PULK HAULING SYSTEMS

Once you have decided which pulk you are using, you then need to decide which hauling setup you are using for the pulk and thus which harness setup you need.

Please click for a PDF of Fitting Instructions for Hauling Shafts and Ropes.

Shafts or Ropes?

In general, a hauling shaft needs to be used if the terrain is undulating, e.g., in mountainous areas, to enable you to have more control over the pulk. It can also be used in flat terrain to help prevent your pulk from overturning on rutted trails. However, a rope may be all that is needed when it’s flat, e.g., level glacier fields, over lake ice or if travelling through pack-ice – indeed, a shaft can be dangerous in pack-ice!

 

Shafts

The uniquely developed and well proven hauling shaft is designed to allow free movement in all but the horizontal plane. This provides manoeuvrability and flexibility which is very important on uneven/angled terrain.

The shaft is supplied in a bag and is short enough to fit easily inside the shell. Out of the bag, it takes only a minute to fit together and attach to the sled.  It can be folded back over the sled when not in use. To disconnect from the sled, you just need to withdraw the pivot pins, leaving the attachment arms still bolted to the pulk shell.

Ropes

Our rope hauling system is a simple, yet effective system, using a Y shape hauling setup to equalize the weight transfer to your harness. The inbuilt shock absorber loop reduces jerking and gives a smoother haul. We use DMM Spectre 2 Carabiners on the ropes, fully rated (24kn) for climbing. As you may be traveling over glaciated terrain and may need to use carabiners for crevasse rescue etc. you can feel safe using these.

Harnesses

Once you have decided what sort of hauling system you are using you can choose the correct harness setup.

Most people who choose to haul with shafts will also carry ropes as a back up or as an alternative to shafts if going over flatter ground.

Shaft and Rope harness.

The shaft and rope harness has attachment points for both hauling methods.

Ropes only

The ropes only harness is for if you are exclusively hauling on ropes.

Shoulder Harness

The shoulder harness will attach to either waist harness. The shoulder harness is highly recommended as it allows you to spread/alter the load between the shoulders, back and hips, as opposed to having the weight fully around your hips at all times. Only when very light loads are being hauled would we suggest using only a waist harness.

We offer both padded and non padded shoulder straps. In general we recommend using padded shoulder straps as they offer greater support and comfort when hauling loads over long distances for a long time. However, if wearing a rucksack when hauling, padded shoulder straps can get in the way and you would have to go without them. However, webbing shoulder straps are much less restrictive and allow you to still wear a rucksack when hauling.

Sizing – Waist Harnesses

Sizing is taken off a hip circumfrence. NOT WAIST MEASUREMENT. It is worth noting to remember that you may be wearing lots of thick bulky clothing/or just thermals/base layers. Therefore it is best to choose a size where the harness fits at the smaller end of the range when wearing just thin layers, leaving plenty of extra room when wearing bulky clothing:

Small: 28-34 inch (71-86 cms)

Medium: 34-40 inch (86-102 cms)

Large: 38-44 inch (97-112 cms)