Side-by-side utilities (aka UTVs) are fun and useful machines. Add on Can-Am Apache tank tracks for the snow, though, and they gain a whole new season of usefulness. I went to Utah to find out how.
There are two versions of the Apache system: XC and Backcountry.
XC sees a few improvements for 2025, but will still fit on most of the company’s machines, including those made before 2019. The tracks are made to fit Defender, Maverick, and Commander vehicles.
Installation takes two people about an hour on most rigs. But after the first install, in which frame mounts are added to the steering arms, installation is as easy as changing a tire and wheel.
Big improvements come to newer machines via the new Backcountry track system. It works on 2019 and newer machines, and comes in either a standard or longer track (LT) model. Both have larger lugs, a better pitch position, and an anti-rotation arm with a pre-loaded spring to improve traction and stability in the snow.
Once installed, an optional power steering module upgrade and other accessories can be fitted to further enhance the tracks’ function.
I tried both the XC and Backcountry tracks on near-identical Can-Am Defender side-by-sides in the heavy snow found in northern Utah. The tracks reduce top speed in the UTVs to about 24 mph (39 km/h) and, while they lift the vehicles a bit, retain remarkably good stability. Because the speed is reduced, the chances of rollover are slim, even when pushing the rig to its limits.
The goal of Can-Am’s engineers with the new Backcountry tracks was to improve traction, floatation (riding atop of instead of through the snow), and stability. The differences between the older system and the new Backcountry design are visually and tactilely obvious.
Looking at them compared to the older XC design, one can see the larger track width, the difference in both tread and materials, and the more robust tension and wheel setup. In the machine, one can feel the difference in performance readily.
In the Cache National Forest near Beaver Creek Lodge in Utah, a small group of us headed out on top of the high-altitude snowpack. We drove through the evergreen timber to a large, open field of snow. The trail ride gave me a feel for the handling characteristics of the Apache tracks in semi-curated and controlled riding.
But now there was an open field. So I threw out the rulebook and tried my best to get stuck, tip over, or otherwise make this tank-tracked UTV look bad on camera.
Nothin’ doin’ on that. No matter how hard I ran it, how fast I jerked the wheel into a turn, or how stupidly I smashed into fresh powder, the Defender on Apaches stayed upright and moving. Even the older XC tracks on the other machine were incapable of allowing one to get stuck. Photographer Ben Dann brought out a drone and filmed me turning circles in the snow, to compare turning radius between the older XC setup and the new Backcountry LTs. They’re similar, though the newer Apache design came in with a slightly tighter radius.
The only real downer to the new Apache Backcountry track system is its price tag, which starts at US$5,549. It comes as a kit for full installation, but that’s fairly steep given the overall price for one of the machines it fits on is in the $35,000 range.
For those who need the snow utility of the tracks, though, I'm sure that they’re worth every cent. For us, the machines were useful for loading firewood for an outdoor hotdog cookout in the winter sun. For the farmer, rancher, or woodland manager who needs 365-day access to the unpaved and unimproved, these are add-ons to an already useful workhorse.
Product page: Can-Am Apache Tracks System
