The "Sledski" Collapsible Smitty Sled

[@michaelkosir8613]

THAT is not only one cool idea and a well-built machine, but an incredibly well-made educational video. Nice work, NoDak Boy. Thank you for sharing.

[@rschiwal]

It's nice to see that you found a use for downhill skis in North Dakota.

[@bucktalesoutdoors7566]

Your equipment set ups whether Kayak or Ice fishing sled are excellent, thanks for sharing your ideas.

[@danmoncion123]

I want to build something similar to sit my older 2 person clam flip over on but to be pulled by a snow machine. The older clams have a very shallow sleigh and it gets buried with slush. Thanks for the fantastic idea

[@markskarr3537]

I know this has been up for a while, but I made this a month or so ago and it works really well! Thanks so much for willingly sharing your ideas and builds. Really enjoy the channel- Thanks!

[@coldcynic2213]

I love it! I need this for hauling firewood, but I need back surgery so bending low enough to get the wood out of it is too hard on my back. I've been looking for a way to raise my sled up. Thanks for this video.

[@kylem3944]

Without a doubt the best Smitty seld build I've seen. You deserve an ice cold beer man. Cheers!

[@striperhunter-ic2wt]

Hey great setup! I hope you have a bunch of videos on deck as I'm out of commission for a bit after spine surgery. No ice fishing for me this winter. These videos are my therapy until the stripers show up in the spring. Thanks,

[@ndyakangler]

Thanks Morty I’m glad you enjoy the videos! I haven’t had much luck on the ice the past few times out but I’ve been going through footage from the last couple years to start on a bloopers video and a Whopper Plopper strikes compilation.

[@Steve-sv3ln]

Has your spine healed up??

[@striperhunter-ic2wt]

@@Steve-sv3ln yes sir thank you for asking,

[@CraigArndt]

I just built one last weekend, its amazing. 100 lb shanty and auger it pulls with one finger.

[@commonsenseapproach101]

this is exactly what the setup i am building now, but i have a setup for 2 sleds, one big one for pop up and gear, and other for light gear., the old one i have is using wood and it works but just heavy, very good video.

[@huskergator9479]

Why am i just now seeing this. You rock Mr Matt.

[@joeyt62541]

By far the best one I’ve seen made

[@carlbodene8150]

Sweet build. Nicely done.

[@tuna1803]

Hey that's an awesome design you created I just got a Jetsled XL with winter camo and I can't wait to modify it I'm go a different route and add wear bar kit to the bottom of mine and build a wheeled platform for mine to sit in for summer use Thanks for showing us your build !

[@johnnypea43]

For all the wonky sled mods I've seen, this is the most light, clean and efficient version yet. Well done.

[@ndyakangler]

Thanks! I built it with the goal of being able to break it down and fit it in the bed of my ranger with the tonneau cover on.

[@gregoryrappaport9180]

And I thought watching you fish was pretty amazing! Wow, you are quite talented and skilled. Can’t wait to see some smallies coming out of the Mississippi soon! Tight lines, and uh, even tighter tools 🛠 too! 👍🏼

[@danvanvliet9201]

Thanks for posting that bud can i have your permission to share to our outdoors channel hit me up on fb messenger

[@gregoryrappaport9180]

@@danvanvliet9201 sure

[@chreim20]

Who would dislike this video, sheesh! Thanks for sharing! I will never ice fish in Alabama, but still fun to watch this video.

[@MrPety1975]

Jealous people with 0000000 talent. LoL

[@nathaniellarson8]

Maybe they think the lighting is bad, or they want to see his face when he's talking, who knows??? lol

[@HollerHunter]

What a cool concept. Thanks for sharing.

[@chrisreumont]

Nice, thanks for show your set up. Hopefully we be getting some ice fishing videos soon. Stay safe out there

[@PlayingWithFireOutdoors]

Was thinking of doing something similar to this, for my snowmobile to tow. Thank you for proof of concept and finished product, my differences will be an fixed tow bar so it doesn't smash me.

