One of the most useful accessories that you can buy for your Polaris RzR, or any UTV for that matter, is a good quality windshield to help keep the elements at bay. There are many options on the market from multiple companies. There are full glass windshields with wipers included, polycarbonate “plastic” windshields, flip-up windshields, fold-down windshields, half windshields and everything in between. With all the options out there, we are creating this guide to help you navigate through many of the styles and help pick the windshield that is the best one for you.
UTV Windshield Tech
The first thing that you will want to determine is what material you want your windshield made out of. The top three materials that windshields are made out of are glass, acrylic and polycarbonate. There are advantages and disadvantages to each. Some cons will greatly outweigh the pros and make it an easy choice. Others are more of a toss up and you will need to decide what is right for you.
Acrylic windshields are the least expensive ones available. Acrylic is known under trade names such as Lucite and Plexiglass. The advantages of acrylic is that they are the least expensive and are the clearest material of any on the market. Acrylic is even clearer than glass. Despite the fact that acrylic is fairly scratch resistant and even stronger than glass, we’re not fans of this material for UTV windshields. Because acrylic is not laminated like traditional glass windshields and is somewhat brittle, a hard impact can actually shatter the material, causing injury to you and your passengers. It is also prone to cracking at pinch points and areas without a lot of continuous surface area.
Glass windshields are generally the most expensive ones available. The scratch resistance of glass cannot be beat. UTV glass windshields are tempered or laminated just like a car windshield, so that if even they are broken, they will not shatter. The disadvantages of glass windshields that that they’re heavy, bulky and easily broken. A stray rock thrown from a rider in front of you can crack the windshield fairly easily. Because they need to be kept rigid, they’re also kept in bulky frames that can somewhat reduce your field of view.
Polycarbonate is the most widely used material in UTV windshields and for good reason. Polycarbonate is almost impossible to break. It is commonly used as a bulletproof screen. Polycarbonate is most commonly referred to under the trade names of Lexan and Makrolon. It is the strongest material available for windshields and has very similar clarity to acrylic. The downside is that standard polycarbonate is very easy to scratch. For this reason, many manufacturers offer a hard-coated polycarbonate windshield, that significantly increases its scratch resistance making it similar or even harder to scratch than acrylic.
UTV Half Windshields
Half windshields are great for warmer weather riding where you still want to feel the breeze from the wind, but don’t want to the full force of the air rushing in your face for higher speed riding. Half windshields also work fairly well at reducing the amount of mud or dust getting in your eyes. Our experience is that half windshields with a lip at the top of them work best at directing dust over the driver’s and passenger’s eyes, while still allowing some air into the cabin.
The half windshield from SuperATV is made in the USA from 1/4″ polycarbonate and is available with and without a hard coating. It is very simple to take off with two heavy duty velcro clamps and will work with both factory and most aftermarket roll cages. The lip of the SuperATV half windshield is a bit higher than some others on the market which works to direct dust over the occupants better than many lower sitting ones. It is available in clear, light tint and dark tint. We highly recommend the light tint version over the others since it is the only one available with a hard coat. The tint looks really good and helps out on sunny days, but can make it a little tougher to see at night. However. the light tint doesn’t hinder too much if you have good lighting. Click here to help support UTV Revolution and check the best price on Amazon.
Another made in the USA product, the Clearly Tough half windshield is one of the more affordable hard coated polycarbonate options on the market. We like the height of the windshield and the four velcro tightening straps used to tighten it down. The location of the mounting points allow it to be used with just about any roll cage and multiple designs of other aftermarket accessories such as mirrors and pillar mounted lighting without any sort of interference. The 3/16″ hard coated polycarbonate holds up well against scratches. Clearly Tough comes with the strongest warranty of any poly windshield we have come across with a five year guarantee against cracking, crazing or yellowing. Click here to help support UTV Revolution and to check the best price on Amazon.
If affordability is your main concern, the acrylic 1/4″ thick half windshield from OMT may good be a good option for you. The thicker material is slightly less prone to cracking than the 3/16″ acrylic options and has fairly good scratch resistance. The lip of the windshield isn’t quite as pronounced as most polycarbonate options on the market and as such, doesn’t help as much to direct wind flow, however does work better than no windshield at all. The clarity of this windshield is fantastic though. The OMT is held on via four velcro clamping mechanisms, which hold the windshield on very securely. However, placement of the lower clamps may interfere with some aftermarket accessories that share real estate in this area. Click here to help support UTV Revolution and to check the best price on Amazon.
UTV Full Windshields
Full windshields are the best for keeping the elements at bay. However, they can impair your field of view when they get dirty and are usually limited to fitting on factory roll cages. Some will fit with modifications and the closer to factory style an aftermarket cage is, the better your chances of making a full windshield work.
The Lock & Ride full windshield is an option offered by Polaris that works for the 14-18 Turbo and XP 1000. Made of 3/16″ hard coated polycarbonate, it is very scratch resistant. The patented Lock & Ride technology makes installation a simple as can be, taking less than a minute to take off or put back on. The weatherstripping at the bottom fits closely to the cowl and the windshield has an additional bend that wraps around the side of the cage, offering superior resistance to the elements. If we were to pick one flaw, we think that the polycarbonate should be a little thicker. With it being a full windshield and having so much surface area, it flexes fairly easily and can shudder a bit against the wind. Otherwise, it is a great product and fairly reasonably priced considering it is a factory manufacturer branded part. Click here to help support UTV Revolution and check the best price on Amazon.
SuperATV offers their full windshield in both standard and hard coated versions, along with tinted a clear. The polycarbonate windshield is solid as can be at 1/4″ thick and does not rattle at all. SATV uses the same heavy duty velcro clamps as on their half windshields, so installation is quick and easy. We’ve found the hard coated version extremely good at holding up to significant scratches and are impressed with the quality of the made in the USA product. Click here to help support UTV Revolution and check the best price on Amazon.
SuperATV also offers a vented windshield for those that are looking for a little extra air inside their cabs or for those that run full enclosures to help with keeping the windshield from fogging up. Like their other hard coated full windshield, this is also 1/4″ thick and hard coated on both sides for superior scratch resistance. The polycarbonate vents are easily moved from side to side with a bent section of the poly plate and are able to be operated with bulky gloves on. The vents do obscure vision slightly to anything right in front of your SxS, but no worse than any other vented windshields we have seen on the market. It’s a great value upgrade at only $25 more than their regular full windshield. Click here to help support UTV Revolution and check the best price on Amazon.
Spike Powersports offers this full windshield for the factory Polaris cage. The unique knob clamping design used takes only a few minutes to take on and off and provides a secure fit to the roll cage. Using hard coated 1/4″ polycarbonate, the windshield is both very tough and extremely resistant to scratching. A couple of drawbacks is that it doesn’t sit closer to the cage itself, so more wind or elements can get through and the bend at the cowl can be initially distracting. However, this bend does allow you to run a light bar at the cowl if you choose that as a mounting point. Click here to help support UTV Revolution and check the best price on Amazon.
The full glass windshield from Inner Demon Powersports looks like at home on the Polaris RzR. The vented design helps to keep fogging up of the windshield from hindering your view and the vents can be ordered to match your factory Polaris colors. While heavy because of the glass, Inner Demon does help to keep the weight down some by using CNC cut aluminum on the frame. They have also maximized the visibility of the windshield as much as possible with the frame design. The vents are not able to be closed off, so you will get some water seepage in during wet conditions, however this helps tremendously in keeping the dust down when it is dry out. Click here to help support UTV Revolution and check the best price on Amazon.
