Backcountry Sleds?

[flypn]

Anyone know who makes backcountry haul sleds besides granite gear? recomendations appreciated.

-cheers

 

[sli74]

I don't know about pre-made sleds BUT I made my sled for under $50 with help from a couple of websites and a couple of friends (Thanks SherpaK) . . . so you can probably do the same if you don't wish to spend hundreds. Also Sean built his sled for Baxter with a set-up he bought from the following website.

www.skipulk.com

Do a search for sleds and my thread should come up with lots of advice from others on this board.

Actually, here is a link to the old thread on building sleds.
http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=3728&highlight=sled

sli74

 

[flypn]

thanks...

thanks much, I'll do some more reseach

cheers

 

[SAR-EMT40]

Built one several years ago based upon this design.
Sled info

Easy to build, carries gear nicely. Costs almost nothing. Is easily repairable if it breaks. And it doubles as a snow sled. Can't think of a reason to buy one.

There are lots of sites with a little searching and imagination.

Several modifications are possible with a little thought. Sure beats the heck out of carrying those heavy winter loads on your back

Keith

 

[John Graham]

I have a Mountainsmith sled, they are now sold by Kirafu. You can find them here:
http://kifaru.net/sleds.htm

 

[spencer]

try here

I have my own design plus links to every other design online.

give me an email if you have questions.

spencer

 

[KayakDan]

Paris Expedition Sled This is the sled I started with. It's a good size and nearly indestructable.

 

[Ed B]

Backcountry means different things to diff people...

I beleive the complexity of the sled you build or buy really depends so much on the terrain you are going to use it in. If your needs are mostly hauling gear on snowcovered logging roads or wide trails than any well put together pulk will fit most of your needs. There are several simple pulks in a booklet (pdf download) at my web site www.skipulk.com and at other sites listed above in the thread you will find good conduit designs.

If your needs involve bushwacking through close trees or tele-turns on steep terrain then the tracking of the pulk becomes essential. Tracking is substantilly improved by crossing your poles. If your definition of backcounty involves difficult terrain then you should be looking at poles that flex and do not break when you fall .... The best thing I have found so far for difficult backcountry use are fiberglass rods ( 1/2" thick).

I just got back from a trip to the MN Boundary waters. I noticed in Ely that several of the outfitters and the Boy Scout Winter Camping base all used variations of a pulk manufactured by Great Outdoor (Grand Rapids MN). It is a very well built commercial pulk but I have never seen them on a web based site. (It is similar to the price of the Granite Gear pulk- over $400) The top outfitters up there believe that it is much better than the Granite Gear pulk because of the flexible fiberglass pole design. (By the way Granite Gear is giving up pulks and most of their winter gear so hopefully you will see some sales prices soon.)

Any way, the fiberglass rods described in the best pulks at www.skipulk.com site are quite similar to the poles used on the Great Outdoor pulk. If your "backcountry" use involves steep hills and bushwacking through trees off trail then I recommend you give the fiberglass poles a good look. I am sure there are other avid backcountry skiers out there who would disagree but that is my 2 cents...

(In the interests of disclosure.. I should mention that I am biased - since I do sell fiberglass pulk poles. Thanks sli74 for mentioning the website.

Pulky Ed (Ed B)

 

[Doc McPeak]

Hey, great site and book, Pulky Ed! And Spencer, and great scoops everybody else!

My first use of a sled is coming around lunch time tomorrow, but I don't have the time to do more than drill a couple of tie-down holes, rig up my backpack belt, tie a rope to it and shove off.

We're heading in only about 4.3 miles on dirt roads. Pretty flat. There may be a downhill or two (or maybe more) so I'm wondering if there is any advice to help any aspect of this first rudimentary sledding excursion any easier. Since I'm roping it, I am going to drill and attach a back rope for who ever is behind me to help me down any hills and keep the sled from riding up my shoes. (No skis) Otherwise, I'll be following the heavy bottom, wide load theory (should chill the beers on the bottom, too) and will have everything inside a jumbo duffle bag which fits in the sled nicely and bungees down.

After seeing all the great plans I was wishing I had the time to play in project mode, but I'll have to save that for next fall as I sit looking out the window searching for signs of snowflakes. I'll also need a sled for a winter BSP trip.

Thanks.

 

[Espy]

From my experiences, if you make your own, I'd highly recommend spending a bit of extra money and getting a Paris, expedition model sled. I used 3/4" pvc tubing, and a padded hip belt for mine. Everything is put together w/ rope, no screws, only a couple of washers to hold the knots from pulling through the grommets in the sled. After using it in Baxter the first year, I modified it by adding two crossbars which helped keep it from swaying when decending. I've never had any trouble w/ it and have been in and out of Baxter several times. I too spent less than $50.00 and had fun making it. Good luck!

 

[twigeater]

Since I'm roping it, I am going to drill and attach a back rope for who ever is behind me to help me down any hills and keep the sled from riding up my shoes.

Good idea - and/or, you could add a drag rope to the front. Drill a hole, put a bunch of knots in a length of rope, attach it to the sled. Throw it underneath on the downhills.

 

[sardog1]

The gold standard is Fjellpulken touring pulk from Norway. Probably very expensive to acquire in the U.S., and I have yet to find a U.S. distributor. If you can find a used one, snap it up.

Generally speaking, long and narrow is best. I would avoid any squat, kid-hauling version if alternatives are available. My Paris Expedition Sled is tough and long enough to get the load down low, but it's a hair too wide for truly efficient pulling behind skis or snowshoes. Most sled/pulk complaints come from having the load too high (from too short a sled), which causes tipping, or too wide = too much drag, especially if trail is not wide. The references in the replies above will show you how to build proper poles; look at all of them before starting construction.

You might also try contacting ski resorts and asking where they buy their rescue toboggans.

