2022 Ski-Doo Snowmobile Mountain Lineup

With the surprise blockbuster release of the Ski-Doo 850 E-TEC Turbo mid-season last year, we weren’t sure what to expect for the 2022 Ski-Doo snowmobile lineup.

Now that all has been revealed, here’s what we know about the 2022 Ski-Doo mountain snowmobiles.

As always, we will jump into the mountain segment straight away, because that’s all we really care about! No offence trail riders—that’s just not our jam.

To set the stage, let’s first look back to when Ski-Doo surprised everyone in January 2020 with the reveal of the 850 E-TEC factory 2-stroke turbo engine package in a 2020.5 Ski-Doo Summit X with Expert Package early release.

Then for model year 2021, the 2-stroke turbo 850 found its way into the garages of many happy Ski-Doo customers. And likely more will go in that direction after a full season of use (and abuse) in the hands of consumers without any significant issues cropping up—which is pretty amazing for a technology in its first year of production.

So with the greatness of the 850 E-TEC Turbo well-established and many riders who still have not yet had the opportunity to experience it for themselves, it’s easy to see why we don’t expect a lot of changes from Ski-Doo for MY2022.

However, there are some significant changes and a new mountain-specific model to consider, called Summit Edge.

Let’s check out the 2022 Ski-Doo mountain snowmobile lineup, model by model.

Matching sled and outfit? Dang!

Let’s see what’s new with the king of the mountain lineup, first.

Of course we know by now that the spring order only Expert Package has got a brimming set of mountain-specific features—more so than any other sled in the lineup.

New for 2022 is a narrower adjustable 34″ ski stance (technically 33.7″-35.4″ adjustable). This should have a pretty big impact on the ease of sidehill initiation and the ability to hold that through chop.

We haven’t ridden the MY2022 Expert ourselves to form our own opinion yet at the time of publication, but the team at BRP assures us that the narrower ski stance does not negatively affect the dynamic behaviour of the sled. The suspension calibration has been adapted, which they say results in minimal negative trail performance, while off-trail performance (which is all we really care about anyway) is markedly improved.

The good news is, if you don’t like the narrower, 34″ ski stance, it can be adjusted back to the same 36″ width that all other Ski-Doo mountain sleds come with standard. So you really can’t lose with this improvement.

Another change for the 2022 Ski-Doo Summit X w/ Expert Package is the standard inclusion of a brake reservoir protector.

Some of the key features of the Expert Package are:

• 850 E-TEC Turbo option
• Short tunnel
• Stiffer shocks package
• Adjustable Limiter Strap
• Ultra-Compact seat
• Flexible handguards
• Brake reservoir guard

The 2022 Ski-Doo Summit X w/ Expert Package track options are:

• 154 x 2.5″
• 154 x 3.0″
• 165 x 3.0″
• 175 x 3.0″

Two new colour choices are available in 2022:

Ultimate Liquid Titanium and Carbon Black with panel wrap

Ultimate Triple Black with panel wrap

See the Mountain Sledder ride impression of the 2021 Ski-Doo Summit Expert 165″ w/ 850 Turbo here.

Next up is the spring order only Freeride, and it’s got the least changes for MY2022. Okay, we’re bouncing around here a bit, but the Freeride is cool and it deserves mention at the top of the list. And yes, the Freeride will be available with the 850 E-TEC turbo powerplant again.

Otherwise, it’s pretty much BNG for the Ski-Doo Freeride for 2022. The one and only colour scheme available is called Arctic Desert, which has a certain desert storm fatigues vibe to it that’s pretty cool.

One point of note is that there is a Freeride model available in a 146″ track length, but it will come with a sea level-only calibration. Mountain freeriders who want a short track Freeride for spring booter sessions or WOT horseplay will need to purchase a high altitude calibration kit from their dealer.

The SHOT starter will be standard on the 2022 Freeride, with the exception of the low altitude calibration model with 2.5″ lug, which will have the option of electric start.

