How come it so often comes down to me? O'tay:
The obvious:
H1 has more clearance, more dramatic approach/departure angles, more protection and design to take abuse, greater water depth, CTIS and other features that overall make it a more formiddable offroad vehicle. As in...no doubt.....I think it's pretty obvious, but here's an intersting perspective:
I've hosted and run many events....I've seen places where the H2 just couldn't get through and the H1 could: These were very steep & nasty ruts where the extremes of the H1 made the difference. I can't think of too many places the 2 can go that the 1 can't...(maybe a GM service bay???

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On the flip side...I've many times observed that more often the H1's are having problems on the trails. I'm not referring to mechanical (although they do seem to have reliability issues...but then again, we're all about 1 year old or newer...give it time). A great example would be our recent White Mountain run.
All the 2's went right through a rutted area on the trail, whereas the 1's always had a tire up in the air and about half of them got held-up and were spinning tires, some even had to take 3-5 runs at the same rut just to finally get through it. The lack of suspension articulation AND the extra 2,000 of weight hinder the beast. I sat there and watched in dismay as each H2 cake-walked through...and most the 1's were spinning wheels and throwing dust...BUT, not the better drivers!!!!
At our Slitherfest (desert night run)...again, the H2's went right up the loose & rutted hill, but we had 2-3 H1's that were having all sorts of issues...BUT, not the better drivers!!!
It always comes down to the driver and thier (note that I don't say HIS) ability to know their vehicle and how to make it work best.
Given a moderate trail and driver....the H2 will likely go better and go through smoother. However...in the hands of a capable driver who knows the rig...the H1 is your offroad victor.
....at least until Jim puts a 4" lift on his 2 and shows us otherwise
