Budget Pulk

[Stash]

Since AndyF posted a thread about a simple pulk made from a foam sled I've been meaning to give it a try. Well my friend Pete and I are planning a trip to Sawyer Pond next week so I figured I'd give it that try.

I played around with various things starting with simply attaching a pair of PVC poles to my daughter's old foam sled and a spare pack belt and it worked reasonably well but ended up next to me. I think I've fixed this by attaching some runners made from PVC pipe cut lengthwise, bolted to the foam with a plastic backing and cap nuts. This seems to work quite well. Even with a 40lb bag of pellets in the pack on the crusty stuff in my back yard today. It also tracked well on an iced up path through the snow nearby.

The sled may fall apart half way there but then I can just carry my pack the normal way and maybe hitch a ride for my broken sled on Pete's fancy store-bought one. I'll also have to put a pack cover on my pack backwards to keep the snow from getting it too wet. But it may just work. And either way I'll have an insulated seat when we're sitting around the shelter at night.

Here are a few pictures...

 

[DougPaul]

PVC pipe gets brittle in the cold.

Lots of good advice at http://www.skipulk.com/ including
http://www.skipulk.com/images/stories/pdfs/pulkbook.pdf

Doug

 

[Stash]

PVC pipe gets brittle in the cold.


Doug

Yep. But I promise not to leave any pieces behind if it breaks.

 

[Chip]

I've never used one, but I'm thinking of making one as a pulk, snowmobile towed gear sled and roof top carrier.
Seems to me your design would be fine if those pvc tracks work. Let us know how you make out.

 

[jgregoire]

Stash,

Yes PVC gets brittle, but I have never had a problem with my poles. I think I put mine together about ten years ago. While I have replaced several sleds, but still have the same poles.

Good luck

Jerry

 

[Forester Jake]

I've made a heavy duty work version years ago that still works great. Try using the grey 1/2" electrical conduit instead, cut to a comfortable length, and thread your rope through the two pieces. Figure an easy way to quick connect or tie off to either side of your pack hip belt. I saw one version that had its own independent hipbelt. Indestructible. I also added a loose loop of webbing at the "x" intersection of the two pieces of conduit for lateral stability while breaking trail with snowshoes. I could use the two conduit pieces for lots of emergency uses if needed. Cheap, non-breakable (unlike frozen pvc), lightweight, and easy to cut.

 

[Stash]

I've made a heavy duty work version years ago that still works great. Try using the grey 1/2" electrical conduit instead, cut to a comfortable length, and thread your rope through the two pieces. Figure an easy way to quick connect or tie off to either side of your pack hip belt. I saw one version that had its own independent hipbelt. ... Cheap, non-breakable (unlike frozen pvc), lightweight, and easy to cut.

Take a look at the pictures Jake. We think alike. The only plumbing PVC is the material for the rails and the "T" on the poles.

 

[erugs]

When I was making mine, I took two pair of ski poles and cut the top off one and the bottom of the other pair. The poles were thus able to slip in inside the other and I drilled a hole to keep the two pieces together. I had picked the poles up at the dump so they were free.

They are light in weight and have handles that are designed for comfort if I am pulling on them. I ran a cord up through them from my sled to my belt.

Worked so well I'd love another opportunity to use it other than the two times we went out on that kind of trip.

 

[Forester Jake]

I couldn't open your pics yesterday but I see them now
My sled is a deep black plastic utility sled. I had constructed mine for more heavy duty use (heavy sugaring materials, chainsaw, tools, etc.) than for general hiking. It would however make a good expedition sled

 

[Little Rickie]

Here are a few pictures...

Seems a little small to carry much?

 

[Stash]

Seems a little small to carry much?

Holds a pack. That's all I need. And if it breaks I can still carry everything out.

 

[MadRiver]

I replaced my PVC poles with chimney sweep poles and attached them to the pulk with casters. On each end I have air compression hose fittings that allow me to place an eye bolt through the hole and then place a locking nut on the other end. I then thread the fitting to the poles, one end male the other end female.

