Big Boys Toys
Big Boys Toys
4
River Rafting & TubingGear RentalsBoat RentalsSelf-Guided Tours & RentalsStand Up Paddleboarding
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
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About
We rent fun!! High quality inner tubes to float the Madison or Jefferson River. River rafts for running rapids or fishing. Drift boats and Jon boats for fishing. Stand Up Paddle Boards for enjoying our many lakes or rivers. ATVs and snowmobiles to ride the miles and miles of trails in our surrounding National Forest land. We even have jogging strollers, high chairs and play pens so you don't have to bring these items when you come and visit.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
39 reviews
Excellent
25
Very good
3
Average
1
Poor
3
Terrible
7
HVGunks
Clintondale, NY64 contributions
Jul 2016 • Family
We rented an ATV and a side by side from Big Boys this past week. The Big Boys staff were very helpful with having the machines ready to go.
They also helped explain the BLM trails system. However they could do a lot better job with specific directions and a map. The trails are poorly mapped and if you don't know the area one could easily get lost.
BRING BEAR SPRAY! You don't want to think about it when you need it!
They also helped explain the BLM trails system. However they could do a lot better job with specific directions and a map. The trails are poorly mapped and if you don't know the area one could easily get lost.
BRING BEAR SPRAY! You don't want to think about it when you need it!
Written July 26, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kyle C
1 contribution
Jul 2019 • Solo
The crew and owner over at BBT are amazing. We have rented trailers in the past from them and everyone was so friendly and helpful. That is especially true when I had a last minute situation come up and didn’t need their c5 car trailer. I was expecting to eat a large fee but they were able to work with me as they figured the could still get it rented and got me out of my rental. I appreciate everyone here and we will certainly be back in the near future! If you are considering any other rental shop in the Bozeman area don’t! Come here instead you won’t find a better rental place in town!
Written July 20, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Michael W
2 contributions
Jan 2019 • Couples
I have been a snowmobile enthusiast since I was a small child and have not been able to do much snowmobiling in my adult life due to my choice of career. I was living overseas and decided to plan a trip to Montana for some winter sports activities with friends. I contacted Big Boys Toys and went through all of our plans with them. They were very helpful and worked to meet all my requirements. Numerous times I contacted them to verify/update/refine our plans and not once was I disappointed. I have tried to rent machines from other places in the past only to be disappointed and left with a hefty bill. For the price they charge you get more than adequate machine and customer service to go with it. They delivered the machines to the trail head for us, reported and held onto some items we had forgotten, and continued to make sure our trip went flawlessly. Just a great business overall and wanted to say thanks!
Written February 3, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lisa C
Nashville, TN143 contributions
Feb 2023
My review only is based on the fact that we live in TN and I called asking for the biggest bang for our buck and I had explained to Big Boys that I had us reservations at Summit in Big Sky, MT for a Tuesday to snowmobile and the boys were going to ride by themselves on Wednesday and Thursday. My beef....the person on the phone at Big Boys didn't tell me that there is only one place to snowmobile in the area. So Summit, where we were on Tuesday, the boys showed up Wednesday and went to the exact drop off point as Summit. Big Boys charges a $300 delivery fee. We could have saved $600 by just driving to Summit again. If the guy on the phone would have said they would be snowmobiling in the same place, they also wouldn't have done Thursday. I know the place is in it to make money, but this would have been nice to know since we were out of town and had never done this before. The helmets were cracked, some of the snowmobiles were cracked and didn't work properly.
Written February 21, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ETMTFam
Honolulu, HI11 contributions
Feb 2021
Terrible service and after reading the manager's response regarding the other complaints and issues with customers. It appears no matter what the circumstance it just couldn't have been there fault just like with us. Glad they didn't have the snowmobiles and trailers we rented and we had to find them with a company with excellent customer service.
Written March 3, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear ETMTFam,
We are very saddened to hear of the mix up with your rental dates. Big Boys Toys is under new ownership and management and we would love the opportunity to change your mind about us. Please give us a call at 406-587-4747 for a second chance!
Thank you.
Written June 8, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
byfan
Florida Keys, FL5 contributions
Jun 2014
Wow. What kind of place tries to charge you for a flat tire that happens literally 20 min after they give you the quads, threatens to charge you extra rent (4 days) for the 'days missed' from said flat tire and makes a verbal agreement with you only to back out of it when he doesn't have to deal with you in person. Joe, you're dishonest, plain and simple. I've rented quads several times... Tires are wear and tear on off road vehicles, anyone who offroads knows this. Chargeback filed with VISA and I suggest anyone who has issues with this business to do the same, because all they do is try to screw you.
