What’s a “Side by Side”? We investigate. Spoiler – they’re cool!.
Geovanni and I ventured a couple miles from the Sport Kilt HQ to a local outfitter that rents ATV’s, UTV’s, and Jet Skis. Having ridden the four-wheeler style ATV’s in the past, we wanted to see what a UTV ride was like.
UTV (Utility Vehicles), also called Side By Sides, are gaining popularity, we see them all around town, even on the city streets where they can be street-legal (on roads up to 50mph). The roll cage surrounding the cabin provides a sense of security not found on a four-wheeler, and the long travel suspension soaks up rocks, bumps and whatever obstacle you put in front of it with relative ease.
Our guide for the day at Wasatch Excursions was Garett, who knows these trails like a pro, and led us riding an ATV.
We had a safety talk, then promptly started cruising up hard packed terrain on a trail going up into the Wasatch Mountains.
The first hour took us through all sorts of terrain, from desert sand, to pine forests, and aspen lined trails, hard pack dirt, and rocky steep drives.
We got to our first water crossing, which we were stoked about because it was a hot day, and we wanted to see what riding through a giant puddle would be like in our CanAm Maverick 1000.
Our truck plowed through the water, which shot up above the roof, and plenty got inside the cab. We were pretty soaked, including my kilt, but it only took about 30 minutes to dry off in the Utah heat.
Driving this hybrid between a Jeep and Trophy-Truck was a wild experience, the terrain it can roll over with ease is quite impressive. It’s also nice to get the air traveling in the cabin, to add a sense of speed to the ride, and helps you literally touch the environment, whether it be mud, sand, dust, water, or even the smell of the different flora you encounter.
My Ultimate Kilt in the Hawaiian tartan performed great in the water/dirt/dust, and I got a lot of questions about it from our guide, who can’t wait to try one out. All in all it was a great day. We left a little dirtier than when we started, but with smiles that would last the entire weekend.
Sport Kilt Gear
Hawaiian Ultimate Kilt
Diamond Cuff Kilt Hose – Charcoal
