Sled from old downhill skis

[Moondog55]

So here I am with the pair of 200cn K-2 skis
I have taken the bindings off and I have put them aside for a pair of Rock-Hoppers. I am just wondering if I should use these parallel or toe them in a little bit. Only 8.6mm of sidecut on these, my XC skis have more LOL But these old carbon fibre K-2s are tough

[Robatman]

I ran mine on shorter skis than you but still had about 30kg of stuff not including trailer weight. I went round the streets every time there was council throw out and ended up with about 6 pairs to choose from after a couple of scavenging trips in local area.

I contemplated scaling them myself but didn't bother. At the speeds I snowshoe not sure if it would make any diff. Interested to hear others thoughts as well.

I found (only did it first time last year) the hardest part was traversing, not up or down- though when steep down was pretty hairy with that much weight pushing your hips!

Haven't heard of many people with pulks on here so not sure if you/ we might get many responses. What are your thoughts already on the issue?
Robert

[Moondog55]

The main reason I need to build a sled is that my pulk is too small to carry this seasons load into Pretty Valley from the village.
While I mainly use snowshoes when manhauling I agree that the extra load pushing behind you adds interest on even moderately steep slopes.
I'd build a real sled but at the moment I can't afford a sheet of UHMW or even HMWPE

[neilmny]

......... I am just wondering if I should use these parallel or toe them in a little bit. Only 8.6mm of sidecut on these, my XC skis have more LOL But these old carbon fibre K-2s are tough

Maybe make the mounting adjustable so that you cover all bases.........(no pun)
Toe in sounds logical but maybe flat is the most important.............

[climberman]

do a search for pulk on the chockstone forum, pretty sure there is a bit of info there.

[Moondog55]

There is, but very little discussion about toe-in

[Robatman]

I made my pulk from a bike trailer bought off ebay for around $70 or 80?? First attempt so have refinements to do before this winter. It can handle a heavy load- just puts more strain on the guide poles. As a luxury i even had 6x1.25 pepsi max along for the trip- i know i know its an unhealthy addiction.

I boxed the wheels and they can be unboxed easily so i can use the wheels and sit skis on top- great for approach on a raod with no snow.

i didnt think about toe-in when alligning the skis- just made em parrallel though given i never walked a flat trail dont imagine it would make too much diff.

Here is mine-



Gonna use better poles as mine eventually failed- the pressure of traversing was too much (the pic is after some hasty on the trail mods!)- as well as looking to find a trail instead of usual way of snowshoeing.
Robert

[Moondog55]

Yeah Pulks, sleds and snowshoes do not like to traverse, I try and pick my route so I can go straight up and down the fall line if at all possible.
I just found my old rockhoppers in dads shed, even less sidecut than them K-2s, may use them. same length

[Moondog55]

Found my older pair at dads place, still 200 but less 3mm side cut and thinner and lighter by at least a kilo

Old Blizzard V 16 Titanals I got my local Miter10 to cut me bits of 18mm marine ply to 70mm for the uprights ( $15-) and I have ground off the old bindings [ ski glue is tough] so I am using an idea from this site

http://www.hadfield.ca/Gear/tobaggan.html

And I will be making the sled a little skinnier than the pulk at 410mm wide C2C

[KANANGRABOYD]

This is the only way I would pull a sled.
I made an all traditional 14ft Inuit sled bound together with rope so it will flex. Although I'm into UL, there's nothing like having a massive sled to put everything in ( oh and also a skidoo!)

[Moondog55]

Nice but overkill for Falls Creek and a 10 k ski in I think

[Moondog55]

I have been waiting for the slow set epoxy to set
Since putting this together I have found an alternative design that may be better and certainly easier to build
This weighs no more than my fiberglass pulk and has double the load space so it will be easier to keep the load down low, just have to add the tiedowns.
As this is an experiment I am not going to waste paint, it only needs to make 4 trips of a 7km, the next one will be much better built

[andrewa]

Looks good ( from someone who has never even thought about pulling a pulk). I like the design. Paint is irrelevant.

I'm interested in your overall concept. Are you planning on setting up a campsite for the whole of winter somewhere, or just for a week or two? It's a great idea if for the season, as I can't imagine anyone would have thought to have made any rules about restricting such campsites.

A (and yep, I'll still follow through on my personal pm)

[Moondog55]

Well you may not erect a "Permanent dwelling" but the intention is to erect the tipi for a period of 3 weeks beginning 01August and take them down after the holiday is over.
You are supposed to not stay longer than 7 continuous days in any one spot and you are "supposed to move 5 klicks minimum to the next campsite BUT I have never heard of anyone being moved on.

[neilmny]

Do you think a coat of clear estipol might be an idea.
I was thinking the bare ply might suck up a lot of water....ie weight.

[Moondog55]

Yes, you are right on that; if I can find some old paint I'll give it a coat or two.
I am going to put another one together using a slightly different method and then see which one works best.
If anyone is going to build one of these look out for old racing skis as long as possible, 215s would be best

[Moondog55]

I started the second sled today. I am going to use small angle brackets and the existing binding holes ( and lots of West systems epoxy of course) to hold the skis to the deck. Uprights are cut 110mm high to give me a longer cargo area and greater clearance.
I will be sealing the cut edges of the 18mm plywood to stop water soaking in and making the sled heavier and to preserve the fabric of the sled as I intend too keep this one for a while.

[Robatman]

Thought about how to attach the poles/ harness part of it yet? Looking good so far and nice low centre of gravity.

[Moondog55]

No poles on this type, single pulling rope run to a shackle which is passed through the "thingie" on the front, rope connected to a wide belt you wear diagonally across the chest, although my pulk harness and twin ropes would also work. I'll post pictures of those when I have sewn them up

[Robatman]

Thanks am interested as my effort last year failed in the field. Might not understand you but with rope how do you go downhill and not lose your ankles?

[Moondog55]

Well you either ski very VERY fast or you take stance behind the sled and let it go down in front of you from a fixed position using a length of cordage. From my limited experience sleds are not the same as pulks.
The new sled will be able to carry about 100 kilos I imagine. I am not an expert skier I do not think I could control that mass going down a steepish slope and with any sled it is usually straight down the fall line and therefore usually fast.
That said I do have some tube here that I may be able to experiment with.