[@HugDeeznueces]

This is exactly ho I want to do my super sled but I will use pvc pipe instead of aluminium. Great vid!!

[@karvtek]

Excellent design

[@kellyking5521]

Real nice..sure would like to see a picture or video showing “notches” on new runners and how it’s attached to bottom of sled very slick set up!

[@ndyakangler]

I might do a quick update video this winter. I went with 1/2” HDPE strips on the bottom, 2” tall by the length of the flat portion of the bottom of the sled. I basically just used a hole saw the size of the aluminum bars and drilled them so the edge of the circle was at about the bottom edge of the runners, then cut straight down with the outside edges of the circle cutouts so they’re like an upside down U. I ran a few machine screws into the runners from the top side of the sled and gave them some big washers.

[@kellyking5521]

@@ndyakangler sounds good! Thx for replying so quick.. tryin to track down some plastic now.. and the perfect aluminum tubing..good luck on the ice this year..be safe cheers

[@kellyking5521]

Hello! Hope the bite is on! So..thx again for vid.. I duplicated this Exact set up .. works flawlessly..on a little larger otter..gonna put full length of plastic on bottom..tabs hang on everything lol.. have you ever pulled yours behind machine of any sort....how tough ? Thx again.. tightlines cheers

[@kellyking5521]

Wish I knew how to send ya pic..lots of compliments..

[@leftycut1]

That's one cool looking sled !!

[@OpenAirOutdoors]

I never thought of doing something like this, the reduced friction must be substantial, thanks for sharing!

[@ndyakangler]

If there’s any snow on the ground the skis make a huge difference! It’s comparable to pulling the normal sled on bare ice, once it’s moving it takes very little effort to keep pulling it along.

[@richburrows3726]

Thanks your ideas are very helpful. This would help on winter camping as well.

[@walleyeye]

Great build. Gave me some ideas. Thanks!!!

[@mullz1382]

great looking sled dude !

[@greenpea9412]

This is absolutely sweet. I keep looking around for cheap ski's and can't find anything. That is a light and very efficient set up tear down style of Smitty sled. Probably not worth your time to start selling them but if you ever do, send me a message. Good stuff.

[@ndyakangler]

I had to check several thrift stores to find the skis but the one I found these at had about six pairs. It makes a huge difference having them once there’s snow on the ground!

[@SnoStig]

Awesome design man!

[@mattcardwell1506]

Pretty slick and ingenious. I'm just really glad I don't need one here in the South!

[@orlowskd]

love this design, I am thinking about making this same one, the only thing that I have a tough time with is the blocks mounted to the underside of the sled. Kind of means you always have to use the sledski...

[@ndyakangler]

I did recently replace those four corner tabs under the sled with two strips of 1/2” HDPE that run the entire length of the sled. I figured it would give it a little more support in the middle and if one of those aluminum welds ever broke it should be easier to pull back with the skis off.

[@shawnnaylor482]

Good job great craftsmanship

[@gutshot300mag]

Great job dude! I’ve had various variations of the ole smitty, none like yours tho, next build I will be trying some of your hacks.

[@LyleStenger]

I’ve looked at lots of Smitty Sled builds on KZbin. I really like your build and I’m going to build mine the same way. I’m curious as to why you angled the aluminum uprights instead of installing them perpendicular to the skis. Thank you.

[@JIMTHOME2112]

NICE AND CLEAN! GOOD JOB AND THANX FOR SHARING.

[@jjrilea84]

Great ideas generated and incorporated into this build! I’d do mine very similar!

[@randym.4209]

That's nicely done. Thanks for sharing

[@karlbenedict1281]

Thanks so much for this video. That is a really nice design.

[@zafotbeeb]

Nicely thought out design.

[@5199John]

Nice build! Thanks for posting this!

[@SavageVoyageur]

Quality build, nice job. Thanks

[@ScootersChannel]

Awesome sled mod Brother!

[@kobayashimaru8114]

Very smart build, I like it!

