Making a Pulk and need to find right sled

[David Goodyear]

my friend put a heavy duty short zipper in front(running right down the middle), so he could get his lunch and small bag with his de-icing kit and safety rope.

We mounted a sled cam (duct tape and short pole) on our last trip and had fun watching the video – good idea on the mount

Dave

P.S. this might get you stoked:

[Gary Rath]

Looks like i'm going out New Years weekend.

[Gary Rath]

Dave

Though's are not rivets, they all have washers and nuts on the underside.
And there is a fair amount of material the way I put it together.
With a 60 lb load I have seen no Issues.

[David Goodyear]

Glad things worked out for you Gary. How did the camera mount perform? Was the footage choppy or fairly stable?

Heading our for a weeklong sled trip tomorrow – yes, and we are getting a blizzard – too cool.

Dave

[Gary Rath]

I tested the camera mount out facing the 2 people behind me and it was smooth and clean,
worked really well. My skeg worked way better than I expected it to as well.

I just changed how the poles attach to the belt, I wasn't fond of the webbing/carabiner method. Now I can attach the poles with the belt on with easy and its stable and stong.
I will post more on that after this weekend.
Im headed up onto Hood for the weekend in the morning.

[Bill B]

I didn't realize this thread was still alive! Gary, I saw the video of your Jet Sled, Jr. modifications. That sliding skeg on the rear of the sled is an engineering marvel! I thought about doing that, but I never could have built something so elegant. The front cover attachment looks very professional too.

I bought a Jet Sled, Jr. at Cabela's last month and just modified it with grommets so I can attach Penultimate Pulk Sled poles to it. It looks like a great sled, much sturdier than the Paris Expedition, which I can't find anywhere now.

For the single runner, I'm using a piece of 3/4" aluminum angle 14 inches long, bolted to the bottom in the center, rear using 3 #10 pan head machine screws with 1" fender washers and nylon stop nuts on the other side. I used 1/2" dual runners on the Paris sled, so I'm excited to try out the new configuration this weekend. I'll post some photos of the new sled when I get back. In the meantime, here are some links only a dedicated pulker will appreciate:

Penultimate Pulk design vidoe:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzBlOkNqdMg

Emsco Beast sled trip to Gold Lake shelter via Marilyn lakes trail (part 1&2):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB75d6i0btg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhL_dTp_KnA

I also have a bunch of videos from my sled trips here, most of them with an early version of the sled using eye bolts that didn't work as well:
http://vimeo.com/album/6327

The Fawn Lake trip was an early test of the new design. I used the video from this trip in the Penultimate Pulk video:

[Gary Rath]

Thanks glad you like my design.
I have had it out on several trips with as much as 80 lbs and have no complaints.
Even on steep traverses it track perfectly.

If I had to find a complaint its having to clean up sap after carrying wood:)

If you want to make improvements I am more than willing to show you how I did it.

[David Thomas]

Ben: Wow, yes, that's lightweight. I always keep a couple of those roll-up polyethylene sleds around mostly as a source of thick HDPE for a variety of projects. On family camping trips, I need more volume and I like the option of tossing a kid in if I need to. This isn't UL, but IT'S BIG and STRONG:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Paris-Company-Black-Sport-Sled/7679262?findingMethod=rr

$48, Dimensions: 54"L x 26"W x 9.5"H

I was moving 300 pounds around the yard yesterday (and giving serious thoughts to applying a glide wax to the bottom) and didn't hesitate to jerk and yank on it. Mostly people get them up here to tow behind snowmachines (what you people call snowmobiles) and four wheelers (ATCs). There are metal-framed tow-bar kits for them in those applications.

We're out for 3 days as a family weekend after this and I'll be using the above sled – last time I used some old fiberglass ski pole as the connection between the sled and my BP hipbelt.

This time I'm going to rig up the orange sled (Paris Expedition, apparently) for my wife to pull maybe using 1/2" alumium electrical conduit. I like the U-shaped one-piece approach, but then I lose 16" of total length, 8" on each side and we're on 200 to 205 cm skis.

[Gary Rath]

@ Bill B

I didn't know you were semi local to me…
Small world.

[Bill B]

Gary,

We'll have to get together for a pulk pulling party. I got to try out the Penultimate Jet Sled Jr last weekend, and I think it's much better than the Paris Expedition so far. Here's a photo of it sticking to a traverse where the Paris sled would have slid or rolled:

[Tad Englund]

Bill, the Jet jr. is listed as 6 lbs. How accurate is that? The Paris expedition is listed as 5 lbs, do you think the Jet jr is worth the 1 lb extra?
I know its only one lb but this is BPL and I have to ask.

