kristi track lacing questions

a few years back I bought a KT3. like many others, it came with dis-assembled tracks. over the last few months I've made some changes, got everything back together and am about ready to splice. new to the snowcat world, I have some questions

alligator lacing vs. bolt type lacing
I have some flexco 375x but not enough to do all the drive belts. I do have more than enough flexco stainless alligator lacing. the kristi manual calls for flexco 500 bolt type on the drive belts but was considering just going with the hammer in type since I have alot more of it. am I foolish to try that?

multiple splices
the belting that came with the machine is about a foot to short. is it wise to stager my splices? how short is to short for a repair or spliced section?

any other advice for backcountry track repairs?
i plan on carrying extra grousers, guides and kleats along with hardware and extra sections of belt. but any advice is welcome. fixing tracks seems to be the norm on these machines so im trying to be prepared for it.

in a perfect world I would go down to prinoth and order brand new belting but thats just not in the budget this season. maybe next year.



also I have a build thread going over on grassroots motorsports for anyone interested in kristi #65163
one of the last KT3's ever built.

I had a bolens Huski that I used the alligator lacing on. Wasn't impressed. For a snowcat I would rather do it right once and use the bolt lacing.

Once issue it had was it would catch things occasionally and peel back some of the alligator lacing.

thats an issue i hadnt even thought of. i keep imagining it ripping out since there is no fastener or thru hole. seems like a tough trail fix just to save some money. thanks for the input!

be aware of the fact if the track stretches out too much than the flexco lacing will pull bolts through the rubber. found that out on my cat this past winter those lacing couplers will only compress so far