OK i know that it is no longer winter and i am a little late getting this done but i got the UHMW sheet for free last week. I prefer to think that i am just REALLY early for next year. I welcome all comments, critical or complimentary. this is my first attempt at a sled. I used .25 inch x 1 inch thick aluminum for the ribs and drilled and tapped all of the holes for the tapered head screws that hold the 3/16 inch thick UHMW. I was able to get the screw heads flush with bottom which i think will help with drag. The eye bolts are also threaded into holes tapped into the aluminum. I made my own straps to hold the bags down but i am not sure how well they will work and now i will have to wait a long time to find out. the bags i got from walmart and they are made from a water proof material so the snow and slush should bounce off.My large map case clips right on top of the front bag which i think will work well. i also made some handles out of webbing and some stainless d-rings that can be attached to the eye bolts for use as handles while sliding down the local sled hill. it was a fun project and I hope you enjoy the pics. i have to make some kind of rigid harness yet but i figure that i have enough time.

Looks good to me, but I admit i know very little. ;-).

Do you know how much it cost you in $ and time?

It looks great mrgreen, That should slide nice over the snow and ice. I like the hold downs that you made to hold the packs down. Are you going to use it with one of those hip harness?

Looks great. Much more sturdy than the wood/aluminum sleds I put together.

While others may have a different opinion...I really like the PVC poles we use as tethers to a hip/shoulder harness. The stiff poles mean we can keep going...uphill or down...without needing to worry about being run over by our own sleds.

Now comes the anticipation of trying them out next year!!!

nojobro, i got the plastic sheet for free and the aluminum and all the other pieces with the bags was about 100 dollars. It took me about 6 hours but i think that was mostly because i am very slow at sewing. I do plan to try and make a harness and some kind of rigid pole system to pull it but i will probably wait until fall with that.

Awesome Mr Green. Looks like a nice rig.

I do not quite get the concept of such a large sled. I have winter camped for the last 30 years on 3 to 5 day trips and tend to go light. In the early days we skied with packs and eventually went to sleds (Mad River models) with poles and a waist belt. How can you possible pull a load of gear like that any distance. Granted the lakes are flat but why all the gear, a good -20 down bag, wind fly, and some food is all I have ever needed. I just don't get it, why work so hard?

Rob, I am a pretty light packer myself and since i cold tent I dont need a stove or a large canvas tent but for me the reasons are 6 and 8 yr old boys. I like to bring them along and i do not have winter bags for them so we double bag it in the winter. it ends up to be a lot of gear but i will usually not bring the small bag on the back of the sled just in case one needs a ride for a little bit. the sled is only 7ft long which is actually short for a sled like this. it ends up being about 6 ft of packable sled after the curve. I think it will fit my needs nicely anyway.

I changed my mind since my last post on this topic and decided to build a woodstove and give it a try. I got a 9x9 canvas tent for 50 bucks and built this stove with some help from my friends. the stove has cost me about 18 beers so far. it burns nicely but i need to make legs yet. it cant snow soon enough for this guy.

mrgreen, nice looking stove, well done! let's see some fire in it!

Great looking sled, and great looking stove!! Let us all Know how it all worked out after your first trip.