What do you carry that others may not have thought about?

greenthumb

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I carry 10 meters of 5mm tech cord and a couple carabiners. Strong enough to tow a sled, packs to about the size of your fist and and with the carabiners, you can rig up a rudimentary block and tackle. Also works good for lashing.
Buy it in bulk from a rock climbing shop for cheap, not a hardware store. It's also available smaller and larger in 1mm diameter increments, but I feel 5mm is the best compromise.
https://www.mec.ca/en/product/0403-048/5mm-Nylon-Static-Cord

The best bang for the buck wood saw I have found is the Corona razor saw. The perfect size, super fast cutting and only $24. Only available from Lowes in Canada.



I also carry the Gerber 9" hatchet. Pretty small, but gets the job done. If you have the room, get the slightly larger model. There are many other cheaper options available, but this one is pretty light and compact. Be sure to cover the handle with grip tape!

5038590-NOC02.jpg




Not so much for survival, but a flashlight that I discovered is perfect for sledding; the UCO Leschi. Runs on one AA, converters between flashlight and lantern and has a little bungee built in. It's only $14 too.
It's small enough to fit in the convenient hip pocket of my avi pack, can be used as area lighting in the cabin, or as a regular flashlight. The little bungee lets you clip it to your handlebars and shine on the clutch of your sled.
They also make several other much larger models of convertible lights if that's your thing.

ml-leschi_slvblk_1.jpg


+1 for the vacuum bagging of emergency gear. They also sell resealable (ziplock style) vacuum bags so that you don't have to cut the bag open when needed. I also bagged my first aid kit and some emergency food.
 
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TDR

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Evening Everyone - just going through my gear in preparation for the season and thought I’d resurrect this thread. Some great tips in these posts and other similar ones. One item which I would like to add to my gear this year is a storable down jacket. Anyone have tips on where to find one at a decent price? Also where can a person get road flares? Thx
 

snowcannon

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Evening Everyone - just going through my gear in preparation for the season and thought I’d resurrect this thread. Some great tips in these posts and other similar ones. One item which I would like to add to my gear this year is a storable down jacket. Anyone have tips on where to find one at a decent price? Also where can a person get road flares? Thx
Costco has/had some.
 

skegpro

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Evening Everyone - just going through my gear in preparation for the season and thought I’d resurrect this thread. Some great tips in these posts and other similar ones. One item which I would like to add to my gear this year is a storable down jacket. Anyone have tips on where to find one at a decent price? Also where can a person get road flares? Thx
Sport check had some smoking deals on arcteyx ones. Last year's models but who cares. $129

Bought a decent down jacket from Simmons last year's too.

If you wanna drop $450 klim makes a nice one.
 

TDR

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Thanks. I’ll look there. Anyone know where to get road flares?
 

TDR

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I was just thinking of 15 minute fire starter. Good idea either way.
 

Quicksand

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X2. Having the right tools to get into tight or awkward spots on the sled is important. One mistake I've made in the past is carrying "one of everything" which was good until I only had 1 15mm wrench when I needed two to tighten the real idler wheels. Luckily I always have a vice grips (highly recommend). I had a bolt holding my rear idlers fall out just over ladder in Renshaw last year. Luckily realized it right away and it was early in the day, only 930ish. Nursed it back to the cabin because if the tensions bolts slid back at all I would have torn my track. From my experience of taking my skid apart multiple times I knew the support shaft in the skid used the same size bolt as the one that fell out. So I took the support out and promise myself not to hit any jumps for the rest of the day LOL however I also needed something to replace the rubber flange and metal washer which were also gone. In the renshaw cabin they had recently put new coat hooks on the walls and each had two washers (a big and a small). So I took about 6 hooks off the walls and used them to tighten the shaft and ride for the rest of the day. That night went to spindrift and got new parts. Next day reinstalled all the washers and hooks in the cabin. Moral of the story, sometimes you need to get creative.

Nobody has posted yet but having THE RIGHT tools, and not packing your sled full of crap you will never use saves space and weight. This is what I pack for a tool kit, being a polaris guy this is polaris specific but most sleds have the same sizes.

