Waist belt for pulk

[sardog1]

[old thread alert!]

Aha, I have gotten my Paris sled and going to buy conduit and a bender tonight but the belt is left on my major harware expedition to build a sled/pulk.

I can check out hipbelts at Campmor but is this the generally understood method for a good tow belt? Has anybody tried a mountaineering harness as KayakDan questions? I have a mtn'ing harness although not padded like a climbing harness would be, it could be used I think with some added paddling from me and would save me the purchase of another item...

Jay

A padded waist belt with the right attachment points will be better, because it will put the load on your hips and not the front of your waist like I suspect that a climbing harness would tend to do. And a climbing harness doesn't usually have attachments at the points you need them that are strong enough, only loops for hanging gear.

 

[Mad Townie]

I use a climbing harness and clip the sled attachments to the gear loops. They haven't snapped yet, but if they do I'll just clip on to another spot. Works well for me, so far, but I haven't gone off trail with this setup so I can't comment on durability.

 

[sardog1]

Nice to hear the voice of experience. I do use my climbing harness for skijoring but I have a waistbelt set up for the pulk, so I've never tried the harness for it.

 

[Jay H]

I'm getting my boiler replaced on friday and if that gets done early enough, might make a trip to Campmor. As a mtn'ing harness, it's not padded at all (to be as light as possible, and hopefully not needed).

Although maybe I can extract a hipbelt from a pack that is no longer needed...hmmm...

Jay

 

[MichaelJ]

I use a cheap ($25) climbing harness. The plastic-coated gear loops make a perfect attachment point for the clips off the pull frame. I then use an old pair of suspenders clipped with a 'biner to one of the harness loops to keep the harness itself from slipping down my legs. It sounds awkward but actually works extremely well.

Whatever you do, you will want something that is not only snug on your body, but also keeps the ends of the sled frame close to your body. The more slack you have, the harder it is to control the sled.

This is what a PVC failure looks like. Okay, and a skier failure as well.

 

[sardog1]

This is what a PVC failure looks like. Okay, and a skier failure as well.

Looks like a whiteout to me, until I delete the superfluous "html" from the end of the URL in the link, then it looks like a wipeout to me.

 

[SherpaKroto]

Jay,
You will need more than one piece of conduit for the arms of your sled. Don't buy the pipe bender: just use the one they have hanging. Be sure the leave plenty for the bend.

What I did: I bent 2 pieces of conduit and threaded them through eye hooks into a PVC piece, wrapped in Duct tape. I also put a collar "stopper" between the PVC and the eye hook.

So, looking down at the assembled tracer you have: conduit arm > eye > stopper > PVC < stopper < conduit arm. The beauty of this setup is that the arms pivot independently, but retain good side to side rigidity. The only stress is where the eyes connect to the sled. That needs to be reinforced.

 

[MichaelJ]

Looks like a whiteout to me, until I delete the superfluous "html" from the end of the URL in the link, then it looks like a wipeout to me.

Whoops. I fixed the link in my post. Yeah, a wipeout, but keep in mind that those pieces of PVC were originally straight, not angled broken like that.

Also keep in mind how much it hurt when it rammed into me and broke...

 

[Jay H]

Ha, nice photo Michael, it looks like it should be entered in one of those "caption this photo" contest, I can think of some nice ones...

SherpaK: too late, bought the $38 3/4" EMT bender with the intention of returning it when I'm done. H-D is good for stuff like that. Why would I need more than 1 length of conduit? the conduit is 10' long! I'm not 6'11" and my skis aren't 300cms long either... I have other metal that I can use as a crossbar, in fact, I think I might have some suspension pieces from my MR2 Spyder that I've replaced that I think I could use as a cross-brace.

I haven't bent the arms yet but it's on my list of things to do. Then all I'll have to procure is the miscellaneous hardware to connect everything to each other and then perhaps build the brake system...

Oh, is it best to put the attachment of the arm to the belt on the sides or slightly to the back, or no preference?

Jay

 

[uphillklimber]

I have a rugged sled, and I used one length of 1" EMT conduit. I bent it into a u-shape, about 16" in the middle, which leaves 4'4" of length. Generally speaking, the backs of my skiis seldom hit the front of my sled, but very occasionally they do when I hit just the right terrain. It is not an issue in any way. Does not cause me to stumble or anything. Really don't even know it happens. The nose of the sled is tapered and the rears of the skiis ride right under the sled.

 

[Jay H]

Went to campmor today to talk to the Repair dept. I had them sew three loops using 1" nylon webbing on the sides of my belt so I can clip a carabiner to it (in three different locations depending on the feel). They charged me $8 for it so now I need to get some Ubolts and the carabiners and bend the conduit I have.... Project is coming together!

Jay

 

[pks4000]

Hi
I took my old Kelty Tioga waist belt and its on its 6th winter.
I sometimes haul big loads and its still fine.

 

[uphillklimber]

Jay H, I sent a reply via PM as email didn't seem to want to work. Hope it helps.