In December, I made my own winter camping sled for an upcoming backcountry trip. I had a few people ask and comment about my DIY project and they also wanted an update on how it worked. I have only taken this out on one trip, but there are some modifications I would like to make on the next one. Yes, I’m going to make another one.
I do not have many modifications that I am considering for the next sled, I have just 3, so I’ve listed them in order of important fixes to least important.
- My first eye opener for this sled was the length. After seeing it compared to Christina’s, I knew that I would need a longer sled for future trips. Luckily, the style of sled I bought does come in a 72″ length compared to this one which was 48″. I also noticed that my sled has a different shaped side wall. I know there are other sleds that have a more boxy shape, which I think would be easier for packing.
- I was worried about my poles being too long for this trip, but I found that they actually worked out really well. The issue was that they are bendy. This means when I have to go downhill, the poles will push up against your waist strap, but mine were also bending slightly from the weight. At my local hardware store, these were the only poles I could find that were made of plastic, in the size I wanted. I guess I have some hunting to do to find sturdier poles.
- Rope tie down vs bungee cords. I can argue both methods here. I used rope to tie down my gear, which means I was able to strap down the gear and tarp really tight. The issue with this is that if and when you need to get something from your bag you would have to untie your full set up. I did, however, carry some necessities in a smaller backpack to avoid having to untie my gear. As for bungee cords, you do need ones that are tight enough to hold your gear down. It does create easy access to your gear. One, two, un-clip, re-clip and you are on your way again.