With four kids that all sled, I would consider myself somewhat of an expert on this subject. However, I would not be surprised to have many folks disagree with my view on this topic.
We started sledding about four years ago and that time purchased a 120 for our 3.5 year old son. After his first thirty minutes on his new sled, he came up to me, flipped up his face shield and says, "Dad, I don't like it! It too slow!" Which put a huge grin on my face. So we went to messing with the governor and all the other tricks known to man. To make a long story short, over the past few years, I have just made the decision to buy too much sled for my kids rather than not enough. Yes, there are risks associated with more power than necessary, however my goal has been to give all my kids the opportunity to get deep in the back country (off trail) at the earliest age that meets their skill level and what they consider to be fun. We love keeping the family together in the back country and don't have any desire to stick to the trail doing it. And to be honest, what adult has slung their leg over a sled for the first time and wasn't on too much sled?! We adults grow into the power and so can our kids.
Needless to say, the 120 went away quickly and a 340 was in the garage. But then you have to deal with the fact that your little guy or gals legs aren't long enough to straddle the seat on the 340. So I modded a narrow IQ seat to the 340 and that worked for a while. But to say this sled is efficient in the back country without some fairly serious mods, would be a lie. We did what we could, but at the end of the day (year) it was time to sell it and move on.
In the mean time, we purchased two 2004 Edge 600's for two of our daughters (13 and 9) all the while looking for a solution for our young son. So I went on a hunt for a 500. There are quite a few 500's out there but none that are much good off trail without some mods. So I ended up purchasing a very low mileage Edge X electric start 123" water cooled 500. And then proceeded to put a ridiculous amount of money into it! Tunnel extension, 144" challenger track" shocks" RMK skid for starters. Leaving the trail suspension on the front created the perfect combination, back-country deep snow sled that is difficult to tip over. Hold'er wide open and "Rip it"! Last year, at the age of 6/7, he really loved this sled..... That was until last spring when he jumped on his sisters RMK 600 and realized he could side hill it!!! UGHHHHHH!! Yep, the 500 is just not enough now...! Lucky for me, we have another 10 year old daughter which is a bit timid and this sled will be perfect for her as a starter. Until now, I have doubled her up in front of me on family days.
Navigating a child of age 3 to 7 through the sledding world can be very frustrating to say the least. I believe that the perfect kids sled is in the eyes of the child and what they want to accomplish. But always making sure that they are having fun in the process. At the same time, if we expect our kids to go where we go, they are going to need the equipment to learn and the encouragement to get there. I for one believe that my kids have the ability to do anything they put their minds to. I work hard to encourage disciplined riding practices (throttle control) to minimize some risk. But lets face it, we can never remove all risk.
We contemplated putting our now 7/8 year old son on a 6 or 700 Edge chassis, however, I know in my heart at the end of this year, we will have wished we stepped him up to the IQ. So after much contemplation, I just purchased a 2007 155" 700 IQ for our soon to be 8 year old. Allot of sled for an eight year old, but I truly believe that with his discipline he can handle it.
So for 2012/13, here is the line-up for the kids
Daughter 14 - 2004 RMK 600 144"
Daughter 10 - 2004 RMK 600 151"
Daughter 10 - 2003 Edge X 500 144" mountain track
Son 8 - 2007 Dragon 700 IQ 155"
It's going to be an amazing season!
So; What is the right age? Gosh, your the only one that can really answer that question. However, I hope this post encourages you and your child to give it heck no matter the age.
Ride safe and don't put any kid on a sled without a tether! Or yourself for that matter!
Cheers.... Rich
Some pics of the kids and their sleds.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
I'd love to see that. Hahaha!