[@wayne8276]

Excellent . Best one I've seen .

[@gsalas1983]

Nice sled! Looking to do something like this. Good video.

[@barryelizando4597]

Love your videos ! You are the man.

[@danielboles6263]

One of the best smithy sleds on video. Thank you. Db

[@kennyd2134]

SMITTY

[@mikechamberlain8208]

One of the best I have ever seen

[@ndyakangler]

I’ve had it a few years now and it’s held up great! I did reconfigure it so that the sled is moved over to one side and the shack sits next to it directly on the bars to clear some room in the sled. I just pulled it about a mile over 6” of snow the other day and didn’t even break a sweat!

[@darrenhalkett1473]

very nice build man right on

[@xxgg]

So simply and minimal weight! Now... got any good ideas on adding wheels to drag non snow covered surface? Even non snow covered ice. Maybe something that can stay on the skis?

[@nateb4543]

I put some skis on my kids trike. Set up so we could both ride it but it ended up being more fun for me. Now I got the sled bug, trying to figure out easy/cheap suspension so I don't bounce around 6" off the seat

[@Steve-sv3ln]

Ok...Smitty sled done! A few hours and a small workshop later...it's donnne!! lol. Ty for this video! I did 2" bases. Very long time to cut through using the holesaw at that thickness. However... unknowingly, it did eliminate the need for shock cords. Is there any other way to cut plastic faster for 2" deep cuts?

[@GreenMeanie101]

Nice looking sled.

[@keithsr.]

This is perfect, light and easy!

[@BravoBassin]

very cool and glad to see a video from you looking foward to you crushing some of thos toad smallies once the water thaws fro you!

[@ndyakangler]

Spring can’t get here soon enough! I’m about ready to swap the auger for the paddle.

[@BravoBassin]

@@ndyakangler right well down here in virginia I have been on the struggle bus trying to catch fish as well so can't wait for a little warmer weather myself but at least we still have open water to fish after the ice melts off in the early morning.

[@subdawg1331]

wow awesome ... well done great ideas thank you

[@captainsteve5475]

👍 your very good at engineering.

[@sc31ful]

that is a hell of a lot lighter and nicer than the wood ones. I was going to build mine with 2x8s but I am having second thoughts after seeing this. if I can find that plastic somewhere? I am going this route. Thanks for the idea.

[@ndyakangler]

Around here we have Mac's hardware where they have bins of misc scrap plastic pieces and sell it by the pound. They usually have a decent selection of HDPE. I've also found it locally by calling a place that makes plastic display cases. My last resort is ordering online from TAP plastics, I can have them cut it to whatever dimensions I want but I also have to pay shipping. Another route you could go, most plastic cutting boards are HDPE. You might only be able to find them as thick as 1/2" but you could do double layers of that for the ski blocks. Just have the screws from under the skis thread into only that top layer of HDPE to hold everything together. I've hole sawed through double layers like that as well. HDPE is slippery so I use double sided carpet tape to pretty much turn two sheets of 1/2" into a sheet of 1" if the piece I'm making will be screwed together in the end anyway, then clamp it down good on the drill press before hole sawing it.

[@jacoreyneke]

nicely done!

[@rzambory2938]

Excellent!! Thank You 🙏. Really this is special !!

[@bronzebackanglerharden3482]

I bet not it would be so slick to have one!!! Just bought a pelican catch 100 so I'm gonna have to stick to the good ole fashioned anchor for a little while.lol

[@publicmultch8208]

Great work!

[@gregp8220]

I’ve made 3 Smitty sledges and never looked back. If you ever get on bare ice watch out it’s so easy to pull it might run you over lol. I love the snow cameo jet sledge.

[@martinlarkin9624]

Great sled and video. Could you use, 1 1/4" pvc instead of steel pipe. Could you advise what the height of the legs are. Would appreciate the insight.Thanks.

[@lancerudy9934]

Very nice! I will build one.

[@mattscheurman1616]

Nice job!