Some of the key features of the MY2022 Ski-Doo Freeride include:

• 850 E-TEC Turbo option
• Short tunnel
• KYB Pro 36 R EA piggyback front shocks
• KYB Pro 40 EA piggyback rear shocks
• Rear suspension rail stiffener
• Sway bar quick-disconnect
• 154″ and 165″ tracks with 2.5 or 3.0 in. lugs
• 146″ with 2.5″ lug

The 2022 Summit X, which is also a spring order only model, punches well above its weight class. Many of its features trickle down from the highly spec’d Expert Package, at a lower price point. One new addition for MY2022 is the lightweight, one-piece hood that for MY2021 was reserved for the 850 Turbo and Expert Package models. The lightweight hood shaves off an impressive 6 lbs of weight.

Some of the highlights of the 2022 Summit X are:

• 850 E-TEC Turbo option
• Short tunnel
• Same spindle as Expert Package
• One-piece lightweight hood
• Compact, lightweight seat
• Small diameter handlebar grips
• HPG Plus shocks
• Profile II extruded running boards

The Summit X track options are the same as the Expert Package, but with no 175″ option:

• 154 x 2.5″
• 154 x 3.0″
• 165 x 3.0″

Two new colour choices are available in 2022:

Ultimate Scandinavian Blue/Organe Crush with panel wrap (nice!)

Triple Black

Until 2022, there wasn’t really an option for in-season “performance” models, unless for some reason your dealership had one leftover by chance. Well, Ski-Doo has opened that up a little bit with a new model they are calling Summit Edge.

Now you can get into a higher performance model in-season, even if you didn’t pull the trigger on a sled back in March.

Some of the key features of the Summit Edge are:

• 850 E-TEC only (no turbo)
• Short tunnel
• SHOT Start standard
• Lightweight ski spindle
• Small diameter handlebar grips
• Low handlebar strap (mountain strap)
• Glove box

For track options, there are four available, which a little surprisingly includes the 175″ option not found in the Summit X:

• 154 x 2.5″
• 154 x 3.0″
• 165 x 3.0″
• 175 x 3.0″

There are two colour options available in the new 2022 Ski-Doo Summit Edge:

Ultimate Catalyst Grey/Octane Blue with panel wrap

Ultimate Black with panel wrap

Okay, down to the lowest rung of the Summit ladder, which is still a very impressive unit—the Summit SP. The Summit Sport model is no more, and the SP takes its place at the bottom. Just keep in mind, this mountain sled is still a monster! And you can buy them in-season.

What you don’t get in the Summit SP is the short tunnel, which is a bummer because that particular feature has such huge performance benefits with the reduction in drag in deep snow.

Here is a snapshot of the features of the Summit SP:

• 850 E-TEC or 600R E-TEC engine options
• Factory installed SHOT or electric start options
• No short tunnel
• HPG shocks
• Lightweight ski spindle
• Small diameter handlebar grips (yes!)
• Low handlebar strap
• Glove box

The 2022 Ski-Doo Summit SP comes in two colour options, although if you’re buying in-season you might just be stuck with whatever the dealer has on hand:

Black/Orange Crush

Black

As a little 2022 bonus, LinQ sled attachments will come standard on all Ski-Doo models, across the board. This is a win-win! For customers who are going to buy accessories anyway, it’s one less “additional” expense on what is probably already a pretty painfully-sized invoice. And for those who are maybe on the fence about accessorizing (they want to, they just don’t know it yet), Ski-Doo provides an incentive to go with OEM accessories rather than some aftermarket competition. And you might as well. The Ski-Doo accessory catalogue takes up more space on your bookshelf than your average sized encyclopedia, and it’s full of really well designed products.

The last thing to note about the 2022 Ski-Doo snowmobile lineup is that their spring order period ends a couple of weeks earlier this year than usual, so if you want to nail down one of those spring order only units, it must be done by March 31, 2021.

– MS