Chisel Chat - Fall 2026

There have been changes in our snow drag chisel line-up for this season so we thought we'd update our popular "Chisel Chat" section with the latest information to help you make the best traction choices for your race sled. With the power that modern race sleds produce, traction is the key to winning races.

Let's start with some basics:

Less thrusting surface (generally narrower) results in more penetration.

Generally speaking, narrower chisels have less thrusting surface to move snow (and the sled) but penetrate better in ice. If you are ice dragging, wide body chisels are not for you. In snow drag situtations, you can occaisionaly find icy conditions at the locations you race so this may be a consideration.

More thrusting surface hooks harder in snow.

In conditions softer than hard ice, more thrusting surface grabs more snow and provides more traction or thrust for the sled to accelerate it. The softer the snow, the more important thrusting surface becomes.

Weight counts.

Lighter is faster and quicker accelerating. Narrower is generaly lighter with chisels of similar construction. The weight of the sled is also a consideration. A heavy sled / rider combo with big 4 - stroke torque will force the chisels to penetrate harder and may need the heavier / wider chisel for an optimum setup. A super lightweight high revving pro-stock combo will likely get better results from a slightly narrower traction combination.

As we compare wieghts of different chisels here, keep in mind that wider chisels may allow you to run fewer of them in your pattern so effective weight increases may not be as dramatic.

The chisels compared.

For every combination, we configured the chisel ready to run, complete with nut and support plate if required, for a fair comparison of the styles. All setups are 2" overall installed height from the surface of the track. This would be 3/4" chisel height above a 1.25" track.

Triggers - The popular round carbide tipped stud. Configured with aluminum nut and round aluminum support plate.

Steel Chisel Tooth - A long time drag racing favorite. Configured with aluminum nut and round aluminum support plate.

Traction Nut - Newer on the scene, these replace the nut in the stud configuration with a tall wide version while still allowing steel stud tip penetration. For our comparison, the traction nuts were installed on Triggers with round aluminum support plates.

Thrust Claw - The newest aluminum wide body chisel in our lineup. The Thrusting Surface king that is still easy to install / remove and budget friendly while including advanced traction features. Configured with round aluminum support plate and both steel and titanium base studs for comparison.

Scorpion - Versatility. Narrower than the Thrust Claw, but lighter and as easy to install. Configured with a round aluminum support plate and both steel and titanium base studs for comparison.

Badger - Narrower than the Scorpion but with advanced traction features like an angled thrust surface. Configured with a round aluminum support plate and both steel and titanium base studs for comparison.

Raven - The light weight champ. Similar thrust to the Badger but with integral support plate that eliminates the round aluminum backer. Configured with steel and titanium base studs for comparison.

SnoMaxx - The most versatile integal backer aluminum wide body chisel. More thrusting surface that the Raven, but also heavier. Configured with both steel and titanium base studs for comparison.

RavenMaxx - The largest thrusting surface of the integral backer chisels. Popular on outlaw sleds. Configured with both steel and titanium base studs for comparison.

The Charts

Here the chisels are charted for both weight and thrusting area. For those that use base studs, the weights with both steel bases (in blue) and titanium (in orange) are shown. Thrusting surfaces are measured as the surface area of the chisel above the lug of the track (3/4" in height). Of note, The Thrust Claw is heavier than a traditional stud combination (the amount varying with the base stud used) but has 4 TIMES THE THRUSTING SURFACE. The larger thrusting surface means you may need to use fewer of them in your pattern which offsets the weight difference somewhat. Also of note, the comparison does not take into account the face design of the chisel. For example, the steel chisel tooth and all the aluminum versions use a flat thrust face across the width of the chisel. The Trigger is a round stud which reduces its effectiveness to push against the snow. This difference would exaggerate the gap between the Trigger and the aluminum wide body chisels even further in their effectiveness.

Cost is always a factor when building your race sled. For this comparison we compared the current cost in Cdn $ vs the thrusting surface area of the different styles. A bang for your buck comparison if you will. The cost includes the total cost if you were starting from scratch and had to purchase the chisels and support plates, base studs, etc. The Traction Nut figures include the cost of a Trigger and support plate. If you already have those, adding the Traction Nuts is the clear low cost bang for your buck winner with the easiest installation as well. If you are looking for more thrusting surface, it's impossible to beat the Thrust Claw, especially if you already have support plates and are considering cutting down some old 5/16" studs to use for bases.

This is a bunch of information to absorb, but we hope it answers some of your questions.