Wrenches - Metric 8, 10, 13, 15,
Wrenches Standard – 7/16”, 9/16”
1/4” drive Ratchet
1/4" drive 4" extension
1/4" to 3/8” adapter
Folding Metric Allen Wrench Set
Folding Torx set
6 in 1 Screw Driver
6” Crescent Wrench
4mm “L” Allen Wrench
6mm “L” Allen Wrench
Needle Nose Pliers

Sockets
15mm 3/8" drive Deep
13mm 3/8" drive Shallow
17mm 3/8" drive Shallow
7/16” ¼” drive Deep
8mm ¼” drive Shallow
10mm ¼” drive Shallow

Take out or add what else you feel you need but this pretty much covers the sled. Also don't cheap out on your tools, chances are, the bolt you need to remove will be seized and cheap tools are just gonna break and be completly useless
 

imdoo'n

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Costco has/had some.

ya i picked one up, $49 if i remember right? warm when under a light coat or jacket, try'd it out at -9, was a bit to warm under jacket i wore. light weight, has own stuff bag, easily stored in a pack. i think it will work well on those cold days, but needs a windbreaker over top!
 

brian h

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here is a question on what to pack, when people talk about sat phone,inreach etc, for communication for emergency purpose how many in there group have one, or does it seem like alot of groups have one per group. for example if i have a inreach and ride with others if they get hurt or buried i have inreach for communication, but if i get buried and mine is only inreach they cannot send for help, so i packed emergency device for others that did not get used for me. putting this up there for the people who believe one device is enough, for is it. yes i pack enough gear to survive the night and the guys i ride with also have enough common sense on survival but for some groups sometimes having gear that only one person has should be reconsidered. survival gear each should have incase of seperation from group. just thoughts i had after reading what people pack and my opinion
 

lilduke

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here is a question on what to pack, when people talk about sat phone,inreach etc, for communication for emergency purpose how many in there group have one, or does it seem like alot of groups have one per group. for example if i have a inreach and ride with others if they get hurt or buried i have inreach for communication, but if i get buried and mine is only inreach they cannot send for help, so i packed emergency device for others that did not get used for me. putting this up there for the people who believe one device is enough, for is it. yes i pack enough gear to survive the night and the guys i ride with also have enough common sense on survival but for some groups sometimes having gear that only one person has should be reconsidered. survival gear each should have incase of seperation from group. just thoughts i had after reading what people pack and my opinion

If you get buried inreach isn't going to save you.
Your friends have to do that, you only have a few minutes.
 

brian h

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yes i know inreach wont save you if you get buried i just used example of only having one source of communication, people i ride with have taken ast and know how to use beacons,probes etc. i was just putting the thought out that alot of people or groups should consider the thought that not always having one of anything is good. each person needs there own survival gear and not think that because someone else has something they dont need it.
 

IFSM8

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I pack tools metric and standard for most machines and a spare throttle flipper and brake handle. I also pack most of the same food and gear as everyone else here.

The one thing that I didn't see but may have missed was extra tensor bandages and tensor knee braces (the velcro kind) In our group this seems to be a pretty common injury by twisting the wrong way and popping the knee out. after that a simple brace can help stabilize the inflamed knee for the ride down and also prevent a worst crash and or injury.
 

AxysAssault

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Nobody has posted yet but having THE RIGHT tools, and not packing your sled full of crap you will never use saves space and weight. This is what I pack for a tool kit, being a polaris guy this is polaris specific but most sleds have the same sizes.

Wrenches - Metric 8, 10, 13, 15,
Wrenches Standard – 7/16”, 9/16”
1/4” drive Ratchet
1/4" drive 4" extension
1/4" to 3/8” adapter
Folding Metric Allen Wrench Set
Folding Torx set
6 in 1 Screw Driver
6” Crescent Wrench
4mm “L” Allen Wrench
6mm “L” Allen Wrench
Needle Nose Pliers

Sockets
15mm 3/8" drive Deep
13mm 3/8" drive Shallow
17mm 3/8" drive Shallow
7/16” ¼” drive Deep
8mm ¼” drive Shallow
10mm ¼” drive Shallow

Take out or add what else you feel you need but this pretty much covers the sled. Also don't cheap out on your tools, chances are, the bolt you need to remove will be seized and cheap tools are just gonna break and be completly useless
I use my packed toolkit for any work done at home...that way I know I have what I need.
 
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