skis vs runners on your ice fishing sled or hut

[wiperhunter2]

I'm trying to decide if I should use skis vs teflon runners on the bottom of my new ice fishing shelter, what do you use and why? On my last hut it came with skis and they seemed to work great specially in deeper snow but on my sled I never had either but I know some people like those teflon runners. Thought?

[SkunkedAgain]

Curt,
Most of the time it may be sixes one way or the other, but occasionally we get a deep snow year, then your skis will start to shine. I was up to Porcupine one year and the snow was sooo deep and my skis kept my tent and sled high enough it didn't drag much snow, whereas before I had the skis I was on Hyrum one year and just had the jet sled in the deep snow and it trudged so deep and heavy I could hardly move it... So for those deep snow days I'd say skis, but we don't have them very often so your runners would probably be fine 90 +% of the time... Skis are just a little clunky to handle, but if you have room for them they perform nice... Later Jeff

[PACMEN]

With my first sled I had no skis.  My second sled I put on skis.  I have never even considered  having a sled without skis since.  I am able to pull so much easier with my fat old body or with a machine.  When I am pulling with a machine I do not use a tow bar so I have to be careful not to get overrun by the sled at times.
Of course my opinion is worth just as much as you paid for it.

[wiperhunter2]

It does add a little weight to the shelter but not much to the overall size of it, at least it didn't on my last one. Guess I need take some measurement to make sure the new one will fit in the bed of my truck. By the way, I made my own tow bar because of running over my sled once when going down hill at Porcupine. They are simple to make, I'll take some pics of mine so you can make your own, my first hut did not have a place to attach the tow bar, so I had to make them. I used big eyelet bolts.
Here are some pics of my tow bar and how it attaches to my new hut and the eyelet bolts I used to attach to my old hut.



Eyelet bolts on old hut




Here is how I attached the tow bar to my new hut




Here is the ATV attachment plate




I used electrical conduit to attach bar to plate

[Kent]

For the past few years, I have used a Smitty sled. It has worked great, but although it is made of aluminum it still adds more weight. Unfortunately, it is built for the Shappell Jet Sled XL model (which is the huge one) and now that I own a Tahoe, instead of an Armada, there isn't enough room above it, or to the side of it, for me to also transport a sled for a fishing buddy, so it must go. I ordered some wear bars, for my regular size Shappell jet sled, and I'm hoping that they help make it a little easier to pull. At least they will help protect the sled when it is drug across pavement, rocks or gravel.

[AFDan52]

I'm also putting skis on my sleds , I'm all about working Smarter not harder. LOL

[jjannie]

We've used both. and agree it also depends. If you put the Teflon ones onto the sled bottom you can always have a smitty version in case find you need more snow clearance. So, we think go with the lesser at first and see how you get along. Then down the road you can still put in on smitty style sled if more ground/snow powder you can aways then just attach it then because the attached ones won't make it too tall for the travel vehicle fit.

[wiperhunter2]

I decided to go with skis, mainly because used skies are cheaper than Teflon runners. I first checked Savers, because it was closer to where I live but the cheapest pair there was $20, I knew I could get some cheaper, so I drove to the other side of town to DI and found a pair 48" skis for $8, they also had several pair for $10. After removing the attachment mounts, I drilled the holes in my shelter and skis and decided to go with a smaller piece of wood, so I used a 1 by 3" instead of a 2 by 4". I figured if I needed additional height, I could add it later, here is the finished product.



Inside the hut I put strips of flooring to strengthen assembly.







What do you think, have those of you that have added skis done something similar?

[Bduck]

Curt, all looks good but have you considered using a piece of composite patio decking (Trex) or similar in place of the wood mounts? It would seal better than wood and repel moisture penetration especially in those slush situations. Just a thought! 

[Therapist]

Back when I first started ice fishing, I had a small combo sled/seat. I had wooden runners on the bottom. I found that by waxing them with cross country ski wax, they slid much better. With all the gear that we carry now, I use a Jet Sled, but still rub some wax on the bottom every now and then, helps even the plastic slide better !!

[wiperhunter2]

Curt, all looks good but have you considered using a piece of composite patio decking (Trex) or similar in place of the wood mounts? It would seal better than wood and repel moisture penetration especially in those slush situations. Just a thought! 

Thanks for the idea Roger, I'll consider that if I find the 1x3 plank is not holding up very good but I can buy a lot of planks for the cost of one piece of Trex and from past experiences, wood last longer than you would imagine.

[wiperhunter2]

Back when I first started ice fishing,  I had a small combo sled/seat.  I had wooden runners on the bottom.  I found that by waxing them with cross country ski wax,  they slid much better.  With all the gear that we carry now, I use a Jet Sled, but still rub some wax on the bottom every now and then,  helps even the plastic slide better !!

Great idea, I know Kent use to post about waxing his runners all the time before ice fishing season.