Two weeks ago I hauled in 75 lbs to Zealand Hut without incident, and didn't dump it once. It tracked perfectly.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2926872898134.146132.1450265390&type=3&l=05850eae9c

 

[hikerbrian]

I built my sled for, I don't know, $15? It's small and light and perfect for the trails in the northeast.

I just took one of those cheapo red sleds from Walmahts, drilled a couple of holes in the front, and attached a short loop of cord to each hole. I then took two lengths of 1" plastic conduit piping and drilled holes in both ends, then attached short loops of cords and fitted with carabiners. One end attaches to the sled, the other attaches to the hip belt of my pack (or anyone else's pack). It's VERY lightweight, and IMO strikes the correct compromise between width (for stability) and narrowness (for narrow trails). Plus, even if several components failed it would be trivial to repair in the field with some cord and a multitool.

I have a tarp that fits perfectly in the sled (and is useful emergency gear), but I think a huge duffel bag would work better - just haven't been able to find the right one. I tuck everything into the tarp and cinch it down with a couple of straps and buckles looped through small openings that I cut in the side of the sled.

It is perfect for a group of two: holds food, stove/fuel, tent, sleeping bags and pads, and a little bit of other stuff. It's not so heavy and unwieldy that it's a burden to pull. Yet my pack feels like a summer day trip insead of a winter overnight. And it's small and narrow enough to fit through narrow openings in trees. On a couple of occassions, when I've been coming down a very narrow trail, I've tied lengths of cord to the back corners of the sled, and whoever is following me can hold the sled back a little bit and guide the back side to keep it from getting caught up or flying out to my side. With a very small amount of effort, this set up makes navigating almost any trail trivial. I'd build something a little bit different for Denali or out West (would lean more towards stability), but for trips around here, I think this sled is perfect.

 

[Stash]

I built my sled for, I don't know, $15? It's small and light and perfect for the trails in the northeast.

That was the intent of this one. Build from materials I already had on hand.

 

[Stash]

And it worked!

Not the most challenging hike but my little sled worked well enough.

My friend Pete and I took a hike up Sawyer River road to Sawyer Pond Trail Friday morning. We spent a couple nights at the pond campground and came back the same way on Sunday. I took a fairly heavy full sized pack (about 50 lb) with a few day's gear on my Budget Pulk and Pete had his more conventional pulk made from a Paris sled.

Positives:

• On the smooth road walk there was little difference. My sled is flat, rather than the dished Paris sled but I put my pack in a full pack cover (on the bottom side of the pack) and all was reasonably dry.
• On the more traditional trail the Budget worked quite well. The runners I had fabricated worked as planned and the sled tracked perfectly even on side hills.
• I started out going very slowly on those little hop-across crossings fearing I'd break the sled. This tended to cause the nose of the sled to dig into the far side of the bank and I had to work to pull it out. On the return trip I got a lot more aggressive because 1) we were on the way home and 2) so far the sled was holding up very well. When I approached a crossing I'd step across the give the sled a good pull to get it to jump across the crossing and land it on its belly. Worked like a charm.
• The foam sled made a REALLY nice seat on an icy tent platform
• We made the trip without losing any parts. Nothing broke!

Negatives:

• The sled is short. Pete's sled glided a lot easier over crossings
• The sled is flat. Pete's Paris sled was a tub that was easier to load. Especially when we went hunting for firewood on a trek around the pond.
• Not a lot of tie down points. Though enough to hold things down if you're just lashing a pack to it.
• There was a lot of slack in the way I attached the poles to the sled and my belt. This allowed the sled to tip over a few times. Pete's system had a mechanism with no slack and never tipped.

Bottom line. The Paris sled with a more professional pulling mechanism is a better sled. But the sled I built from stuff I had laying around the house worked. And I decided I like dragging a big pack a whole lot better than carrying it.

Another bonus.... When you don't have a big pack on your back you tend to float better on crusty snow when in snow shoes..

A picture fully loaded

Me pulling my project