Written June 16, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Joshua V
Osceola, IN2 contributions
We rented a 4 person ATV and two 2 person 4 wheelers. It was super fun and they ran great. However, I turned one of the 4 wheelers on it's side trying to do a doughnut while it was in 4 wheel drive (not smart) and put a few scratches in the front and rear left fenders. Nothing major and totally cosmetic. The owners response was that he "wanted new plastics" and that I had to pay the entire bill, which was over $800, because they had just replaced them. However it had other scratches all over and a huge section of paint that was chipped off the size of 1/2 dollar. When I asked them about this they said the guy who did that was an employee and he had paid for it. So apparently, this place just charges their customers full price to replace their stuff if you put scratches on it, and just pockets the cash. I told them it might be a better policy to allow scuffs and scratches, since they're just renting them and not selling them. They don't need to be in pristine condition. I personally would rather rent one with some scratches already knowing that if I put a couple more on it, it wouldn't matter. It just needs to run, which it did. That's not their philosophy. If you scratch, you WILL pay! They ended up making me a "deal" and I paid 1/2 the retail price for the fenders. I agreed so that I could get on with my vacation.
Written September 13, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Brad L
2 contributions
Jul 2018 • Friends
This one is really easy to write. I reserved two side by sides a couple of months ahead of time so my brothers and I could enjoy some OHV scenery in Montana. Six days before my reservation Big Boys Toys called to tell me they had a high demand for the side by sides and wanted to confirm we were still going. Joe mentioned we had first dibs given our reservation. I confirmed we wanted them for sure which he confirmed.
The morning of our reservation, we drove down out of our mountain cabin. When we stopped for breakfast I called to tell them we were on our way. He told me he had rented our vehicles to somebody else with no meaningful apology. This was unbelievable to me. He called a week ahead of time and didn’t have the courtesy to tell me he was renting them to somebody else only to wait until the day of. Absolute spineless. I regret committing my time and energy to this organization. This can happen to you. If you’re counting on a trip in the mountains riding ATV’s/OHV’s I strongly recommend going someplace else. You CAN’T count on Big Boys Toys on your vacation.
The morning of our reservation, we drove down out of our mountain cabin. When we stopped for breakfast I called to tell them we were on our way. He told me he had rented our vehicles to somebody else with no meaningful apology. This was unbelievable to me. He called a week ahead of time and didn’t have the courtesy to tell me he was renting them to somebody else only to wait until the day of. Absolute spineless. I regret committing my time and energy to this organization. This can happen to you. If you’re counting on a trip in the mountains riding ATV’s/OHV’s I strongly recommend going someplace else. You CAN’T count on Big Boys Toys on your vacation.
Written July 1, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Brad's review is not entirely accurate. Please let me explain the situation and sequence of events. Brad had a rental for one of our 2 seat UTVs for a day. We also had a large multi-day rental for both of our 2 seat UTVs scheduled for the week prior with a film crew. The weather was poor so the file crew moved their rental dates to a period that overlapped Brad's rental. We immediately called Summit All Terrain Rentals, here in Bozeman, to secure another 2 seat UTV to cover Brad's rental before we accepted the film crew's new dates. We made the reservation with Summit, so we were good. On the morning of the rental, we called Summit All Terrain Rentals to let them know we were coming to pick up the UTV. During that phone call we were told they decided to rent the UTV reserved for us and Brad to someone else. Joe immediately called Brad and tried to explain what had happened. We tried everything to fulfill this rental, but were not successful.
Written July 17, 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Georg K
1 contribution
Aug 2017 • Couples
SHORT STORY: We rented a jet ski for the whole day, got 45 working minutes out of it while paying $400 including a QUESTIONABLE REPAIR. STAY AWAY if you want to rent anything with a motor.
LONG STORY: 9:30 on 8/11/2017 we walk into Big Boy’s office to rent a jet ski which we had reserved a while in advance. The office is packed with other customers waiting in no particular order and no staff insight.
After finally being helped, we were sent outside to the jet-ski, which was dirty and looked heavily used. I already thought, I hope this thing works better than it looks.
Jeb, the “Front-End Manager” gave us a fairly rushed introduction while almost forgetting the most important thing of having the drain plug screwed in. So glad we asked, because we probably would have been charged for sinking the jet ski and the recovery despite the lack of proper introduction for novice users.
Anyway, after this 30-minute below average experience, which mainly consisted of waiting, we were excited to get to the 1.5 hour away Canyon Ferry Lake. As beginners, we very carefully put the the jet-ski into the water at a boat ramp. We also followed the instructions of Jeb to swim the jet ski out into neck-deep water without starting it. Not a “technique” we saw from other jet ski owners at the lake, but we wanted to be safe.
Finally at 1pm we took the first round on the jet ski. After we got back from our first 15-minute ride on the lake we parked the jet ski at least 80ft from the shore and swam back to shore, making sure to follow the instructions of Jeb.
