Click here for the detailed text review, with photos, of the 2012 Polaris Sportsman Touring h50 H.O. ATV.

by Lance Schwartz

A company that proclaims its ATV as the “Hardest Working. Smoothest Riding” better have a product that can back that claim up.  When Polaris redesigned its current big-bore Sportsman line a few years ago, the replacement was a much- needed improvement over the previous generation. Polaris is a thriving American brand that has continually evolved, introduced new models that redefine market segments, and developed a reputation for thinking outside the box. Now Polaris is reinventing itself in an economic climate where survival is the primary goal.  In 2012, Polaris returns to the 2-Up market they helped create with a more muscular and refined Sportsman Touring 850 H.O.

During testing, I logged approximately 100 miles aboard my demo Sportsman Touring 850 H.O.,  zipping down tight trails, wallowing through murky mud holes, bouncing over jagged blast rock, and hauling just about anybody I could talk into hopping on the rear Comfort Ride passenger seat.  My thoughts?  The 2012 Sportsman 850 H.O. has muscle, finesse, capability to conquer the harshest terrain, and the smoothest ride in the 2-Up class.

by Mike Calabro

Whatever you want to call it, this is awesome. There are millions of weird videos floating around the blogosphere. Most of them are either funny or beautiful. This video is both. I love the quality of the filming. There really isn’t much else to be said about this than has already been said — except that if you haven’t it watched it yet, you have to. Right now.

--Chad Love

A controversial bill designed to limit the ability of the Idaho Fish & Game Department to regulate ATV hunting in backcountry areas has narrowly passed the state's senate resource committee. If signed into law, state wildlife officials warn they'll lose one of their key management tools.

From this story on necn.com:

The Senate Resources Committee approved the bill on a 5-4 vote, with two Republicans joining committee Democrats in casting no votes. The slim margin of victory in committee, coupled with objections lodged by the state's top fish and game official, could hamper the bill's chances of clearing the full Senate. The measure, approved in the House earlier this month, takes aim at Fish and Game rules that require ATV-mounted hunters in a third of Idaho's hunting units to avoid off-road vehicle trails. Agency officials claim regulating where hunters using ATVs can travel is a crucial tool for managing big game populations. A similar measure was tabled last year so an interim committee could hammer out a compromise.