Sleds on bare ice? Need some help.

[DJH]

I only have a snowmobile to use for ice fishing and need something to help lube the slides and keep the engine cool when there is little or no snow on the ice. I thought I read something last year on these forums about some kind of ice scrapper that mounts on the skis that draggs behind the front of the ski and kicks up ice for the coolers and slides.Maybe I was just dreaming this, but I cannot find this product anywhere. Anyone have any ideas?

[Hooked On a Feeling]

I woudn't worry about it to much, for the amount of time your on your sled and if you keep speeds below 40 mph while towing a portable, you should be just fine. I run a sled on the ice sometimes with little or no snow and haven't seen any excessive wear. It would be different if you were trail riding all day long with little snow, here I would see a potential problem with wear to the slides.

[snowman678]

There are two different types out there; the ones that you mentioned that mount to the ski's and there is another style that mounts to your slide rails that you can fold out of the way when you are in more snow. The added benefit to using them is that you will also be helping your cooling situation by getting some snow/ice onto your coolers (if you have a liquid cooled machine). You can google "ice scratchers" and you will come up with several options.

[Eric Wettschreck]

You can also get different Hyfax that can handle higher heat loads. However, if you're just shooting out to the fish house and keep it slow you should be ok.

[MN Mike]

You could add more boggie wheels to your skid frame too, to save on hyfax.

I run a 2" paddle on mine and for cooling, I drilled a 3/8" hole on the inside of my skis and send a bolt thru that was about 2 - 2.5" long, that does a good enough job when the snow is hard. Don't know if there is a clear cut solution on glare ice.

Mike

[SledNeck]

I dont think the graphite hyfax last any longer than the regular

[Dahitman44]

I agree -- If you don;t drive all day or drive crazy you should be fine.

[fishfart]

On bare ice your wearing out your hyfax, track clips plus running much hotter with a liquid. Get the scratchers, problem solved.

[Random guy]

Get the scratchers for sure. I burnt out a set on of hifax running across leech. Bad feeling being out in the middle of main lake leech with the hifax torn loose and wrapped up in the track at 11PM.

[hanson]

I guess on bare ice, I'm more concerned about steering and traction. Make sure you have good carbides on your skis or you won't be doing too much turning. Studs are really, really nice as well. Along with giving you traction, studs are also ripping up the ice a little bit which may aid in lubrication and cooling.