We recently moved to a wonderful new town with lots of snow around to play in. I see all types of snow sledding options. What is your kids favorite style or design?
Best one we ever owned was a blow up one with a heavy rubber bottom. I actually think it was designed to be pulled by a boat, but it was built like a tank! Was like this, but oblong: http://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?i=167...
Water tubes are much sturdier than the snow tubes because the seams are designed to take an incredible amount of stress and not pop :)
My Mother In Law bought all the families last Christmas some L.L. Bean - XXL sized commercial grade snow tubes...Spendy, yes...about $150 each, but it is the most fun, best built, quality, safe, and fun sled we have ever had (and we have gone through at least 75 sleds (my kids usually have about 10-15 different types). The whole family can use it and a few kids fit in it at once. It is fantastic!
I did find a smaller similiar (much cheaper) version:
http://lookmommy.blogspot.com/2008/11/lands-end-snow-tube...
PS: Sleds vary greatly by hill and snow conditions... The sled the kids fight over one day may be the one nobody wants to ride the next. If the snow is deep you want one kind, packed or wet another, soft, icy...you wouldn't think it would be that complicated :). The tube I described above works great in all conditions.
card board boxes? Sorry I'm in texas and this is what we use.
I like & the kids like the long plastic style we are able to get in with them
If your kids are a bit older, like around 9 or so, then they'd probably love a metal saucer sled. They are so fast and slick and just a huge rush! If I wasn't preggers right now, id go buy one to take my son on :-)
I grew up in MN, so I have used just about every type if sled available. Other favorites are the inflatable donut style sleds, and traditional toboggans.
We don't have snow where we live now, but when I was growing up (back in Western NY) the best sled we had was a thick roll up plastic sheet sled. They sold them like that. It had a handle so you could hang on or hang it on a peg in the garage. It was light and easy to carry/drag as you're trudging through the snow to get to the hill. Walking through snow that was thigh high or hip deep was just exhausting. We'd spray the bottom with WD40 and that thing would FLY over the snow! It would glide so long after coming down off the hill it was almost annoying how long the walk back to the hill was.
We had a metal saucer sled, but it would ice up too easy.
