Being a skier of 20+ years, I know how important is to have the right gear for your sport ..

That being said, how much of my ski gear can I use while sledding, and what "sledding" specific gear do I need ?

Just trying to factor this stuff into my buying budget :)

As for a helmet, I know you need a full faced helmet while riding. Would a motorcycle helmet work? or are there specific designs and features that go into a "sledding" helmet. If I hate my life can I wear my ski helmet ? :laugh:

As for cloths, I have a variety of ski jackets and pants. Ranging from padded super warm snowboarding jackets to my arcteryx bib and layered jacket setup. Would I need specific snowmobiling cloths?

Boots, can I get away with my ski boots ? is that recommended? I'm very comfortable in them and on walking around on snow. Is there such a thing as sledding boots, or just any good quality goretex hiking boot will do?

would you go out with mits (being warmer than gloves) .. or do you need all of your fingers to operate a sled :)

Thanks for your advice

I would not wear ski boots. You need to be able to flex your ankles. It's possible, but it's not fun. It will hurt your knees, trust me. I use tall waterproof hiking boots, but something like a soft snowboard boot would also be a good cheap solution. Making sure your feet have enough insulation is the main thing.

Everything else I wear is ski/snowboard gear. Including the helmet. Check your state laws for helmet requirements, mine doesn't have any for adult snowmobilers.

When you are trail riding you don't generate as much body heat as you do skiing, so you need to be bundled up a bit more than you would be for skiing in the same weather. Off-trail riding can get very sweaty, so if you plan on doing that, I use removable layers. You probably already know, try to prevent sweat buildup whenever possible.

I only use fingered gloves. You can use mitts but they can get clumsy with the controls and you really don't want that. My trick is I carry a backpack with an extra layer of clothes and several pairs of gloves and goggles. Be careful, a lot of ski gloves have tethers or other cords hanging from them, which can wrap around the throttle. It's pretty important to avoid that.

A motorcycle helmet will only work if it has fog-resistant double lenses. Otherwise you need a helmet that uses goggles, and I find those very prone to fogging up due to the face shield. That and the ski helmet is much lighter, so if you can get away with it I really prefer the ski helmet. If you really want a DOT helmet, try them out for weight and breath deflection, and expect to pay the price.

I made the switch 4 years ago and I haven't yet wanted to go back to the ski lift, not once.

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I made the switch 4 years ago and I haven't yet wanted to go back to the ski lift, not once.


You know, I keep hearing that .. and it scares me every time I do !! lol

Main reason I started looking into sledding is to get access to new skiable backcountry areas (double up and take turns)

To me, nothing comes close to skiing a fresh powder line down a steep tree lined terrain. I watch youtube videos of boondocking and hill climbing .. and it really does nothing for me!! maybe because I don't know the feeling and havent done it yet myself.

I used to always laugh at people on sea-doos when im on my boat.. sledding kinda reminds me of sea-doos !!!

Dont get me wrong, I'm not knocking the sport .. I'm here looking for advice on buying one to see what it's like .. but it still scares me to hear that people hang up their skis after buying a sled

main reason I asked about ski boots is that, i'm gonna have my skis on a rack on the back of that sled ! at least I'm hoping to lol !

Thanks

Yeah I was going to say, if you have a run planned then yes you can ride with your ski boots on, but it will not be comfortable.

I used to snowboard 100+ days per year and I was just tired of the ski lift and the crowds. I originally intended to just get backcountry ski runs too, me and the wife are (were) both very advanced extreme riders. That was the entire plan. We've done that about 3 times, and just gone snowmobiling about 140 times in the last 4 years. Once you realize that you don't need to worry about gravity to get you going it's a whole new world. I find a lot of satisfaction going uphill in powder. There's still a few extreme runs that I would only do on a board and not a sled, but so much can be done on a sled that it starts seeming a little silly to just slide down hill using gravity. I think you will see. Especially if you get a sled that has some power and traction. A boring sled that gets stuck all the time might not be so addicting, although that's what I started on and I still got hooked.

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haha .. i like how you accompany every message with a youtube clip ;)

yeah im looking at a few 800 rmk / summits and maybe a couple of 700 a/c or yamahas..

i got another thread with my list.. feel free to chime in ;)

we shall see what will become of this skier once he gets on a sled !!

To me the worst part of snowmobiling is the weight, and all Yamahas are extremely heavy compared to other models. I would avoid any 4-stroke design like the plague. Yamaha is all 4-stroke, and they are all 60 to 150 pounds heavier than competing models. Even when they were still using 2-strokes, they were the heaviest. Now it's just ridiculous. If I wanted a 4-stroke snowmobile, I would put a honda civic engine in my Polaris. That's not brand bashing, that's simply a fact that's not acceptable to me. I sold my Yamaha over a year ago, and I'm still recovering from what it did to my shoulders trying to push that massive weight around. I wouldn't ride any 4-stroke snowmobile. Anything in the 600 thru 800 range in a 2-stroke will meet your minimum requirements, and yeah I would go with a REV-XP Ski-Doo if I could afford to buy new. Ski-Doo is the lightest, and that is a critically important stat. Be careful with all that engine power, it can get you killed fast.

To me the worst part of snowmobiling is the weight, and all Yamahas are extremely heavy compared to other models. I would avoid any 4-stroke design like the plague. Yamaha is all 4-stroke, and they are all 60 to 150 pounds heavier than competing models. Even when they were still using 2-strokes, they were the heaviest. Now it's just ridiculous. If I wanted a 4-stroke snowmobile, I would put a honda civic engine in my Polaris. That's not brand bashing, that's simply a fact that's not acceptable to me. I wouldn't ride any 4-stroke snowmobile. Anything in the 600 thru 800 range in a 2-stroke will meet your minimum requirements, and yeah I would go with a REV-XP Ski-Doo if I could afford to buy new. Be careful with all that engine power, it can get you killed fast.

Right on ..

The yamahas i'm looking at have a triple 2 stroke.. but yes weight is a killer.

I was leaning towards a 2 stroke anyway.

And yes, I know all too well about horsepower :)

Here's one of my toys (http://members.shaw.ca/payamk/blackbtch.JPG) from a few years back.. even though I put her into the wall at the track at 90 mph, it felt a lot safer being in a roll cage race harness :)