[@justinw9631]

Just found your video - Great review and nice enginuity. I'm toying with styles, etc. I like the HDPE suggestion. Can't go wrong with Alum pipes for something like that either. How high did you end up going with your pipe from the footing on the ski to the bar that holds your plastic tub/sled. ?

[@ndyakangler]

The leg pipes were about 8” long. I probably made them a little longer than they needed to be, I’ve never seen the skis sink more than a few inches into the snow.

[@benwilson2119]

This is genius. I am going to make one

[@KZtheFisherOutdoors]

Absolutely love it great idea 👍😉

[@zubertish]

Great ideas, thanks.

[@paulp2186]

Very nice. I want to make this for next year using steel tubing tho.. so i can weld it myself, just curious what size of jet sled that is? Thanks

[@Gene756]

Excellent video.. thanks for sharing..!

[@manuelmadrigal969]

Just came across your video. Great idea. Only question I have is how easy is to turn directions when say a100 pound load? Your video makes it look easy when empty. I want to build one, so can you get back to me on my question.

[@ndyakangler]

It’s not too bad. If the skis dig into the snow at all I can’t rotate it when it’s loaded up and sitting still but once I have a little forward momentum it’s easy to make some sharp turns and get it in the direction I want to go.

[@txyakangler7850]

Looks like fun!

[@PaddlePowerAngler]

Hey, great video, just wanted to ask what the reason is for angled holes in the UHMW?

[@ndyakangler]

It will give it more structural strength and rigidity having those bars angled rather than at 90 degrees. A square or rectangular design would be more likely to collapse on itself pulling a fully loaded sled down the slanted boat launch.

[@martinlarkin9624]

Great review. What type of countersink bit did you use for countersinking into the skis?

[@ndyakangler]

I used one of the cheap Irwin ones. It was bigger than the screw heads but I just eyeballed it with a drill and it worked fine. They’re recessed a bit below the surface but as long as they aren’t protruding outward they shouldn’t add any drag.

[@martinlarkin9624]

@@ndyakangler were they for wood or metal, if you know by chance

[@zazazazo4556]

. Nice one . Do you make the wax foams and the bars for sell ?

[@davidspoonholtz6900]

Great video How long are the skis?

[@timzado-georgiancollege6189]

love this sled! are the HDPE pieces that are screwed to the skis 1"? You do say 1" in the video but they look a little thicker? I'm going to try your design as well, but I'm wondering if I should get the 1" or 1.5" thick plastic. Beautiful design and thanks for posting.

[@ndyakangler]

I went with 1” but it wouldn’t hurt to use thicker plastic. The 1” seems to work fine though, I’ve only had a leg pop out of a plastic block once when pulling it over some rough terrain.

[@timzado-georgiancollege6189]

@@ndyakangler thanks for the reply. very nice sled

[@rafterbarr1506]

Harness makes a big difference with sleds, mine fits over my neck and shoulders, I pull heavy loads with ease.

[@ndyakangler]

I’ve thought about adding some type of harness but I can usually pull that sled with my pinky finger, although if I have to pull it any distance I’ll put the rope around my waist.

[@bittybigq]

Good idea. Thanks for sharing.

[@raymondcava4669]

Outstanding!

[@ndyakangler]

Thanks! I ended up moving the sled over to one side of the bars, that way I can set the shack next to it instead of it taking up space in the sled.

[@MaryannHazel]

Awesome setup...and my husband has an old set of skies. Hmmmm... How does it do in deep snow? I’m in California, and there is often deep powder. My current set up sucks in powder, especially when fully loaded.

[@ndyakangler]

Any kind of dense wet snow it’ll slide on top of. Fresh powder the skis will sink down into it with the 100lbs or so of gear I load into mine. I’d say about 6” of powder on top of a crust of old snow is the most I’ve pulled mine through. It seemed to sink down and plow through most of the powder but it was still moderately easy to pull.

