Tobogganing and sledding are both age-old ways to enjoy the snow.
But what is the difference between these two winter activities and how did they start?
With snow just around the corner, we thought it was a good time to explore the best snow sliding apparatus options for you.
The Toboggan Party, Rideau Hall, illuminated composite photograph from Lady Dufferin's personal album.
What is a Toboggan?
Toboggans are probably the simplest form of sledding.
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A toboggan takes the form of a simple sled which is curved in front and is placed directly onto the snow without the use of runners or skis to gain speed and direction on the underside.
The sled can carry a single rider or a group of riders - usually children - and toboggans are traditionally made of bound, parallel wood slats which are bent at the front to form a ‘J’ shape.
A toboggan is a simple sled used in snowy winter recreation.
It is used on snow to carry one or more people (often children) down a hill or other slope for recreation, or as a rescue sled.
Designs vary from simple, traditional models to modern engineered composites.
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A toboggan differs from most sleds or sleighs in that it has no runners or skis (or only low ones) on the underside.
The bottom of a toboggan rides directly on the snow.
Toboggans can vary depending on the climate and geographical region.
Traditionally, toboggans are controlled by means of a crude steering system whereby a piece of rope is fixed to the top of the loop and controlled by the feet of the person at the front of the sled.
Modern recreational toboggans are typically manufactured from wood or plastic or aluminum.
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Today toboggans are made of wood or aluminum and are a far cry from the traditional toboggans which were used for transport by the Innu and Cree Indians of northern Canada.
A classic toboggan is a sled made of wooden slats, most often painted red, and includes skis made of plastic or metal.
Toboggans also come with a pull rope to help steer on the way down and pull on the way up.
Санки, ледянки и ватрушки. На чём веселее и безопаснее кататься с горок?
History of Toboggans
Toboggan was originally an Algonquian term for a type of man-hauled cargo sledge made from bark, hardwood or whalebone, and deer or buffalo hide.
Sledges of this type have been in use on the Great Plains and the Great Lakes since 3000 BCE.
During the tribes' yearly migration to their winter campsites, these sledges were used to transport bulky personal possessions and small children before the introduction of the wheel.
The traditional American toboggan is made of bound, parallel wood slats, all bent up and backwards at the front to form a recumbent 'J' shape.
A thin rope is run across the edge of end of the curved front to provide rudimentary steering.
These usually lack the iron runners of the older woodcutter's sledges.
The Mountaineer [Innu] method is the only one adapted for the interior parts of the country: their sleds are made of two thin boards of birch; each about six inches broad, a quarter of an inch thick, and six feet long: these are fastened parallel to each other by slight battens, sewed on with thongs of deer-skin; and the foremost end is curved up to rise over the inequalities of the snow.
Each individual who is able to walk, is furnished with one of these; but those for the children are proportionately less.
On them they stow all their goods, and also their infants; which they bundle up very warm in deer-skins.
The two ends of a leather thong are tied to the corners of the sled; the bight or double part of which is placed against the breast, and in that manner it is drawn along.
International Sledding Championships in Oberhof, East Germany, 1967.
Sleds: A More Controlled Descent
Sledding seems to be a much more common concept these days.
A sled is similar to a toboggan but it makes use of skis on the underside of the sled in order to enable better control.
Sledding has its origins in Switzerland in a small resort town of St. Moritz and the sport arose shortly after the arrival of English tourists in the early 1870s.
These visitors had a lot of time and, since tourism was in its infancy, not much to do with it.
They noticed the simplistic delivery sleds which were being used by young boys for odd jobs and discovered that these provided an excellent form of entertainment when sat on and pushed down a hill.
These delivery sleds were basically toboggans and offered very little in the way of steering so it wasn’t long before these English tourists were devising ways of improving the steering capabilities of their sleds.
With the help of creative Swiss craftsmen, they were soon able to successfully navigate their way through narrow lanes and down streets.
Before long they took to racing each other and soon the sport of competitive sledding was born.
The Evolution to Bobsledding
Soon the concepts of tobogganing and sledding were combined to create the sport phenomena known as bobsledding.
Later Luge and Skeleton were developed.
The Olympic sport of bobsledding has its origins in the toboggan.
The bobsled is essentially a curved front toboggan with sides walls and runners and the sled or sleigh is usually made of metal.
Bobsleigh at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Other Snow Sliding Options
Plastic sleds are modeled after toboggans, but are lighter weight and thus less maneuverable.
You can easily fit 2-3 adults on a bigger one (or up to five kids if you live dangerously), but do expect to careen wildly off course.
Like a UFO but for the earth, a saucer is disk shaped and comes in an array of bright colors.
Crazy people will pair an extra person with the rider for added excitement (growing up we called these the ejectees).
When I was a kid we used to have to steal lunch trays from the cafeteria to enjoy their sweet slickness, but nowadays you can buy a lunch tray style sled (I think they still mostly come in brown though).
Snow tubes come in various shapes and sizes, and are even more fun thanks to the influencers of Instagram who prefer to float around pools on inflatable swans and unicorns.
You can go with the classic black tube or upgrade to something fancier, like an inflatable duck.
A favorite of seasoned glissaders, a black garbage bag is the perfect tool for one person to enjoy insanely fast sledding for a single day.
Pack that bag uphill without a care in the world, then slide down as many times as your unprotected bum can handle (or until the bag shreds to smithereens).