*Bug Out Sled*

By Jaden

08 February 2004

I first saw a Jet Sled at work. I looked it over and it seemed like a rugged piece of gear. My co-worker attested that it was.

So I came home and talked to Nerisa about it. A size medium costs $50.00, large is $100.00 and small was like $30.00. A medium would be plenty for what we needed. The idea was to use it for sliding and in the event of a bug-out. Podunk’s getting heavier by the day and trying to carry her plus a BOB very far would be next to impossible, especially through the snow. So it seemed sensible to get the sled.

Nerisa picked one up earlier this week and yesterday we tried it out. It pulls easy over flat ground even with 180 pounds in it. Uphill is hard, but that’s to be expected.

A medium measures 54" long, 25" wide and 10" deep. It’s a lot bigger than it looks. Notice how the front of it curves up. This thing is made to stay on top of the snow. The front will lift instead of digging in like a regular snow sled does.

So anyway, we slid down the small hill behind the house yesterday and this puppy flies! Podunk and me hit a bump and caught some air…then we flipped over….she loved it.

The front curve comes with rope holes already drilled. I made mine a bit bigger to accommodate the 5/16" rope. Then I took the end of the rope and fed it through the hole. Then simply tied a Figure 8 (stopper knot).

Figure 8 knot

A couple benefits to doing it this way are:

1. The rope can easily be removed if needed for another application. (such as shelter construction)
2. The rope can easily be shortened if needs be.

Here’s an overall pic-

Tons of room in this thing

We’re already thinking about modifications to allow it to travel over non-snow covered ground easier.

I definitely recommend getting a Jet Sled if you think you might have to bug out on foot. Even w/o a kid, it’s easier to pull one of these than it is to carry everything.

Jaden