Plastic Sleds For Hauling Ice Gear
 

Looking at the usual locations, those black plastic sleds for hauling your gear out when you walk on, are pretty expensive. Where have you guys generally gone to get yours? Any thoughts on a cheaper alternative? The ones I see in Cabelas, or Canadian Tire or whatever, are like $100 or just shy of that...

hey that's awesome -- thanks man! I've kinda got an "in" at UFA, too...

Yup and you can use it to haul out game, firewood etc :sHa_shakeshout:
Tuff pieces of kit that can be dragged behind an atv for a lot of miles, mine is nine years old and is still going strong.

I cant say how a cheaper sled would "perform", but I bought a Jet Sled at the Fishin Hole last year and still cannot believe how easily it pulls. I also have two other sleds. One is a Pelican sled that I ran for a few years before the Jet and it is like night and day the difference between them and the other one (no name) was even worse. With quite a bit more weight it pulls MUCH easier than the other two. A buddy of mine bought the Cabelas brand equivalent to the Jet (same dimensions) and I think it was about $20 cheaper and it pulls equally well. I never would have thought it could make that much difference and can't believe I didn't bite the bullet sooner.
Darren

watch Canadian Tire for sales, got mine for just over 50 bucks, comparable tp ther same size at the local co op for well over 100

Some great thoughts guys -- really appreciate it! As we add more gear, I'm realizing it's important to have a good one. Tent, auger, electronics, buddy heater, propane tank......

Costco as well. They were selling the big Pelican sled with hitch and cover for $159 last year at this time.

this year as well with runners on the bottom . good price for all in one

After having an otter .....
 

And one more kind . Both 60" long by 48" wide .
It all came to an end one day on Spray lake in
A whiteout blizzard . I nearly succumbed to coronary
Arrest .
Sold them and bought from Wallmart 2 cheap light kids
Sleds . The new ion fits perfect on one . I pull them in
tandem ,ultra light . These are just for walking , not
Very impact resistant but perfect for old guy pulling .
Did I mention cheap !

x 2.....
Great for the kids on the toboggan hill as well; they really fly. The plastic is very thick and hard and wears like cement.....Mine is about 20 years old and still meets our needs. Of course stay off the asphalt and gravel.
Good luck,

Peavey just had the calf sleds on sale for 29.99. I think they also have a bigger calf sled for around 60.00 But they are TOUGH!and take alot of abuse in the back of the truck

Calf sled for sure. I pack a ton of crap and I hook two together and hardly know they are back there pulling by hand. Easily modified to have taller sides. Got otter sled too but that thing should be pulled by a team of horses. It'll put you in the ground if you are out of shape. I think the old calf sleds have some Teflon. Humble the hot shot kids on the toboggan hill too. Point and shoot and hang on, no control whatsoever.

If you are going to pull a sled through deep snow, mount some old downhill ski's on your sled. Make a frame that raises the sled a bit with the ski's on the bottom so you dont have to plow a heavy sled through. This works well for me in the mountains.

Smitty Sled
 

This is called a Smitty sled. Many of us use them and work very well.

i actually bought a large kids sled for going down a hill. its was something like $12 and still have it to this day and still use it too even though i have like 3 of those pelican sleds. when i have lots of gear i go with the pelican stronger duty sleds but when i have some distance to cover and i go very light i go take the kids sled. doesn't look like much but it works and gets the job done. lol

I have thought about trying the ski/smitty sled route as I figure that would make it a fair bit easier pulling in substandard conditions.

One thing good to mention is that the higher quality more durable sleds like the otter pro sleds are really nice especially if you want to haul them behind a snowmobile or quad but if you have to pull them by hand any distance or through snow they are a beast when loaded with gear. I use a medium otter pro and fully loaded with tent, heater, flasher, fishing gear and some times sleeping gear it is almost unbearable to pull any significant distance. I also have a frabill recon tent/sled and used it this weekend and I liked it and it pulled easier being so much lighter but it would be useless behind a quad/snowmobile and would break/wear through in no time.

The smaller light duty sleds like a calf sled are much nicer if walking on, hardest part is figuring a way to fit all your gear in a small low wall sled.

Got mine at Cabela's during the black friday sale. 40 bucks.

Otter Pro
 

I push my Otter Pro on a Smitty sled and works great. They are a bit heavier than other sleds but are worth it. I also found putting a handle on the back and pushing instead of pulling works a lot easier too though I still have the rope on the front if needed.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...pshfm22yh5.jpg

I made my own sled. First a couple years ago from some old ski's I got for free from local ski hill, and now from 2 snowboards I got for free from same hill. Snowboards make a great sled.
Funny thing, the hill was going to throw the old boards away, but a 15 yr old manager (looked 15 anyways) wouldn't give or sell them to me. She was worried I would strap them on then go snowboarding, hurt myself, then sue the hill. WTF A more realistic maintenance man that worked there laughed the whole time he carried them out to me by the dumpster.

Course, I did climb a tree the other day to get a wasp nest, so who knows, I might try snowboarding or sky diving next. lol

I have an larger otter and used it to drag my blind and hunting gear about a km to my site. Felt like the brakes were locked up. Almost had a heart attack. Stripped down to my long Johns for 20 minutes at - 15 at my destination. I made my own fog bank. I will be trying ski wax or Teflon next time.

looking for sleds
 

got a pelican at cosco yesterday with runners tow bar and cover... 149$

That's my go-to sled as well, except mine's quite short. I've cut some extra holes along the sides for tie-downs, but I don't carry a lot of gear ice fishing anymore. I use mine mainly for deer hunting - it fits over my day-pack, sticks above the top of my pack by about 6 inches, but is well clear of the back of my legs. It weighs nothing, and means I don't have to go back to the truck when it's time to skid my quartered (gutless method) deer out.

I think it was $12 at the Dollar Store - used it for 6 or 7 years now.

Homemade is the best. Mine was free to make and get to customize it however I like

Princessauto 79.95

Mack

The ones from Pevey mart work great for ice gear and bear bait gear!!

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/l...pstog9ujr8.jpg

20% off sleds at Bass Pro right now. Start at $29.99.

I got a smaller jet sled at cabelas last year in the bargin cave for 26$ regular out in the main store 70 bucks. Always check the bargin carve.

Gordon

Saw that in the flyer last night....headed there this weekend! :)

Just came back from Bass Pro,
Jet Sled Jr. $29.99, had about 8 left.
Jet Sled 1 $47.99, had at least 20 left.
and the XL was I think $70 or 80, also had a bunch of those.

Picked up the "1" there, since Cabelas (49.99 on sale) says it's in stock in Calgary but actually have 0, unless you want to wait for 10 days to get one from their warehouse where they have 260+....

Looking forward to using mine for ice-fishing and to pull behind the quad.