“Where’s the Seat?” Taking a Closer Look at the Catalyst Saddle

Ever since the all-new Catalyst models burst onto the scene 2 years ago one of the most often repeated posts that we read on social media is along the lines of “for $XX,000 I should get a bigger seat…I’m old dammit!”.

Well, at first glance, we see why some folks have that opinion…the Catalyst seat does look small compared to some of the seats that we had a decade or more ago. Butt, let’s take a closer look…

We believe the vast majority of the seat comments are posted by people that have spent less than 2 hours riding a Catalyst, or have never ridden one at all…change our mind on this.

Us riders and consumers are always demanding lighter weight snowmobiles. Take a look at the seat designs of past models, most seat designs really did have a lot of bulk, weight and excess everything that really didn’t enhance comfort or the overall ride experience.

In the past 20-ish years, one of the models that we often hear mentioned as a fan-favorite for all-around rider comfort is the seat configuration that was on many 2010-2011 Crossfire models. Riders whom rode that model absolutely loved that seat and people still seek those seats out today to retrofit to their earlier models. Newsflash: take a look at this image comparing a 2011 Crossfire seat to a 2025 Catalyst seat…the seating area is nearly identical. Is it because that old Crossfire seat looked more traditional (ie: big, bulky) that riders were willing to get on, ride it, and see how comfortable that it was?

While we know we like the Catalyst seat profile, we thought we’d ask a few others that have spent some considerable time in the saddle what they think about the Catalyst seat…

Zach Herfindahl Racing: The Catalyst seat has worked well for us, it keeps us positioned where we need to be on the snowmobile for optimum control in the often-unpredictable race courses we compete on. We do make a modification though, that actually makes the seating area smaller than stock.

ArcticInsider: whaaat, even smaller than stock?

ZH #312: Yes, by creating a saddle in front of the seating area we are able to react even faster to changing terrain.

Rob Hallstrom, of the 3 Old Guys Ride across North America.

ArcticInsider: Rob, knowing that the 3 of you in your group span ages from mid-60’s to mid-70’s, and, the 3 of you range average in height to tall…what do you think of the seats and comfort of your 2024 Riot 600’s that you just rode 3700 miles on?

Rob: After our 5000 mile trip to Alaska on our 2023 Norseman’s (with larger seats), we too thought the seats on our 2024 Riots looked small by comparison. Not long into the ride though we realized that the new seat profile was every bit as comfortable as other seat configurations that we had raced or adventured on. One in our group did feel like a softer seat foam would have been to his liking, I understand that has since been tweaked.

Seat foam density has always been a moving target from day one, literally. If a person could show 10 different seat density’s to 10 different riders, it is nearly certain that each of those 10 riders will have their own opinion on their favorite. All 2024 Catalyst models had a given seat foam density, and most of the 2025 models had the same. The exception to this is the 2025 858 models, a slightly softer seat foam density was introduced on those models at the time of their production. Feedback was favorable on that and all 2026 model Catalyst models will be produced with this latest slightly softer foam.

For anyone wishing to add this softer seat foam to your Catalyst it can be ordered through your local dealer. Part number 617-00016 and the price as of this writing is $141.95 .

So, if you haven’t ridden a Catalyst yet, get out on one this winter and see if that seat puts a smile on your face…we are thinking it will.