Making a Gear Sled for Snow Camping

One of the pleasures of winter camping is that you can take more gear, and not have to carry a pack, by using a gear sled, also called a pulk. Get a sled body: Any sled can be used, like a kids sled used for hills around town. But sleds with thin material can crack when they are cold, so a thicker and tougher sled makes sense. Paris makes a very sturdy low profile sled, made of thick and tough plastic. It doesn’t have any pulling attachments, nor gear tie downs, but those can be easily made. The sled can be pulled by a loop of rope of any size, but pulling from a waist belt is more comfortable. Paris expedition sleds are available online, but if you get them from REI you’ll save the cost of shipping. REI has Paris sleds in stock seasonally, and can probably be ordered.

For a waist belt, a comfortable one can be made from a hardware store work belt. These run $15 to $30, and a cheap one works fine. They come with a releasable buckle, which allows easy release of the sled. On the waist belt you want to have pulling attachments, such as loops. I wanted something that would never fail, so I sewed on a loop of webbing, to serve as the attachment point.

You can pull the sled loaded with gear with a loop of rope, but you will find that the sled overtakes you on downhills, and bumps your legs or goes off course to the side. To prevent the sled from running you over, you can install pull tubes that hold the sled back from you. You pull the sled with a rope, which is inside the pull tubes. I’ve seen 1/2” to 3/4” PVC pipes used. I choose aluminum electrical conduit, which would not crack in super cold temperatures. The pull tubes are crossed, to give a bit of directional control when turning a corner with the sled.

I made an attachment point on the sled. This could be accomplished in many different ways, including just running the rope through a hole in the rim of the sled. I chose rock climbing bolt hangers that I had on hand, and I like the looks of them.

You don’t need a backpack when using a gear sled, and I generally use a big waterproof duffel bag for my gear. I installed eye bolts on the sled rim so I could use bungee cords to secure the duffel bag and a plastic tarp over my gear, and so I could tuck a snow shovel and snow saw alongside the duffel bag.

An option is to attach a small flap on the back of the sled that drags on the snow. When the sled tries to slide backwards and flap catches and stops backward sliding. That way you can take a rest when going uphill for a while.