EDITORS’ CHOICE
ARIENS PROFESSIONAL 32
HYDRO RAPIDTRAK
Price: $3,499 | Power: Gas | Engine
displacement: 420cc | Electric
start: Ye s | Battery: No | Drive
system: Hydrostatic, with track
| Speeds: Variable, forward and
reverse | Width: 32 in. | Stages: 2 |
Chute: Remote, manual
The Professional 32 Hydro
RapidTrak sits near the top of Ari-
ens’s commercial product line,
designed for very heavy residen-
tial or commercial use. We cleared
our test area in two minutes and 45
seconds and found this Ariens, for
its size and weight, simple to oper-
ate. The RapidTrak features three
positions, adjusted by pulling a sin-
gle lever beneath the right hand
grip. The first position lifts the back
of the track up so the machine rides
on the two large drive wheels, mak-
ing it very nimble. The second sets
the track flat for normal operation,
and the third puts pressure on the
front of the auger housing, help-
ing it dig into hard, packed snow.
The hydrostatic drive, paired with
a differential, helps make it as easy
to turn as a wheeled machine. In
the snowbank test, we were able
to creep slowly into the dense,
packed material, break through
without pushing or clogging, and
throw our wet sawdust 36 feet. The
remote-operated chute and deflec-
tor should throw actual snow much
farther, enough to clear wide drive-
ways and parking lots.
The rig also comes equipped with
heated hand grips, a halogen light,
and drift cutters. For the price, this
had better be the best.BEST FOR SNOWBANKS
CRAFTSMAN SB650Price: $1,399 | Power: Gas | Engine displace-
ment: 357cc | Electric start: Ye s | Battery: No |
Drive system: Friction disc | Speeds: 6 forward,
2 reverse | Width: 28 in. | Stages: 3 | Chute:
Remote, electricThe Craftsman SB650 has one more “stage”
than most snowblowers its size. Normally,
the auger pushes snow to the center, which
is swept toward the intake housing and the
impeller by the snow behind it. The SB650’s
third stage acts like a screw, pulling snow back
into the impeller faster. This is an advantage
when clearing dense snow left by plows at the
end of a driveway or heavy, wind-driven drifts.
The third stage breaks its way into the dense
snow, rather than just scraping the edge of it.
In testing, the SB650 felt much like any other
snowblower. Power steering facilitated quick
turns when we pulled a trigger below either
hand grip to turn in that direction. One advan-
tage with this type of system is that the axle is
normally locked, which made it easy for us to
keep nice, straight lines. It took us three min-
utes and nine seconds to clear the 8 by 6-foot
area in our test. But, when we got to the snow-
bank, we were able to see how the third stage
worked as it consumed the dense pile of wet
sawdust, throwing it 27 feet.
The cherry on top: The SB650 comes with
long, poly skid shoes that slide easily on pave-
ment and won’t mar or scuff walkway pavers or
fancy garage floor coatings.November/December 2020 73