to be a force to be rekin with. Forsure this guy is paid not to over hype any other brand

[@JMX07]

I know Polaris is really good at making snowmobiles but I agree, he talks about them in every freakin video.. I'm getting sick of it.

[@ChuckBeefOG]

That’s because you always compare to the best thing on the market. Which is the Pro RMK.

[@JMX07]

@@ChuckBeefOG Haha.. Ya ok.

[@ChuckBeefOG]

John Murley Best mountain sled since 2011 and its not even a contest.

[@JMX07]

Unreliable garbage.. Wouldn't build an engine to save their soul, cheap electronics, clutches last about 1000km, motor mounts are junk, tracks are garbage... anyways.. that's just me. I'm not the majority, I prefer quality.

[@cutznfadez4683]

Great honest review

[@jmj267]

Mountain Riders are definitely a different breed. I don't think I could spend that kind of money and always have the fear of hitting something. Trying to get a machine off the mountain would be the last thing I'd want to try to do. Great Innovations Drive the sport to a whole new level but it sure does come at a cost. I'll stick to trail riding and that's just my two cents so y'all enjoy whatever snowmobiling you like to do. Keep the skis between the trees Brothers and sisters.

[@theirishaxe9405]

That's pretty sweet 👍

[@yupyupmyjelo1677]

Does the alpha one track can fit on ancient model like 2013? Or it only fit on 2018+ model?

[@jmj267]

10 4 each really have their pluses

[@philipp4109]

Screw my 16’ Summit 800 , im buying this

[@AustinMBecker]

I would buy the Summit.....

[@brentzomer3886]

I have an Alpha. I've owned or ridden every other manufacturer brand and I'll tell ya straight up. The Alpha raises my riding skill and ability more than any of the others

[@AustinMBecker]

@Taylor Anderson First off, because I trust the Summit more than the Alpha. It's been a proven setup in the G4 chassis and the XM chassis for several years. Second, it's just my personal preference. I like the way the Summit looks and feels compared to most Arctic Cats...

[@philipp4109]

its hard to ride my summit and it weights 246 kg + the battery for electric start

[@philipp4109]

and it breaks so easily

[@jacobz3n974]

My friend really wanted a lynx boondocker but one test ride on the alpha he is sold

[@DaddyRecon1]

I like it, clean concept sounds solid, however with this innovation how does it handle a typical trails, while getting to the deep stuff?

[@stud3737]

Scott Cunningham it’s fine on trail but I would be careful because it’s meant for mountains

[@pnthrsee1]

WASH OUT MORE THAN A RMK,, WE all get it Luke Polaris is your Holy Grail,,, Hope the engine runs long enough to get you back to the truck

[@pavmentsurfer13]

Yes Jeff... wash out MORE than an RMK. Physics says this should be the case and wouldnt you know... it IS. But if you actually WATCHED the whole segment you would have noticed I did not say this makes it a bad sled or is even an overall negative trait. We report on ALL aspects of a sled... good and bad... this was just a trait WE found with the Alpha 1 that I felt needed to be mentioned. But again, this was an overwhelmingly positive review of the Alpha 1 and my feelings on the sled are overwhelmingly positive. But I get it, Polaris Bad... Snowtrax Bad.

[@SomeTechGuy666]

@3:15 There is no way for a hollow section of aluminum to be stronger than if it was a solid piece. Sorry, that is BS.

[@darrylm7588]

Can I get an alpha one king cat or a sidewinder mono rail? That'd be sweet! I have an high HP boosted Yamaha and 2018 rmk 174 and I find myself really missing the 4 stroke power when I'm on the rmk so a 4 stroke alpha only makes sense.

[@flagovhate]

Get out of here with your boat anchor

[@billallen4793]

@@flagovhate missing the power of a four stroke, are word that shouldn't be used together...lol...from Wyoming USA 🔫🤠🇺🇸p.s stay safe

[@kylerberve]

Why do I keep hearing about the rails cracking? Not sure if I am willing to spend the money on one with that risk. Was it just a bad batch of rails? Really wanting one of these but not if I will just break it.

[@flagovhate]

You hear about it because it's new. They're not cracking, they're breaking from being hit, same as any other twin rail setup. I don't think anyone has had a rail fail from normal use. You smash into a rock or log with twin rails and you bet your ass they'll bend or crack or break.

[@xanadujohn79]

As a former 1998 ZR600 EFI L/E...."SLED OF THE YEAR"... When is the recall coming on this one???????

[@adamm2837]

The 98 ZR600 were junk, I mean the chassis and suspension were great for their day but man for a while that's all you'd see on the online forums were post about peoples 98 ZR 600s blowing up. We have a 98 ZR 500 in our fleet since new, excellent machine, still going strong. The stator went out and the hood fell off when it was new, but other then that it has been great.

[@JefeDeUsted]

Can you ride it down the trail to get to your off trail spot tho?

[@lucass4758]

Colin Chrabaszcz yes. It doesn’t feel that different riding down the trails Now, if you ride like an idiot on the trails then you may notice more of a difference. But if you ride sensibly, it’s good to go.

[@verttiturunen5045]

Best deep snow sled so far! Summit is like toy...

[@nilsjohansson9739]

What happened to the Arctic Snowbike? Did they quash that program?

