Winter Camping: Sleds and Toboggans 

Excellent info!

I love this video. Thank you for sharing your experiences. I loved the still photo of the guy with the old green canvas rucksack. So, I think Ive learned more from this video then all the videos Ive watched in the last decade! It gave me a lot of validation in what I learned on my own and its also showed me a few things I got really wrong.. And for that I thank you, Good Sir!

Good video - thanks.

Excellent video Dave!

I hope I'll visit the far north someday. Texas doesn't exactly get much snow :-/ .

Hi Dave. I concur with you about the pulk. I made one with stitch-and-glue plywood and retired skis as runners, and find it easier to pull than a similar sized toboggan. It is also easier to load and doesn't slip sideways on a traverse like a toboggan does. On mine the runners are spaced roughly at the same separation as I ski, so they follow my tracks when I use skis. You are certainly correct that the loading on our skis and snowshoes is always going to be higher than on any sled, so it is unlikely to sink in a ski or snowshoe float.

Thanks for the video, Dave. I really enjoyed that. I'm been learning from you for many years now. Thanks for continuing to share your knowledge.

Nice video. Which of the sleds to you ultimately end up preferring? At the you were trying the kids sleds.

The ski sled idea only makes sense in certain conditions. In warmer conditions, and at sufficient speeds that energy lost to friction of intact snow crystals can melt the snow crystals, you get micromelting under the contact area. Fluid creates viscous drag, which is proportional to contact area. So if you can book it at 10 km/h near zero deg C, the ski sled makes sense. In colder conditions and at lower speeds however, there is unlikely to be any micro-melting. Instead the resistance is now primarily due to loose snow compaction and dry friction. In this scenario, there is no advantage to the ski sled, as the dry friction is solely due to weight and coefficient of friction, while compaction force is likewise neutral as it depends on both compaction depth and frontal width of the slider. Though I would argue that a flexible sled that undulates over surface irregularities would preferentially reduce the depth of compaction compared to a rigid sled. But a flexible sled can be stowed in a smaller vehicle more easily. But the ski sled is heavier and its actual weight is not disclosed. If you have to mill I-beams out of 2x4's, it's a hint that it might not be the best approach. A major principle in ski prep is the microstructure of the base. That has to be maintained on a regular basis. If you buy second-hand skis for $10, any microstructure applied at the factory is long gone, and if you don't re-establish it then the surface is the same as any ordinary sheet of poly. But, you can apply micro-structure to a poly toboggan just the same as to a ski, and get that benefit if you want it. In short, the argument is nuanced, need to look at many factors before choosing a design.

Cool

Thanks Dave, pretty sure I read your adventures on the website wintertrekker before. Enjoyed the videos

You should do a ski sled building video for us who are no as skilled.... loved this video.. thanks

Well done ! The years of pulk improvement and your final design works. The USA military Ahkio the fibreglass unit is rated at 200# of gear, and it does pull nicely. I have one that has been the test bed for this area and I conclude that its too rocky to be easy to pull. But for winter hiking and hot tent load I'll use the pulk. The whistle stop of the train is great wish we had those, But USA is not like you guy's at all. Alaska and Montana have whistle stops that the only 2 I know of. Your last sled is stout and looks good with some build up around the runners but not bogged down. Your video is the best one I have seen that shows the what worked and what the change was to fix the sled. Great job, happy trails and happy new year. Wyoming

Hi Dave, awesome content. Could you share the weight of the sleds, or at least the ski sled? I know you said it's too heavy, I'm just wondering what it actually weighs. I'm building a kickboggan and it already seems a little on the heavy side.

so skis r your favourite? I'm watching another vid of guys using the black boxy sled in like 2-4 ft powder breaking trail and it looks so hard. 1 km per hour. r the skis better on fresh deep stuff or they sink? Also sometimes they cross narrow bridges that look like near a ft wide. skis might straddle these? BTW while searching for skis i noticed the bags look really good for gear? waterproof, cheap like the skis, and long so u can access anything along the length of it in 1 second.

How wide are your ski sleds? I'm planning a copy of your sled and would love your insight. Thanks!!