Making a Pulk and need to find right sled

[Jason Klass]

I've decided to make my own pulk for winter backpacking this year. I think I can make one that's lighter than a lot of the designs I've seen but I need a sled. I really want to use the Paris Expedition sled but can't find it anywhere. Does anyone know where I can find one?

If I can't get the Paris Expedition, the Emsco Beast sled might be a good second choice unless someone else has a better recommendation.

[Larry Bryan]

Jason, I got the Paris expedition sled from http://www.farm-home.com but I had to buy 6 sleds which I had no problem getting rid of.

[Thomas Tait]

Jason – I special ordered one through REI last year.

[Gustav Bostrom]

Hi Jason,
I made one myself too. I'm very pleased with it.
I describe my experiences here:

http://thebearablelightness.blogspot.com/2010/02/building-cheap-lightweight-paris.html

Since I wrote the post I have also made a cover using Ikea-bags and added a backrest for the kids.
My only concern so far is the robustness of my hauling system.
I did not have the time to get proper glassfiber rods. But for lighter loads I think my system will work.

[Jim Colten]

I really want to use the Paris Expedition sled but can't find it anywhere.

Here, in quantities of 1

The Jet Sled Jr. works well too.

[Bob Gross]

Good Grief! I just discovered that orange thing hanging up in my garage for the last 25 years is a Paris Expedition Sled.

–B.G.–

[William Puckett]

Don't forget to check out the mother of all ski pulk sites,
http://www.skipulk.com. Ed Bouffard, the owner and all-round nice guy, has forgotten more about ski pulks than most of us will every know.

[Ethan A.]

How much does the Paris Expedition or similar sled run?

Jason I believe there's instructions for making a ski pulk here, illustrated by our own Mike Clelland:

http://www.amazon.com/Really-Backcountry-Revised-Better-ebook/dp/B001QOGJL8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1289445131&sr=8-2

What are you going to use for the hip belt?

[Ethan A.]

Jim is that the same Paris expedition sled for $29 as the one on the farm website? Would make sense with 6 at $194 there. Thanks for sharing the link.

[David Lutz]

Would any Bay Area folks be interested in sharing the expense of a pulk?

It's one of those specialized things that I hate to have sitting around all year long.

Let's buy Bob's 25 year old sled and someone who is handy can convert it and we're all set. The person who converts it won't pay anything.

We can keep it at my house, I'm on the way to the snow.

Anybody?

[David Lutz]

I've decided to make my own pulk for winter backpacking this year. I think I can make one that's lighter than a lot of the designs I've seen but I need a sled. I really want to use the Paris Expedition sled but can't find it anywhere. Does anyone know where I can find one?

If I can't get the Paris Expedition, the Emsco Beast sled might be a good second choice unless someone else has a better recommendation.

(Bumping Jason's OP as repentance for thread hijacking!)

[Randy Nelson]

Me and my buddies have ordered ours through REI in the past. Not sure if you still can. I first connected mine to a waist belt but found a daypack works better. I had straps sewn onto the waist belt of my pack to attach it. Had it done by a shoe repair guy in Wheat Ridge. Let me know if you go that route and I'll find the name. When using just a waist belt it would slide down from the pull of the pulk. I also used the instructions at skipulk.com. Mine was made using the last design listed in the instructions.

BTW, Jason, what are your ideas for making a lighter pulk? Mine's already pretty light. I think any mods to make it lighter would also make it weaker.

[Benjamin Moryson]

here is another simple and lightweight version

http://blog.nature-base.de/2010/05/19/ultraleicht-pulka-im-shop/

[Jason Klass]

Hi Jim,
Thanks for the link. Unfortunately, the sled is available in-store only in New England.

[Jason Klass]

Hi Randy,
Well, I've been researching many different designs and many seem to add a lot of unnecessary metal hardware. I found some different ways of attaching the traces that don't require hardware yet are still strong and I want to incorporate these into my design. When it's finished, I'll have a video about it on my blog.

[Jason Klass]

Gustav,
LOL, I came across your blog in my research and it was one of the reasons I wanted to get the Expedition sled! Thanks!

[Randy Nelson]

Personally, I wouldn't go any lighter for what I use it for but your needs may be completely different. If you are going to use it just for travelling on relatively flat terrain, strong connections aren't required. And I'm planning on doing some of that this winter. So far I've only used mine on hut trips where I'm hauling 50-60 pounds up (I've had over 100 lbs on it for a short duration) and skiing down with 40+ pounds. And skiing pretty aggressively at times to gain and maintain speed when a flat stretch is coming up. I even crashed it while doing this when someone suddenly came out of the trees in front of me. I thought I'd probably snap a pole but they are really tough.