 

[tonycc]

I just returned from a week long trip to the Canadian Shield. Lots of bushwhacking, but no long uphills/downhills.

This is the sled I used. First time making this trip that I had no roll overs. Long and narrow is the way to go.

I also use traditional wooden snowshoes, 14x48, that lay down a nice nested trail for the sled to pull easily on. I ditched the rigid traces this year. Instead, my pull rope was long enough that I could hold back the sled from the rear during downhills. Either that, or I ran faster than the sled. It only caught up to me once, the resulting face plant was not one of my more graceful moments.

Tony

 

[Ed B]

The Beast vs the Paris Expedition Sled

I have just recently started offerring attachement hardware for my fiberglass poles to the Beast sled after getting several requests from users who really like the Beast sled. While I have not field tested the Beast yet, I did visit a couple MN Boundary Waters outfits that use them extensively. Their only complaint was that they broke due to the plastic formulation after a couple of years if they were abused.

I have tried to do a personal comparison of the two sleds below from my initial evaltuation.

The benefits of the Beast over the Paris Expedition.

1. It is about 6 inches longer but has an effective cargo load of about 9 additional inches.
2. It is about 2 inches narrower than the Expedition yet it has an effective extra cargo width of about 1-2 inches more due to the design.
3. It is easy to find due to the Ace Hardware distribution network.
4. Its plastic formulation seems to glide very well.

The benefits of the Paris Expedition over the Beast

1. It is about 6 inches shorter which allows for better manuverability if you do not need the extra load. (It also should make shipping it a little cheaper.)
2. The flat coamings (rioms) make attachment of ole hardware easier.
3. The polyethylene formation is more flexible than the plastic in the Beast. This makes it more durable under severe use. It gets its stiffness from the coamings (rims) rather than the plastic formulation.

Both sleds make great pulks and thier utility is greatly enhanced when you ad rigid traces (poles). I recently had a customer who ordered my pole system and a Paris Expedition even though he already owned a $400 pulk. He often went out in marginal snow conditions that included crossing rocky outcrops and dirt sections of trials. He did not want to damage his expensive sled. In his case I recommended the Paris due to its durability.

In any case - let the snow shoulder your load- Use a pulk.
Thanks- Ed B (Pulky Ed)

 

[spencer]

On our recent Baxter traverse we had a major failure of the plastic on a Beast. (we had a couple of other failures, but none related to the plastic)

I would agree that the plastic of the Beast is substantially more brittle than that of the Paris sled.

I've made a habit of distributing the stress (5th picture down the page) of any attachment points on my pulks. Sheet metal, strapping or even large fender washers are useful for combatting the stress of bolts pulling through the plastic.

spencer

 

[oldfogie]

Has anyone ever done any research on whether a sled is really better at hauling stuff than a good backpack? I ask this because I built a sled much like the ones described in the webpages here. I wished I had used a backpack instead. Too much trouble keeping it in the track. I think I hauled more snow than equipment!

 

[sardog1]

Has anyone ever done any research on whether a sled is really better at hauling stuff than a good backpack? I ask this because I built a sled much like the ones described in the webpages here. I wished I had used a backpack instead. Too much trouble keeping it in the track. I think I hauled more snow than equipment!

Personally, about twenty-five years of "research" with a sled (including commercial pulks, the Paris Expedition, various Toys-R-Us kid sleds, and my nostalgic favorite: Two Snurfers bolted on as skis under a kid's masonite toboggan.) Then there's the hundreds of thousands of Norwegians in the old country who have used them for decades. (They like their pulks so much they even have race events, both human- and dog-powered.) Plus the Lapps, who taught them the name and how to build them. Plus the northern Native Americans, who used toboggans in winter and travois in (yuck) non-winter. Plus the Denali climbers.

Tracking problems are a consequence of inadequate sled and/or harness design. Snow in the sled is possibly the result of not wrapping the load tightly with a tarp; a tarp also helps to keep your you-know-what together in the sled.

 

[spencer]

What Sardog said. It's also imperative that the traces (or ropes if you are going that route) are exactly the same length and that the traces attach to your waistbelt in the same position (but on opposite sides) on your waist.

 

[Ed B]

Pulks vs Backpacks

To add to the previous comments. The utility of a pulk over a backpack increases tremendously in at least four situations:

1. Heavy Loads- (and heavy loads in winter are more often the rule than the exception.)
2. Deep Snow- Putting on and taking off a pack on five feet of powder becomes a real chore.
3. Skiing vs Snow shoeing- Balance is a key issue on skis and pulks allow for a skier to eliminate the balance issue of carrying a pack on skis.
4. AND MOST IMPORTANT -Truely rest-full rest stops. Every time you take a breather on a steady climb or haul through the winderness you are immediately at true rest with a pulk. People with packs do not take them off very often - so the breathers are only half as restful.

I recommend tha the next pulk you make take hints from Spence's web site (very good conduit design) or mine at www.skipulk.com for good fiberglass pole designs. I am convinced your opinion of pulk travel will change if you do.

Ed B. (Pulky Ed)
Let the snow shulder your load...

 

[ChrisB]

Terrain too...

Terrain also has a lot to do with the usefulness / appropriateness of a sled.

For example, in Baxter Park, where much of the pulling is on old tote roads and other wide thougoughfares, a sled can't be beat. It makes hauling 60-80 pounds of gear, if not effortless, atleast very easy.

But, on narrow footpaths with lots of tight turns and ups and downs, a sled can be a real liability, as well as require a lot more effort than a pack on your back.

I hauled a sled up the Rocky Branch and Isolation trails last winter, and will use a pack the next time I make a winter attempt on that peak. Just too much wrestling with the sled was required to get it over, under, and around the obsticles on those trails.

cb