After a brief break, we swam out to take another round on the jet-ski. We took a longer 30-minute cruise around the lake, but suddenly the jet-ski lost power and started stuttering. Mind you, we were in very deep water when the ski malfunctioned and did not run over anything. We were about 400ft away from shore, but to not take any chances we swam the jet ski back to shore. A great workout included for free in the rental!
Back ashore, I called the Big Boy Toy’s office immediately to inform them that something was not quite working right. Joe the “Service Manager” diagnoses the problem as a broken wear ring and adds that those break for half of the customers that rent jet-skis from them. A little bit confused that this part would break that easily and that he could pinpoint the problem exactly from afar, we swam the jet-ski another 500ft to the nearest boat ramp to avoid further damage and loaded it back onto the trailer.
Well, after almost swimming the jet-ski more than riding it we are on the way back to Bozeman to Big Boy Toy’s office (1,5 hour car ride), in full hope that we would be reimbursed for our lost rental time.
Back at the office, we talk to Jeb, who blamed us for breaking their jet ski by running over a stone, telling us we now have to pay for parts and repair. After pressing him and elaborating that we did not mishandle the jet ski and that we followed his instructions, he said quote: ”He is nice because he will not charge us for the loss of rental income in the coming days, since he had to order the wear ring which he does not have in stock”. It is clearly our fault as well, that he does not have this part in his shop which breaks 50% of the time.
After basically getting pushed out of the door while being referred to Joe the “Service Manager” who conveniently was not there at that point, but would give us a call later tonight, we left the Big Boy Toy’s location quite frustrated.
After not getting a call the same day, I finally received a voicemail on my phone from Joe the next day, in which he informed me that the jet-ski is back in working order and that we owe them another $160 for the repair. Very interesting, since Jeb said the day before that they did not have the part in stock.
Not really understanding to be liable for what seems to be a wear & tear part and paying a full day of rental for 45 minutes of riding, I call Joe back. A 30-minute phone conversation follows in which Joe constantly tells me that I rode over a stone and broke his jet ski. Additionally, I screwed up his dinner plans with his girlfriend, since he had to stay longer and fix the jet-ski. Remember, this is coming from a “manager”. Furthermore, he schools me on personal responsibility and how other customers were totally fine paying for repairs like these, which I find hard to believe. The fact that his jet skis break down 50% of the time and are maybe not properly maintained is obviously out of the question.
Over a week after the “rental” I am still waiting for the repair bill, which Joe said he will email me, although I already have been charged on my credit card for it. A call from the owner which I requested has not happened either.
If I misused the machine I would own up to my mistake. I used the machine carefully and how I was instructed.The fact that it broke so early into the rental, I was looking for a more reasonable compromise.
LONG STORY: 9:30 on 8/11/2017 we walk into Big Boy’s office to rent a jet ski which we had reserved a while in advance. The office is packed with other customers waiting in no particular order and no staff insight.
After finally being helped, we were sent outside to the jet-ski, which was dirty and looked heavily used. I already thought, I hope this thing works better than it looks.
Jeb, the “Front-End Manager” gave us a fairly rushed introduction while almost forgetting the most important thing of having the drain plug screwed in. So glad we asked, because we probably would have been charged for sinking the jet ski and the recovery despite the lack of proper introduction for novice users.
Anyway, after this 30-minute below average experience, which mainly consisted of waiting, we were excited to get to the 1.5 hour away Canyon Ferry Lake. As beginners, we very carefully put the the jet-ski into the water at a boat ramp. We also followed the instructions of Jeb to swim the jet ski out into neck-deep water without starting it. Not a “technique” we saw from other jet ski owners at the lake, but we wanted to be safe.
Finally at 1pm we took the first round on the jet ski. After we got back from our first 15-minute ride on the lake we parked the jet ski at least 80ft from the shore and swam back to shore, making sure to follow the instructions of Jeb.
After a brief break, we swam out to take another round on the jet-ski. We took a longer 30-minute cruise around the lake, but suddenly the jet-ski lost power and started stuttering. Mind you, we were in very deep water when the ski malfunctioned and did not run over anything. We were about 400ft away from shore, but to not take any chances we swam the jet ski back to shore. A great workout included for free in the rental!
Back ashore, I called the Big Boy Toy’s office immediately to inform them that something was not quite working right. Joe the “Service Manager” diagnoses the problem as a broken wear ring and adds that those break for half of the customers that rent jet-skis from them. A little bit confused that this part would break that easily and that he could pinpoint the problem exactly from afar, we swam the jet-ski another 500ft to the nearest boat ramp to avoid further damage and loaded it back onto the trailer.
Well, after almost swimming the jet-ski more than riding it we are on the way back to Bozeman to Big Boy Toy’s office (1,5 hour car ride), in full hope that we would be reimbursed for our lost rental time.