[@jacobbeach9241]

It had some hurtles that came up I believe over the past few years. Its still in the works and should still come to market in a year or 2

[@strikerak20]

The bike part became a problem for some reason. Not sure of the details but it sounds like prices weren't consistent from the supplier.

[@hooty6699]

I believe the issue was that for it to be trail legal it had to have certain features like a right-side thumb throttle and a left-side hand brake, which a dirt bike doesn't have. Hard to sell a pre-packaged snow bike when it's isn't trail legal. You'd have to do a pretty hefty tear-up of the dirtbike underneath to have it be trail legal. Or a clean sheet design.

[@flagovhate]

It was just a Sherco bike and Camso kit. Idk why Cat even tried to sell it as a "cat" snow bike.

[@Z-Bart]

Total weight?

[@tylerhorning7490]

So has Arctic cat patented this design or are other companies free to use it?

[@barbecuesquirrel2324]

If other companies could they would’ve by now

[@camaro69green31]

My friends Dad's brothers x-wife's lover's sister said she saw her son's cousins Alpha One being dragged off a mountain cause the rear beam broke.....

[@camaro69green31]

Sooo …. this innovation by Cat, is amazing. It's tried and true by now. We know that. I'm still waiting for Polaris and BRP to come out with propaganda to say it isn't so???? They usually try?? They cant.

[@bighuntichi7392]

I mean I have a 1995 arctic cat z440 so if you ever want to donate one I’ll gladly take it

[@adamm2837]

The old Z440s were good machines, I used to see an old 95 Z440 zipping around every single time I went out on my local trails. Still a pretty cool looking sled too.

[@Aviationlover1]

Sorry dude

[@austinfisher9794]

Says the rail is so tough but there literally bending and snapping😂

[@billbill7894]

I beat the piss out of mine and haven't had any problems, if your hammering mougals then yeah probably but it's a specific deep powder sled not meant for trail bashing wich I've seen a few people doing

[@rjracing12]

Can’t believe Yamaha painted this sled blue 🤣🤣🤣

[@jonathansouza6549]

Funny how people still keep bashing cat on there industry-leading technology !!! skidoo and Polaris has nothing on this new technology ' oh i forgot the others have cat green sleds too !! Watch out the CAT is back !!!

[@stuntmanroy]

Never left

[@pavmentsurfer13]

How is a %90 positive reivew "bashing". What exactly would a good review look like. This review was %100 honest and not bashing the Alpha 1 at all... infact I like it and said that IN the review. I wonder if you even watched it.

[@m3ph3]

I was deeply in love with my arctic cat. Then, I tried my friend's RMK...

[@sayenko1]

I cant riding rmks, would take a arctic cat alpha one or ski-doo 800/850 anyday over it. Idk why but its a lot more work for me to ride a rmk.

[@sayenko1]

@@drlhomeimprovements yup my dad has trouble sidehilling the ski-doo 165 becuase he'll ride like 3 times a year, we planning on getting the alpha as our next sled for him

[@RICHIE_RICH89]

Junk my friend broke that skid in half

[@AustinMBecker]

Still would rather have an RMK or a Summit....

[@CalgaryDynastar]

Ride one and see if you still feel that way

[@AustinMBecker]

@@CalgaryDynastar It would be interesting to try one, however I trust the RMK and Summit platforms more than the Cat setup.

[@flagovhate]

@@AustinMBecker lmao you trust the polaris engines?

[@AustinMBecker]

@@flagovhate Maybe not the 850, but many of their newer engines have been proven fairly reliable. I know plenty of people who already have some good miles on the newer RMK's.

[@flagovhate]

@@AustinMBecker Polaris has never made a reliable engine over 600cc's lol the only time they had good 800s, was when they were made by Fuiji.

[@jacobz3n974]

Youre paid by polaris to bash it

[@pavmentsurfer13]

Bash it? LOL.... you mean point out a couple flaws it has, like all sleds do... then spend the rest of the time talking about how good it is. No no, your right. Im paid by polaris to "bash" the Alpha 1. If THIS is "bashing" a sled... I cant imagine what you think a positive review looks like.

[@volvo245]

I should be thankful that I have zero interest in this hobby. Seems horribly expensive, time consuming and probably quite dangerous. Looks nice on slow-mo footage though.

[@flagovhate]

Then why are you here?

[@TheIrongutz]

Lots of rails breaking, back to the drawing board Cat

[@ericlessard5021]

Every good rider I know lock their t motion cause it wash out. This cat is only a flash toys. Wait 2 years and they gonna remove this joke from the market.

[@flagovhate]

T-motion is not the same as this at all. T-motion is garbage.

[@Kartyman550]

Yea not even rob could break it... what about the 15+ guys that have managed to bust the mono rail.

[@strikerak20]

wow 15+ guys? I'll be expecting a recall with those numbers. Unbelievable that Cat would release a sled without testing the durability of new technology. Simply astonishing

[@Kartyman550]

MAXIMUS Meant 150+

[@AkatarawaJapan]

Apparently they don’t like landing on hard things. As opposed to, um...which twin rail? Anyway, if Gen 2 is significantly different we’ll know there was an issue.

[@upmetalhead]

and its Broke!!!

[@thomaslenhart832]

Your a lil late but ok