Smitty sled help, Down hill or cross country skis?

Hey all! Since I walk around the lake looking for fish the snow this year inspired me to build a smitty sled. It looks like downhill skis are used mainly but wondered if anyone has had luck with cross country skis? Or any other pointers or tips from other diy smitty sled projects. Thanks so much!

The downhill skis I have are quite wide, and this allows my sled to ride on top of the snow pack when loaded without sinking as much as my old one with cross country skis.

I had short dh skies as a smitty years go and it was not very good. This year built from 168 cm long xcountry skis and very happy. the skis are lighter and it takes little effort to pull.

Even downhill ski's sink in the snow , it's all about the CONDITIONS on how well the your smitty will pull.
Definitely any smithy build will make it easier to get all the gear and comforts of home to your destination.
Look forward to seeing the build.

I used these. Works well

I use XC skiis as well. Can pull a lot of weight with little effort in most conditions. The longer the skiis, the better they pull. When building, I would suggest spending a good amount of time making sure the skiis are properly aligned with each other, with more length in front than behind. Waxing once in a while helps too.

IMO down hill are better. They do sit higher in the snow. Also I use Abs to make my smitty and the caps are to wide for most cross country skis.

I would bet as far as friction is concerned the cross country would be easier to pull as they have a smaller contact area and therefor less friction.

Either way it’s all better than dragging your stuff on a sled.

Anyone try pushing their smitty instead of pulling? I’ve been wanting to try it, seems like it may be easier.

X2 on all this info.

Whether downhill or XC skis sit on top or sink really ends up being a question of the surface area of the skis being used. So what someone said about length is a way to increase surface area. For the same length skis, the downhill skis will have more surface area so stay on top a bit better since they are wider than the XC skis. And the longer, the better they track too but you lose in the ability to turn the sled more easily. Waxing periodically for sure will help as well (and if you want to get really technical, your selection of wax for various conditions will affect things as well). But like everyone has said, almost any Smitty (skis aligned and tracking straight together) is better than none at all.
Pushing: was told by someone that this is a much more efficient way to move the Smitty. Haven't tried it yet but have the materials to make a decent push bar (but likely for next year) so if anyone tries to do this, please post how things go and your set up.

I used downhill and a buddy built his with me and he used cross country. We’ve been out a few times with them in varying conditions and they seem to perform similarly with no obvious differences. Get the cheapest available and longest that you can fit into your vehicle so the skis stick out beyond point of where the weight distribution begins on the smitty. Keep the sled nice and wide so you don’t have to worry about it tipping over dependent on terrain.

"...and longest that you can fit into your vehicle"
When planning the length of skis, it's a good idea to fit/store the skis low in the vehicle. Most of us would for simple cleanliness, but these things can become killers in an accident. Anything shooting over the seats in a vehicle can never end well! Just say'n.

Thanks all for your input…I got some scrap aluminum from work and I’ll see what I can throw together when I get a chance…cheers & tight lines!

This is my setup. The bolt sticking out at the base are for attaching wheels. (Free parking are usually far!)

Hey all if anyone is interested I have 2 sets of XC and 1 set of downhill skis if anyone wants to build a Smitty you're welcome to have them. I'm just north of Port Perry but try to hit Simcoe once a weekend I can drop off. Cheers