[@MaryannHazel]

NDYakAngler - thanks. I had 80 pounds the first time I used mine, but there was only a few inches of powder, so the resistance wasn’t bad. A couple feet of powder would be a different story. That would be a miserable slog. I’m going to take it back out on New Years Day and see how my new mods work. I love the idea of skis, so I def need to work on that.

[@cepuras]

What about an improvement upon this that wouldn’t require drilling the sled and adding the four blocks on bottom of sled?

[@MikeLeininger]

I totally agree. It renders the sled useless without the skis.

[@rhaller07]

Is there a reason you didn't go with square tubing? And why you angled the tubing? I'm trying to build a version of this as well. This is the best design I've found.

[@ndyakangler]

I went with the round bars because they were available locally and it would be easier to drill a round hole in the plastic for them to fit into. I angled the tubing so the design would be less likely to collapse on itself under heavy load when pulling it down the steep angles at boat launches. A square or rectangular design could fold over at the joints if stressed too far, the isosceles trapezoid shape is structurally stronger.

[@rhaller07]

@@ndyakangler And so I set my drill press to 30 degrees... lol thanks for the repy

[@fredbacon4971]

Still one of the better builds ....my opinion

[@nosacredcows]

Genius!

[@GoMidwestFishing]

I love the name "sledski"

[@aarongrulke3274]

Awesome build!!! How do think this sled would hold up and stay straight without having the running strips that you put on?? I would like to build one to set my flip over on but don't want to have to put runners on the bottom.

[@ndyakangler]

All you need are some skis and something to raise the sled 6-8” off them so you aren’t plowing snow with it. This design wouldn’t work without the plastic runners I put under the sled because I angled the bars and they catch on the grooves I put on the runners, otherwise it would be too much prying force from the bars on the plastic blocks on the skis and they’d snap when I toss a bunch of weight in the sled. If you did the bars at 90 degrees to the skis you might be able to just toss a sled on top. I’d honestly make some kind of top for it you could just set the sled on.

[@aarongrulke3274]

Thanks for the reply!! I understand what you're saying. I've been trying to come up with a way to attach 2 more poles perpendicular to strengthen it....yet keep it easy enough to disassemble. I'm at a loss so far. Ill keep brainstorming!!

[@evanmcgough5210]

Are you selling all the pieces pre cut/drilled ?!

[@greenpea9412]

No kidding. I would buy this in a minute.

[@kylem3944]

go on amazon and find a pre cut slab of 1" hdpe. 12"x12" slab is like $30

[@greenpea9412]

@@kylem3944 Thank you for the tip.

[@dallas5374]

Kyle M outrageous!

[@jackcofano4317]

Just finally got around to watching this vid. It's a great one! I have two questions, did you angle the back ski cleats at 60° as you did the fronts and did you angle them forward as they appear to be in the video? My other question is approximately how many inches hangover did you give yourself from the rear and front of your skis? Do you find it's better to have more fronts ski showing then rear ski for balance? I guess that was three questions😀

[@darrentoth7165]

Interesting idea, I just fastened teflon runners to the bottom of my sleigh

[@glenndaugherity6187]

Great design and setup for sure the only thing I wouldn’t do is put the HDPE things on the bottom of the sled there’s times when we have to pull our sleds across gravel parking lots or asphalt to get to the ice and if you’ve ever pulled a sled loaded on top of a Smitty without snow or ice is isn’t fun !

[@ndyakangler]

I’ve actually done a couple modifications since I filmed this video, for one I replaced the four “tabs” under the sled with two HDPE strips that run the length of the sled. Other than the notches for the bars it’s like having a sled with HDPE runner strips so if I need to pull it without the skis it’s no problem. I also moved the sled over on the bars from the middle to one side so the shack can sit next to the sled rather than in it.

[@4seasonpursuits724]

Nice clean and simple design…great job! I’m just in the midst of getting mine ready to be built and have a question. Would you find the sled tippy if the skis were only the outer width of the sled compared to being wider as you constructed?