[Gary Rath]

Sounds Fun! You can get a closer look at how I did the skeg that way:)
I have done more changes to my setup since posting here..
Redesigned the way the Poles attach to the belt, much happier with it.

I can now attach and remove the poles with the belt on.
Its strong and no slack at all.

[Gary Rath]

@tad

I would say so.. I love mine.

[Bill B]

@Tad,

I'm glad you asked about the weight difference, and if the Jet Sled is worth the extra weight.

I ordered a Jet Sled Jr from Cabela's, added 10 grommets and a single 3/4" aluminum angle runner with 3 bolts/nuts/washers, and it weighs 5 lb 12.6 oz. Then I ordered 2 more of the same sled from the same place, and they both weigh 6 lb 5.6 oz without modifications. I'd assume the first sled I got is not typical.

For comparison, the modified Paris Expedition weighs 5 lb 1.2 oz with 6 grommets and 2 runners of 1/2" angle, with 6 bolts total.

The Jet Sled Jr is 21 inches wide at the top, and 17 inches wide at the bottom. The Paris Expedition is 20 inches wide on top and only 13 inches on the bottom. The extra 4 inches of width makes the Jet Sled less likely to roll, and the deeper single runner resists sliding more effectively.

I don't notice any extra drag from the runners on either sled. The main problem is icing in warm conditions, which happens to skis and snowshoes too. A single, shorter runner means less scraping. You can't put a single runner on the Paris because there's already a center molded plastic runner.

The plastic on the Paris sled is thinner and more flexible. The center Jet Sled runner has more weight on it because the bottom is more rigid. The single runner in the center tips the sled slightly. I think that will allow the edge of the metal runner to dig into ice and resist side slipping even more, like an ice skate or metal ski edge.

One unexpected advantage of the single, deeper, and shorter center runner is that the Jet Sled Jr will turn on a dime, without going forward. The dual runners on the Paris sled kept that from happening, and the sled would tip over if you tried to turn too tightly.

The front of the Paris stays at a 45 degree angle all the way from the top of the sled to just 1" above the bottom. The Jet Sled Jr starts curving 3" above the bottom. Theoretically, the Jet Sled Jr should go through soft snow easier than the Paris. I haven't tested the Jet Sled in soft snow, but I do know that the Paris gets very hard to pull.

The Paris Expedition is 18 inches longer than the Jet Sled Jr on the top, but so much of the length (and width) of the Paris sled is overhanging plastic lip that you really only get 6 or 8 inches more usable length in the Paris. What's more, the lip of the Paris is angled downward, which means it scoops snow into the sled.

So in summary, YES, I think the Jet Sled is well worth the extra weight. One big advantage is that it's available for purchase, and the Paris Expedition isn't.

The best deal on the Jet Sled Jr at the moment is from http://www.sportsauthority.com (Search for Jet Sled). They're selling it for $29.99 with $2.99 shipping.

[David Thomas]

Update on the data I provided about. It's not a Jetsled Junior that I have, mine says "Jetsled I" on it.

Exterior: 24" wide, 54" long, 9.5" high
Interior: 21" x 50" x 9"

Weight 9.5-10 pounds (sorry, bathroom scale)

So that Jetsled Junior sounds several pounds lighter.

But I think of pulling a sled a little like going river rafting:

The boat floats whether it has 800 or 900 pounds of gear in it.

The sled slides whether it weighs 90 or 120 pounds.

For long, steep or expeditionary use, I'd start to worry about weights. I'm using it for family snow-camping trips, so ease of use and robustness (and that fact that I have this one already) trump a few pounds for me.

[Gary Rath]

We will have to get out winter camping this season!

[Bill (L.Dog) Garlinghouse]

Found this old thread while updating my old blog post on making a pulk based on Ed Bouffard's design on a The Paris Expedition sled. For a long time after EraPro bought the design, they were nearly impossible to find in this country, Now they appear to be readily available through True Value, REI and Amazon (although the latter has an excessively inflated price)

Here's my blog entry along with pictures, parts list and sources:

http://www.laughingdog.com/2008/01/building-backcountry-pulk.html

[John S.]

Thanks for the updated info Bill.

[Ivo Vanmontfort]

For those who want to use a rope instead of poles:
Insofar you do not know it yet.
In the following way you can build a (basic) brake.
See the youtube film at the end of my (Dutch) blog .

[Author]

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