The Best Wooden Sleds
The Flexible Flyer was patented in 1889 by Samuel Leeds Allen and has not required fundamental redesign since. Wood slats over steel runners with a steering mechanism is correct physics for sliding on snow and has been for 135 years. These are the sleds worth buying.
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How to Choose
For children sledding hills: a 40 to 48-inch sled is the standard format. Longer sleds are faster and more stable. The steel runners should be welded into the steel frame -- not riveted or bolted. Wood slats should be hardwood (ash or maple), not pine. The steering mechanism should steer by shifting the front runners, not just by leaning. Buy a sled your child will keep.
Flexible Flyer 48-Inch Steel Runner Sled
The Flexible Flyer is the American sled. Samuel Leeds Allen's 1889 patent covered the steerable runner design that allows directional control by shifting the front crosspiece. The current production 48-inch model has ash wood slats, steel runners, and the same red paint and wing insignia it has had for generations. It is a legitimate heirloom object at an honest price.
The original American sled, still in production, still in the original design. Nothing needs to change.
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Radio Flyer Classic Red Sled 40-Inch
Radio Flyer entered the sled market with the same approach they use for wagons: classic design, steel construction, honest price. The 40-inch sled has hardwood slats, steel runners with the turned-up tips that prevent digging in, and Radio Flyer's signature red. Slightly smaller than the Flexible Flyer standard, it is the right size for children up to about ten years old.
Radio Flyer quality at a smaller format. The right first sled for a younger child.
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Pine Ridge Toboggan 54-Inch
A toboggan is a different form than the steel-runner sled -- it rides on the curved wood itself rather than metal rails, which makes it faster on packed snow and powder but less steerable. The Pine Ridge toboggan is 54 inches, made from hardwood strips bent to the curved front, with rope handles along the sides. The classic format for multiple riders on gentle slopes.
The multi-rider format. When the Flexible Flyer is too small for the whole family.
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