Cold Tested: Composit Snowmobile Track

Snowmobilers and snowmobile manufacturers in North America essentially have one choice for traction and flotation: Camso, the company formerly known as Camoplast. Camso has a full portfolio of snowmobile tracks that meet the traction needs of all segments of snowmobiling, but Composit International is a new snowmobile track brand unveiled in North America last year that could make in-roads to the snowmobile market. We tested its Talon 32 track on our 2015 Polaris 800 Indy SP demo sled last winter.

Composit snowmobile tracks are manufactured in Russia and exported to Composit International in Minnesota for distribution throughout the United States and Canada, said Dale Fett, owner of Composit International. Composit’s main line of business has been to supply rubber and plastic products, piping, tubing and conveyers to the mining industry in Siberia, Fett said. The company has made snowmobile tracks since the early 1990s, but their use has been confined to Russian snowmobile brands.

Composit snowmobile track
Clips were tightly and neatly pressed against the thick, 2-ply carcass of the Composit snowmobile track we tested. Click to enlarge.

Testing a Composit snowmobile track was one of our most highly anticipated product tests last winter. We first touched and inspected Composit snowmobile tracks at the Haydays grass drag and swap meet event in September 2014. The tracks on display looked robust and well built, and so did our test track when we received it last fall. Edges were neatly trimmed without the fuzzy white material protruding from between the rubber layers, and clips were tightly and neatly pressed against the thick, 2-ply track carcass.

The Talon track we tested weighed 46.95 pounds, and the Indy’s stock Rip Saw II track weighed 38.35 pounds, according to an electronic shipping scale. Fett pointed to the Composit track’s thicker internal fabric and track clips made from higher-grade metal for the roughly 8.5-pound difference. Some materials changes and design updates will result in a slight reduction in weight for Composit snowmobile tracks effective this season, Fett said.

Traction wise, the Talon 32 – “32” refers to the track’s lug height, in millimeters, which converts to 1.25 inches – was similar to the Camoplast RipSaw II that was originally on our Indy. We rode the stock sled 110 miles before installing the Composit track.

More than 400 miles of this track test were on trails with a hard, icy base under a softer couple of inches of snow. Compared to a RipSaw, it had less side bite than a well-hooked-up Yamaha RS Vector a fellow rider was driving ahead of us. Ideally we would have also had a stock Indy and gone back-to-back on the same trail to be able to tell the difference and how much was trail conditions vs. track, but we all are waiting for the perfect world, aren’t we?

Acceleration and braking with the Talon was good, but that sideways drift through corners allowed riders to rear steer the machine like an older sled and also enjoy quicker straight-line acceleration and more effective braking than experienced when riding those old snowmobiles back in the day.

The Composit Talon 32 track ran quietly and smoothly as we didn’t notice any strange noises or feel anything that signaled it was out of balance. The Talon required two tension and alignment adjustments within the first 450 miles, but it required no further adjustment through the final 400 miles of our test.

Wear and longevity are important factors for major parts like tracks. Unfortunately for our test, Mother Nature didn’t cooperate with our plan to more extensively test the track like we’d planned. Nonetheless, a close examination after 850 miles shows virtually no wear, which is impressive considering that snow was thin in most places we rode the Composit-equipped Indy last winter. Lug tips are sharp and there aren’t any signs of rubber erosion, and only a few inches, laterally, of the white rubber cords have protruded from the edges.

Editor’s Note: Every issue of Snow Goer magazine includes in-depth sled reports and comparisons, aftermarket gear and accessories reviews, riding destination articles, do-it-yourself repair information, snowmobile technology and more! Subscribe to Snow Goer now to receive issues delivered to your door 6 times per year for a low cost.

9 thoughts on “Cold Tested: Composit Snowmobile Track

  • Avatar for Larry Cochrane

    Hi, I am looking to replace my stick track on a 1999 Arctic Cat ZL600. Which track wouod you recommend for my sled??

    Reply
  • Avatar for Dale Fett

    Your stock ZL came with about a 3/4″ lug so the Composit T28-121 with a 1.1″ lug would be quite a step up. A great track for all around trail riding.
    The other option would be be the more aggressive T32-121 1.25″ track tested in the Snow Goer article. This would give more deep snow/off trail capability but will rob some speed/acceleration as the taller lugs create more drag than the stock track.
    Either track will do the job, you decide what you need your sled to do.

    Reply
  • Avatar for John Maerzluft

    Hi there. I just purchased a 2015 SR Viper S-TX with a 1.6 X 141 track on it… currently Camso has dropped this track and has “Very Limited” available tracks in the 141 segment. With Arctic Cat and Yamaha still building sleds with this size skid I was wondering if you have something available in the 141 sizing?

    Reply
  • Avatar for Dale Fett

    John:
    At this time we do not offer a 141″ track. Without going into detail about track pitches the141″ is an odd track to put on a sled that is not a mountain sled. Not sure how this decision was made but somebody in the higher brain trust of the two companies thought it was a good idea.

    Reply
  • Avatar for KEITH

    I just came off a 800 mile season with a 32s by Talon it breaks great in the corners it hooks up on railbeds better then my 1.22 ice attack. It does go into corners better and out to it does not have a stud pattern to the very outside of the track making it slide in and out corners superior. I really like this track. It is a must on a 1200 4 stroke ski Doo engine breaking due to two ply is amazing.

    Reply
  • Avatar for Beau

    I have a 1997 Arctic Cougar 550. I was looking at putting on the talon t 32 on it. I Just want to make sure with the studs it will fit. Thanks

    Reply
    • Avatar for Dale Fett

      Beau:
      I believe you are talking about the T32S pre-studded track? If memory serves me correct a 1.25″ track will fit the older Cats as I once rode a 95 Cougar and installed a 1.25″ for deep snow riding in the mountains. The studs in a T32S do not protrude much so clearance should be fine, you must have some type of tunnel protectors installed to prevent damage.

      Reply
  • Avatar for John Prusak

    I passed your note along to Dale at Composit/Fett Bros. moments ago, Beau… I’m sure he’ll be getting back to you, either directly or on this forum.

    Thanks.

    Reply
  • Avatar for Frank Pedneault

    Got a talon wt 20”x154x1.25. Pre stud For my 2015 expedition 1200 . Had to machine front shaft for idler wheels that are before drive shaft they where running on inner lugs.. I now have a howling sound very noisy at 40kmh and up notice all the idler wheels are tight rubbing on inner lugs especially top wheel even getting used ? Got this track at Royal they sold 12 of them no issues yet .. Any feed back.

    Thanks.

    Reply

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