Ice fishing atv, also snow removal, blade?

[CoachWalleye74]

I have a new 2022 Polaris 570 sportsman that just arrived at the dealership and is having my accessories installed. Using for ice fishing and snow removal. I can get a 52 inch Polaris blade or a 60 inch blade. The 52 is in stock, but the 60 is back ordered for 2 to 3 weeks. I don’t have an overly large driveway, my sidewalks are 48 inches wide, and ny enclosed trailer ramp opening is 64 inches wide. I was thinking about going with the 60 but I’m not wanting to tear up any grass on the edges of my sidewalk. From what I’m reading if you angle the 60 inch blade at the full 30° it measures just under 50 inches, which would be OK on my sidewalk I think.
Any recommendations on whether to go with the 52 or 60?

[gorf37]

I'm rural so I'm not really savvy about the core of this question - the one thing I would offer you is my plow doesn't like throwing heavy or packed snow with the plow all the way to the side because it loads the mounts up with a lot of torque.  I have 5 angle choices and do the bulk of my plowing in L1/mid/R1, reserving L2/R2 for light fluffy stuff.  Maybe the mounts are bomb-proof on the new plow you're considering, but it has been important for me so I thought I would chime in.

Certainly in my rural environment wider is better, but the way your snow falls will make a big difference.  The couple days a year where we get more than 8-10" before I can get at it and it's warm (heavier & wetter snow) can make my whole rig float, so if you get a lot of really heavy snow or fast & deep accumulations, narrower could be the ticket.

[nindo24]

You really want to get a blade that is larger than the area you're going to be plowing?? How is this even a question? It doesn't matter what you want, what matters is what you can actually use. The smaller one is still technically too big for your sidewalk, unless you angle it that is. And that will be easier to angle and make it fit than the 60". If you have to use the words "I think" in your justification then you need to get the smaller of the two.

[badger132]

The limit for my ATV is the weight. You have to have enough weight and traction to shove all the snow over to the side. The first pass is rarely a problem, but the wider area you need to clear, each pass gets heavier and heavier, since you have all the snow from each pass piling up.
Plowing is so fast, I really doubt you would miss the few more inches- If you can get it in 10 passes with the narrow, you might get it with 9 with the wider blade.
As long as the narrow is wide enough that even angled it takes a swipe wide enough to be wider than your tires, I would stick with the smaller one. Most plowing you will do is with an angled blade, depending on your driveway configurations.

[matzilla]

if i was doing a sidewalk i'd get the 52" - are you planning on keeping the blade mounted when you go fishing? You mention the trailer ramp width - the plow will dismount from the atv in a matter of minutes, it is a very easy process. I would never keep a blade attached when on the ice....how would you winch yourself out of trouble? Get a winch pulley lift system too

[Roccus]

The smaller plow will tax your machine less..I have a 50" Denali  blade in a 850 canam outlander 1 up.. it's perfect for making paths to fishing spots and doing walkways and a drive way... bigger isnt always better.

[CoachWalleye74]

I’m going with the 52 inch blade. I will remove the blade when I am Not fishing and only have it on when doing a small driveway and about 30 yards of sidewalk.