Back at the office, we talk to Jeb, who blamed us for breaking their jet ski by running over a stone, telling us we now have to pay for parts and repair. After pressing him and elaborating that we did not mishandle the jet ski and that we followed his instructions, he said quote: ”He is nice because he will not charge us for the loss of rental income in the coming days, since he had to order the wear ring which he does not have in stock”. It is clearly our fault as well, that he does not have this part in his shop which breaks 50% of the time.
After basically getting pushed out of the door while being referred to Joe the “Service Manager” who conveniently was not there at that point, but would give us a call later tonight, we left the Big Boy Toy’s location quite frustrated.
After not getting a call the same day, I finally received a voicemail on my phone from Joe the next day, in which he informed me that the jet-ski is back in working order and that we owe them another $160 for the repair. Very interesting, since Jeb said the day before that they did not have the part in stock.
Not really understanding to be liable for what seems to be a wear & tear part and paying a full day of rental for 45 minutes of riding, I call Joe back. A 30-minute phone conversation follows in which Joe constantly tells me that I rode over a stone and broke his jet ski. Additionally, I screwed up his dinner plans with his girlfriend, since he had to stay longer and fix the jet-ski. Remember, this is coming from a “manager”. Furthermore, he schools me on personal responsibility and how other customers were totally fine paying for repairs like these, which I find hard to believe. The fact that his jet skis break down 50% of the time and are maybe not properly maintained is obviously out of the question.
Over a week after the “rental” I am still waiting for the repair bill, which Joe said he will email me, although I already have been charged on my credit card for it. A call from the owner which I requested has not happened either.
If I misused the machine I would own up to my mistake. I used the machine carefully and how I was instructed.The fact that it broke so early into the rental, I was looking for a more reasonable compromise.
Written August 21, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dakota S
1 contribution
Feb 2019 • Family
This was my first and LAST time renting from big boy toys. The customer services was terrible. We had called the night before to reserve 3 snowmobiles. When we backed up to the trailer the lights wouldn’t work but it was my boyfriends truck... ( he Hauls trailers for work) so knowing it wasn’t his truck and that it was indeed the trailer the one lady Sarah I believe her name was picked up the wires that connected to the truck and 2 of the wires were cut (hints why the lights wouldn’t work.) so finally after getting the trailer working we went over the sleds and got them on the trailer. Getting up to little bear we got all the snowmobiles unloaded I noticed one of the sleds was not full of gas at all. ( which should have been noticed by Sarah who went over the snowmobiles.) we ignored it and went on with our ride. We seriously rode the road the whole 2 hours maybe that we rode. The 2019 Polaris I believe shut off and would not start so we had to tow the Polaris up onto the trailer to load it. After loading it we got the other 2 sleds loaded. We got back to town and went to drop them off. After getting there we realized she locked the hitch and we obviously couldn’t leave them. So we took them to our home and the next morning went and dropped them off. They looked over the sleds and said NOTHING! 4 days later I check my online banking and they had charged another 435 to my account so my boyfriend called up the manager (Joe) he was completely rude to him telling him it’s not his fault we caused this damage to his sleds. That it truly isn’t his problem that he let us rent 50,000 dollars worth of equipment to come back to the shop with damage. So he ended up hanging up the phone on him. Well I called back today and he was just a rude to me! So when I changed my tone and started talking to him like he was talking to me he immediately got defensive and everything was our fault. He literally was laughing at the fact. This was the worst experience I have ever felt with in any situation and I would not for a second think about renting from them again. They say they take pictures before and after the sleds go out and that’s false. They take pictures when the sleds are brand new and show them to you when you pick up the sleds pretending they just took those picture. If you do rent from this super unprofessional place make sure to take your own pictures! They are known to charge up the ass for the slightest issue that you honestly probably didn’t do. The one sled that wouldn’t start was the one we thought we were going to have been charged for but nope didn’t say anything about that sled but about the Skidoo that never even left the road! They said we were centimeters away from totally the skidoo by hooking a tow rope up to it to try to pull out the other sled. (That wasn’t the case at all! we used the 2 seater sled to pull out the Polaris) neither one of those sleds was even mentioned about any damage! I highly recommend going to SUMMIT for rentals! Big boys toys has unprofessional people in charge and it’s everyone else’s fault but their own. TERRIBLE! Please please don’t spend your money here! Go to summit! ( its right near big boys toys)
Written February 28, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rebecca D
Republic, Missouri
Is there still enough snow to rent snowmobiles in the middle of March?
Written January 14, 2021
Is it legal to ride the Dirtbikes from your rent on official streets? Kindly, Taylor
Written August 15, 2018
KevinMBZM
Bozeman, Montana
Hi!
Sorry for the delayed response. The only bike that is street legal is our TW200. However, the renter needs to have motorcycle insurance to cover the rental before taking it on the road.
Thanks!
Big Boys Toys
Written September 10, 2018
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