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The snow came and went last weekend, I remembered that I slung out the last sledge we had because it was broken so am thinking I get one now before the next set of snow; questions are
Are the plastic snow shovel ones, or the dish style ones, any good?
am I right in thinking that a wooden one is more hassle than its worth - they seem to be better with deeper snow and lets face it thanks to global warming that's not going to happen any more and carrying/pulling to the local golf course is a hassle
would some form of PTFE spray or wax improve the performance of a cheap plastic one?
Home made??
is there anything else to consider - some form of beginner snowboard?
Home made??
Plastic compost bag filled with snow does the job.
Old car bonnets were the sledge of choice in the 70's. Could get loads of kids on at one time and very fast. Very high risk of injury though, to both sledgers and kids being hit! 🙂
https://shop.mailboxproducts.co.uk/products/sledge
I was always jealous of the kids that had the above sledge . Gobsmacked to find they still make them exactly the same.
They are infinitely superior to anything else for UK. No brakes, no bells n whistles, no crap. Just simple flat design with ridiculously slippery plastic.
We have 4 of them.
am I right in thinking that a wooden one is more hassle than its worth –
Yes. For UK use they are shit.
they seem to be better with deeper snow
Au contraire, they are designed for, and great on, the kind of compacted icey slopes you get on the Rutschbahnem of Teutophile ski resorts. In deep snow they suck.
would some form of PTFE spray or wax improve the performance of a cheap plastic one?
Nope, just get the Mailbox one I linked to. Insanely slippy
^ we used to get compost bags from a garden centre near our favourite hill 🙂
Then my mate, with well-off parents, bought him a skidoo thing with steering and a brake and nothing was ever the same again - we’d just stand around trying to be in his good books and get a go 🙁
An inflatable lilo, you can buy them with eyelets in the corners to tie a cord through.
Take old XC skis from your work store.
Screw said skis onto a home made wooden platform, complete with karrimat padding and long enough to fully lie down..
Wax said skis.
Fastest kids on the hill by a country miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiile.
(Sadly didn't last long as the screws and washers pulled through the old ski's after a couple of seasons abuse under three kids...)
I recently ordered an airboard inflateable sledge, sadly they don't seem to be avaliable here anymore, another brexit bonus I suspect
IMHO etc etc Bum sledges are probably the best bang for the buck, easy to use, light, fun, slippy on everything, totally uncontrollable but non-lethal. Get a few of them and do races etc, use them to shovel snow to make igloos - they are awesome.
most other plastic sledges are not great and break when you hit the first rock. Anything with brakes, a steering wheel and/or plastic skids is pants.
At the complete other end of the spectrum and is totally ridiculous, but a couple of comments on the wooden sledge thing. I have to challenge @thegeneralist for living up to their user name just a bit.
'Classic' Davos wooden sledges e.g. https://snowsledsonline.co.uk/product/wooden-sledge-davos-colint-100-cm/ are indeed pretty gash. Needs a certain type of snow, slow everywhere until they are suddenly very fast and completely uncontrollable.
However, we were given many many years ago 2 ****ing amazing wooden sledges: a 1.2m Graf Family Flizzer and a Rodel Tourenrodel racing sledge.
The Family Flizzer will seat big adult and 3 kids at a push, is steerable (just), and will fly past absolutely anyone on any other device irrespective of conditions, and do so for far longer. it is absolutely epic. It is also massively dangerous as you are now piloting a 300kg high speed killing machine.
The racing sledge thing does need better snow, but is like skiing on racing GS skis - if you have the balls and keep your feet locked into the tips, it'll carve and turn it's way about a mountain/hillside in a way that is indecent.
Both will last a few generations of Nannies.
Further aside, if you ever get the chance to go skiing in switzlerland, most resorts have schlittenfahrt that is the most terrifying and wonderful way to spend a day. Take a day off skiing and do it. (e.g. https://brunni.ch/en/detail/sledging - and when it says 'this run has some rather steep sections', it ain't kidding!)
TL:DR - not all wooden sledges are made equally.
Me with some kids when younger in Black Forest, and in '21 at BofA golf course
