This Kickstarter is for a limited-release series of High Coast Hut Sleds and High Coast Snow Wagons. We have committed to 72 total units for this Made in Colorado production run. This is will be our 1.X release, and each sled/wagon will be sequentially numbered for all backers to this project, as well as with special 1.x release graphics. These will be placed on the rear of the sled and identified as the limited-edition 1.X release.
Three years ago, we brought the lightest folding boat to market here on Kickstarter. Then backcountry ski trekkers asked if we could to the same thing for their crews that we did for the backcountry paddlers. They wanted to be able to move lots of gear and supplies to backcountry chalets, ski huts, and across dozens of miles of open high country terrain. The only gear sleds on the market at the time were narrow, low-lipped toy sleds, or large gear sleds typically used in ice fishing that weren’t build for lightweight travel. But our friends asked for an ultralight, highly-visible sled that could be brought back home after the fun without weighing everyone down on the return trip. They wanted the ski back home to be fun, rather than a chore.
We spent a year in our lab and the Colorado high country, working with over a hundred different design iterations, we retooled our previous design, and perfected the High Coast Sled or this limited-edition, first release.
If you have a backcountry ski vacation planned and need to haul gear, or if you just need to bring home a bag of groceries and a kid from the bus, we have a High Coast sled for you. Unlike those cheap, Made-in-China sleds from the toy store, these are made to ALPINE STANDARDS in Golden, Colorado. They don’t get brittle, then crack and fall apart in the cold. They fold up for effortless travel, from the subway to the overhead bin on your transatlantic flight. You’ll get years of happy use from your High Coast Sled because you can stash it in the back of a closet when the weather gets warm and it will barely take up a notch-worth of space. Toss it into the trunk of your car, over your pack, or even slip the folded Snow Wagon into your messenger bag.
You can travel a few blocks down snowy streets, or miles through open high country terrain with the only gear sled that hides away when you don’t need it. Pull your kid through Central Park, or pull a party up to 12,000 feet in the Never Summer Wilderness. No more struggle with a heavy hardwood pulk, or a cheap kids’ sled that tips over with barely a crosswind. The High Coast Sleds were designed with careful study of how sleds move over snow. Unlike the cheap sleds, we found that a wider sled that flexed with the snow gave a smooth and stable platform to move supplies. We use marine-grade stainless steel grommets with both stainless and zinc-coated hardware throughout. We reinforce wear points with genuine Gorilla-brand repair tape, and we use UV-stabilized outdoor-grade corrugated plastic, Made-in-the-USA, that will outlast those cheap plastic sleds by years. And every sled is hand-assembled in Golden, Colorado by people who use these sleds all winter.
Pick the sled you want from these colors, some colors may be unavailable at production time, but we’ll get your first and second color choices …
Three Different Sleds …
High Coast Snow Wagon – The perfect sized High Coast Sled to bring home some groceries or give a toddler a tow. Snow Wagon weighs just a a bit over a pound, and packs small. Fold and unfold in seconds, if you live near snow, you’ll find new uses for your sled each time you head out, bring food and drink to a winter picnic or bring groceries home after a blizzard. Toss everything you need in there to have a fun afternoon at the slopes, or for a snowy hike on a sunny day. The Snow Wagon is small and handy, but it’s stable and durable like its larger siblings.
High Coast Hut Sled – This is the full-sized gear sled, it carries a shocking amount of gear and supplies. Load it up with supplies to last a week or more, your whole gang’s snowboard gear, or enough firewood, beer and food to power your next winter party. Snow Wagon sets up in seconds, and folds up to stow in the smallest space. The full-sized Snow Wagon has fiberglass-reinforced tow points, extra tie-down grommets and reinforced gunnels for extra durability and towing strength. In this Kickstarter, we also offer this Hut Sled in the Backcountry version, which includes the collapsible haul poles and a small field repair kit.
First Responder Hut Sled – This model is made for backcountry first responders, It is double-hulled sled with an insulation layer, and an open-ended pocket that is designed to be stiffened with two skis or a snowboard to provide a better-than-nothing backboard in order to get a hurt skier off a mountain when it’s not practical to bring a full-size evacuation sled. All connections and control poles are included. This model also unfolds to an emergency bivouac to shield an injured or lost skier through unexpected weather. This model is not offered through this Kickstarter. If you are a First Responder and have been recommended to purchase this sled, please contact the mountaineering emergency response experts in your region to discuss the the best spine immobilization and backboard options. Our sled should not be considered a medical-grade immobilization device and it is made primarily for backcountry transit with some emergency use. While we will make a donation to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, no endorsement from the CAIC is suggested or implied. The First Responder Hut Sled should only be used when it would be otherwise impractical or not feasible to bring a full-sized spine immobilizer or backboard.
All three High Country Sleds are built to be stable, with a wide stance that lowers the friction of the sled over snow, and prevent tip-overs. They are all made with a UV-stabilized plastic that you can patch quickly and easily for a near permanent repair. Unlike hard plastic sleds from China, High Coast Sleds stay flexible in the bitter cold and won’t go brittle and then crack.
Technical Discussion and Safety
The Hut Sled primarily differs from the Snow Wagon in that it is larger and deeper. However, the two sleds are designed for different purposes. The Snow Wagon is designed to be very light and fold small, so it has neither the folded lip on the edge of the sled nor the fiberglass rod reinforcement of the Hut Sled. The operation of the Snow Wagon is similar, however due to its smaller size and lower towing capacity, it does not have as much reinforcement as the larger sled. However, the Snow Wagon is primarily designed by an ultralight and compact folding sled, which we have achieved at only slightly more than 1 lb. of weight. The full-sized High Coast Hut Sled is significantly larger and more capable, but it still achieves a relatively low weight as a more simplified version than the First Responder Hut Sled. It achieves this by simplifying the design to be more suited to recreation than emergency service. Given that, the Hut Sled still is useful to some degree for an emergency wind break and any solution that allows you to bring more safety equipment can be potentially life-saving. It is our goal that both the Hut Sled and Snow Wagon will bring more fun and more safety to outdoor enthusiasts.
It is critically important to note for all of our sleds, that if you choose to move a child with any of our products, that the sled be controlled by the parent or guardian, on relatively level, flat ground, and kept at a controlled speed over the surface of the snow. Accidents will happen when you are outdoors with your children, and it is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to ensure safety in varied conditions. Enjoying the winter snow comes with a degree of risk. As with all winter activities, participants should prepare and educate themselves for safe outdoor fun.
Shipping
We’ll work to get these sleds shipped before the end of the year, in time for the best part of the snow season. If you want to give it as a holiday present, let us know and we’ll do our best to get it to you by December 15. No guarantees, but we’ll do our best. We generally ship the full-cost sleds first, and then work backwards to the Early Bird and Super Early Bird incentives.
A good cause – A portion of the proceeds of all items in this Kickstarter will go to support the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, a group of people dedicated to protecting people from Avalanches and freezing in dangerous conditions. We used data and research from the CAIC to develop the performance envelope of both the Hut Sled and Snow Wagon.
This is our first limited release, but we have already spent a year testing and redesigning these sleds. We also brought the Backpack Barge folding boat to market a few years ago, which helped us work through similar production issues. and which we have transferred intellectual property to this new winter product.