The QuadSki: A New Way of Off-Road Travel

Amphibious vehicles are nothing new. They range from hardcore military applications to the purely recreational AmphiCar that lured consumers in the 1960’s. However, today, amphibious vehicles aren’t exactly commonplace. While many of us would like the ability to trek our quads across the lake, the closest we come is fording rivers with snorkel.

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine this: You’re riding a mountain trail with a few of your best friends on a beautiful Summer day. The sun is out and the smell of dust fills the air as you approach a local mountain lake. While your buddies pull up to the shore and turn off their motor, you keep driving, much to their surprise.

“Bob!” they yell.
“Dude! What are you doing? Bob?”
You don’t reply and keep driving towards the lake when suddenly the yells of your cohorts turn to ooh’s and ahh’s.

The new Quadski, an innovation of Gibbs Sports Amphibians, aims to make that scene a reality. The high speed amphibious vehicle, which is a combination of ATV and jet-ski went into production in early November at a facility in Detroit – seeking to bring a new niche to the off-road vehicle market with a goal of producing 1,000 quad skis in the first year of production. While it’s not exactly flooding the market, those first 1,000 guys or gals to own one will likely be the envy of their friends.

The Quadski is reported by Gibbs Sports Amphibians to really be the first vehicle of its kind, combining high speed personal watercraft with an all-terrain vehicle all in one. With top speeds up to 45 MPH, the quad can handle trail riding while also allowing riders to ride directly into a body of water at which point the wheels turn to a horizontal position and the buoyant ride becomes equivalent to a jet ski. The thing is cool. Period. But the real question will be whether or not consumers purchase the vehicle and it withstands the test of time, or if the passing fad of the AmphiCar of the ‘60’s will be the same fate in store for the QuadSki.

With a price tag of $40,000, the QuadSki will be a hefty investment and with additional working parts, one can imagine there may be additional maintenance and things to go wrong. That doesn’t mean I still won’t want one.