Are they useful in "Real Canadian" Muskeg? How about asphalt?
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I just noticed that you are also interested in using whatever you get on asphalt sometimes. That's not a really good terrain for this kind of machine, in general. It is definitely hard on rubber tracks and should be avoided. Plastic tracks might be okay, but I think they would be a mite slippery just as they would be on granite. Actually, these machines really shine in off-road conditions. I think I would get a bike for the five km of blacktop you have there. Maybe a fat tire bike with a trailer for getting groceries and such. Folks here use them year 'round and they seem to do well in all but deep snow (more than 6" (20cm)). If you have snow like that though, the aatv with tracks would be a good solution. The videos I have seen of AATVs on ice and snow lead me to believe they are loads of fun in that environment.
I live in Northern Alberta, and we have a ton of the same style country except that there are spindly trees everywhere and we don't see much rock. So basically completely different... But we do have the muskeg, I'm pretty sure we invented it actually.
With my 8x8 with tires only, loaded with probably 400 pounds of gear/people, it will often get stuck in deep mud where the body gets high-centred and there is no weight on the tires any more, and when the muskeg becomes more like a watery soup and the layer of grass becomes sparse. In either case, you typically see the terrain change before you plunge into it and you get the chance to orient the machine so your winch is facing a tree and you're close to the left or right tree line.
Your challenge is the lack of trees. I would invest in hip waders, and would get several poles like the ones in the 4th photo to jam into the ground and winch from, if you don't want to spend the extra on rubber tracks which are around $2500 - $3000 new plus shipping.
Buying a machine with an Alternator or getting an Alternator Kit will ensure your battery doesn't die while you are heavily using your winch.
At the very least the hip waders will help you walk the few miles back to town.
Like the other guy said, knowing how to get 'around' can be more important than being able to get 'through'.
I found my 8x8 to be horribly tippy on water. Unless I install pontoons to stabilize, I will not be going on any deep open water with this machine as my custom roof and roll cage makes it too top-heavy.
Another option that we use a lot in Alaska when there are no trees available is to carry a small Danforth boat anchor (the ones with the pivoting flukes). Just jam the flukes into the ground and attach the winch to the anchor. This method works in some pretty soft ground as long as there is some vegetation/roots for the anchor to bite into.
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