The sled itself is listed at 5 pounds. Mine is 6.5 including the mounting hardware, 3 straps, 2 removable metal fins (used when skiing to keep the sled tracking behind you), a couple of snap lock carabiners, and a plastic chain brake with with some light rope and an S hook to attach the brake lead to my waist belt. The fiberglass poles are 2.5 lbs with the attachment hardware.

So you can go considerably lighter depending on how you will use it. I'll be looking forward to see what you come up with.

[Bob Gross]

Many such sleds are sold without any connections to the sled puller. When I had to use mine, I simply tied rope from the front sides of the sled to my backpack waist belt. This will work if you are on a flat trail that is not too bumpy, e.g. snow-covered jeep road. As you start to move into hilly terrain, you want a rigid connection such as thin plastic pipe or thin metal pipe, and that adds lateral control.

You can take that to the extreme. Some friends of mine had a baby sled. The baby sat in a baby seat and was fully covered and protected from inversion and everything else. In that case, the connections need to be very rigid for lots of lateral control.

–B.G.–

[Jeremy G]

I like the look of the Jet Sled Jr. It's a bit deeper and not as long as the expedition. Although it is a bit heavier, I would bet it's a little heavier duty. I don't know that the extra pound of plastic or even trying to save weight on skipulk.com's hardware systems would even be noticable since the majority of the weight is on the ground and is being pulled instead of carrying it on your back.

Not to be critical of Jason's weight savings ideas, but I bet if you put two sleds side by side, one with the weight savings and one without, you would never be able to tell the difference when pulling them across the snow.

Someone needs to manufacturer a runner type sled out of titanium to real see some weight savings… For some reason, I was thinking Steve Evans at Suluk46.com was working on something, but I don't see anything on his website.

Bill Fornshell was working on a version of this with aluminum.

[Bob Gross]

"Someone needs to manufacturer a runner type sled out of titanium to real see some weight savings… For some reason, I was thinking Steve Evans at Suluk46.com was working on something, but I don't see anything on his website."

Maybe a titanium foil sled?

Since many sleds end up being dragged across rocks and torn up, I don't know that you would want to invest a huge amount of money into one.

–B.G.–

[Tad Englund]

Jason, I made a sled a few years ago using my kids sled (see pictures), I would go with the Paris Sled if at all possible. They are better built then the one I used (mine was free- I already had it at the house)
I think REI will have them in stock in a few weeks. They have had them every year that I remember. You could call the corp. office and see if they are ordering any or you can go to your local store and special order one.

Here is how I put together my sled. It is 4 ft in length and weighs 6 lbs 5 oz including the hip belt (hip belt from an old Jansport pack) and poles (1/2 in pvc).

Here is the sled by it self

Sled with model

Attachment points on sled
another angle
This is the bracket I used. I trimmed it down and flied it smooth. You can get it at Home Depot for about .84 cents ea. it is a Simpson strong tie "RTU2"
Belt connection, I just used a looped strap that goes through the eye bolt and the carabiner holds it in place.

Velcro strap to keep poles crossed and together. I put a rivet in one to keep the velcro in place and from getting lost

I also needed to use the sled for "sledding" after we arrived at our destination. I take the kids iglooing and they want to have some "fun" on the trip. The sled has needed some reinforcing done on the stress points (the back) because of the sledding use, kids and scouts can be rough on things.
I would like to have made breakdown poles but these have worked well for the time being.
I painted red on the stuff that I didn't want getting lost in the snow.

[Gustav Bostrom]

Nice to know my post was inspiring! I got most info from the above mentioned pulk book.
In my view if you want to save weight you should consider using a smaller pulk. In fact, if the load is light a kids pulk seems to be ok. I have seen many examples of people just pulling their backpack on such pulks. The reason I did not use a hardware solution for attaching my poles was not so much the weight as the complexity. A must read on lightweight cross country skiing is also the article "the incredible rulk" article on bpl by the Swedish Ryan Jordan, Jörgen Johansson. On his blog Fjaderlatt.se he also has a follow-up article on the concept. He ended up sawing a Paris pulk in half.

[Jeremy G]

Here's a link to Jorgen's "rulk rebooted"

http://www.fjaderlatt.se/2010/04/across-sarek-in-winter-rebooted-rulk.html

That's a great way to save some weight!

[Jason Klass]

Thanks for your comments everyone. ARRRRRRGH! This is really frustrating! The only place I can find that sells single Paris Expedition Sleds (not in 6 packs) is Aubuchon Hardware in New England and they only sell it in their retail stores. I can't believe this thing is so hard to find. Instead of the hassle of arranging a group purchase I might just go to plan B and go with the Emsco Orange Beast which I think I can get locally. $#%&@*!

[Jeremy G]

Jason, I'll be in Duluth, MN this week and I know they sell them up there. I want one for myself anyway. If you want I can ship one out to you…

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