[@ndyakangler]

My sled is only about 24' wide so having the skis that width apart might make it a bit unstable at the height I built it to. The way it was shown in the video I'd stack everything into the sled with the shack bag on top along one side next to the propane tank and I'd often have it roll off when I'd get one ski up on a snow drift. What I ended up doing was shifting the sled over around 5" or so to one side of the bars and that left plenty of room to lay the shack on the bars next to the sled, and added a bungee cord around the shack from the sled. That lowered the center of gravity and opened up a lot more room in the sled, less playing tetris trying to fit everything into it. It works great!

[@Bitterrootbackroads]

I’m sure that works great on ice & groomed hard pack that’s been tramped down by hundreds of weekend warriors. How does it work with 100+ pounds of gear in fresh knee deep powder and not a track in sight? Like we deal with living in the boonies with lots of space and few people. I don’t think you could move it with the skis buried. I was just watching the guys with the little ice auger powered sleds, same story. Considering all possible snow conditions there are times when the stock tub sled would easily float across the top if it didn’t have those blocks of plastic screwed to the bottom.

[@glenndaugherity6187]

A tub sled with a 100# in it won’t float across your knee deep powder bud better get your snowmobile out !! 👍

[@kylem3944]

get a fat tire bike and hook this thing up to it. youll cover an entire lake in no time man. Ive already got the bike so I will be making a carbon copy of your setup for next winter, cant wait, it will pull like a dream!

[@northlandphoenix]

When you use your sled, do you put the sled onto the skis loaded or do you assemble it empty and then load it up? Currently all my stuff stays in the sled while it's in the vehicle anyway.

[@ndyakangler]

I usually assemble the sled then load it. I’ll maybe leave a few things in it but I have to load everything a certain way to fit it all into the bed of my truck so I have to rearrange most of the bigger stuff anyway.

[@kevinherndon2810]

Where did you get that polymer plastic that you put on the ski

[@ndyakangler]

There’s a local hardware store called Mac’s that has a bin full of random types of plastic scraps they sell by the pound. There’s also a couple businesses in town that deal with HDPE plastic for making display cases and such, I’ve called them up a couple times to see if they’d sell me a scrap piece and they’ve always helped me out if they had what I was looking for. The thicker stuff can be tougher to come by. It’s basically cutting board plastic so you could find one of those and cut it up. There’s also ordering online from Tap plastics, you can have them custom cut whatever dimensions you want up to 1” thick with a $10 min per piece. I’ve ordered from them several times but shipping is about $25 so I really only order from them if I need a lot.

[@matthewarnold3196]

Is there a particular reason why you cut the hole in the HDPE block at 30 degrees? The reason why I ask is that I don't have a drill press , but could probably cut one 90 degrees with my cordless drill.

[@ndyakangler]

The garage engineer side of me figured it would be a stronger setup if I angled the bars toward each other like that. Having them in a trapezoidal shape redistributes some of the stress away from the plastic blocks and makes it less likely the whole thing would fold and collapse under a fully loaded sled on uneven ground than if I went with 90 degree bars and a rectangular shape. You could probably get away with having them at 90 degrees though if your pulling less than 100lbs of gear. I tested mine by hopping on top with it fully loaded and it held up about 250lbs stationary without failing. My main concern was that the plastic would become brittle in the cold which is why I wanted to take some of the stress off the blocks but HDPE seems to hold up well even when the temperature is well below zero. One thing I’ve recently changed was to do away with the four tabs under the sled and replaced them two strips of 1/2”x2” HPDE that run the length of the flat bottom of the sled and cut the notches for the bars to fit into on those. It adds structural support to the sled and if anything ever fails where I’d have to pull it back without the skis it will be a little easier than it would have been before.

[@VK-lf3sf]

@@ndyakangler That is absolutely right- it makes triangle shape which is mush more stable and rigid then rectangular - 90 deg . Bright idea!~ I was up to building one with plywood but hated that idea - I am more metal /plastics fabrication guy . Will definitely copy your idea. I burnt my legs pulling regular sled in deep snow uphill from the lake last Sunday. Thanks.