Pulk Sleds

so im planning on going on a 3 day over night ski tour to do some 13ers and 14ers, and than another over night trip for 2 night for a training. on last year over night training trip i did i skinned in with 1 65L pack and then a 25l pack. i definately over packed but i didnt bring a tent and i stayed in a snow cave. i got a new 4 season tent and want to use that. im thinking of making my own pulk sled so i can bring in my gear but not compromise for my avalung pack.

what are your thought? experiences?

Yea you can do it. make sure you add runners to the back to save you on side slopes. use 1/2 metal electrical conduit for poles. make sure you don't make it to top heavy. if your climbing steep grades a hinged plate that digs in on the back can be nice.

Having a decent pulk makes a huge difference hauling gear. There are some good websites out with helpful info out there.

Check this site out: picearubens.tripod.com/Pulk…

And this video:

youtube.com/watch?v=E7eX74G…

Jim

I have a homemade pulk. It's just a cheap 2 person plastic sled with 2 holes drilled up front, ~ 7 ft of old 6mm cord tied to through each of these, then threaded through 6ft sections of 1/2 inch pvc. I lashed the pipe in an "x" shape to increase its stiffness. I tied a loop at the end of each cord and clipped a biner to each, which allowed me to clip the sled to the gear loops on the waist band of my pack. The most challenging thing I found in the construction was getting the length of the pipe/ cord right. If its to short when your skinning the back of your skis hit it. If its to long it gets hard to manage in tight trees. To secure the gear I used an old lightweight tarp and a few bungie-cords. I think all told the set up cost less than 30 bucks and works well.

Look up Black River Sleds in Wisconsin. They build wonderful toboggans, and may do pulks as well. The guy who *is* the company is a school teacher; strictly cottage industry. Not gonna be $30, but if you're going to do more of this in the future, it'll be money well spent.

Also ask yourself if you want to build something that will handle several days, or really something more bomber.

Lots of people get by with a walmart sled and some pvc pipe.

But at some point that will bite you in the ass if you use it a lot.