Snowmobile Straps (aka Straps for Sledders)
Snowmobile Straps, aka Sled Straps, aka Snowmachine Straps, aka Ski-Doo Straps, aka Skimobile...
Photos by John Padilla & Cameron Lawson (featured).
Line Ski athlete and ski filmmaker John Padilla uses snowmobile straps constantly in the backcountry. His crew of sledders have them on hand all season for a variety of uses. And most often they use them to re-attach broken parts to get back down the mountain and trail and onto the trucks.
"This season, we used four 25” Industrial Straps to hold together a broken A-Arm," John explains. "And we limped the sled 14 miles back to the parking lot. "Without Titan Straps, we would have been sleeping in the woods."
Why do they work so well for sleds and sledders? Because tension straps provide a "tension" other straps don't have. Made of super strong and stretchy polyurethane, when you stretch a Titan Strap around something and pull tension on it, the tension keeps that item (your skis, snowboard, broken piece of equipment) in place tight as a vice. Even as loads shift and adjust as they inevitably do while you're riding, snowmobile straps keep tension on those items. There's no play in the system.
As EMT and avid skier Jesse Scarantino says: "They crank down so tight, and they don’t come off. When you use a cam strap, it doesn’t matter how much you tighten it. At some point the ski (or other gear) will work its way loose, and you’ll have to stop and retighten them.”
Jesse also regularly uses Titan Straps on his snowmobile setup, whether for backcountry adventures or hauling supplies to his otherwise inaccessible cabin in the San Juan National Forest of Colorado. “They're so badass!"
Best Uses of Sled Straps
- 14" Utility Straps: Strap a Bluetooth speaker to your steering post. Or attach an LED light to the handlebars or steering post on your sled for night rides. "Many of us have headlight delete kits, but still enjoy a night ride every now and then," says John. "Using a Titan Strap allows us to bring the lights when we want them and save the weight when we don’t."
- 20" Industrial Straps: Use as an added attachment point to secure your skis and poles to the sled's ski rack. Or put skis or snowboard on the running board (aka tunnel) and then attach them to the rear bumper or luggage rack.
- 25" Utility Strap: Build a groomer for the trails around your property, and use Industrial Straps to secure weights to that groomer to better compact the surface of the trail.
- 25" Industrial Straps: Attach fuel and safety equipment for emergency purposes to the running board.
- 30” Industrial Straps: Secure tools or lumber to the sled. Lash a generator to a sled. Secure water jugs to the sled if you have to haul water to your cabin in the winter.
