Skis for smitty sled, Need your help

Hello all, hope everyone is having a good season. I need some help choosing skis to attach to my smitty sled. Old style downhill skis (right side) vs newer and slightly wider (left side). Any help is appreciated.

Can't say I know anything about what skis would be better or if either would be better.. either way, in the smtties I've built I've cut my skis short.... my first Smitty, my skis were 4 ft long, my second Smitty my skis were three and a half feet long

I could be wrong here but I’d assume the narrower the skis the easier to pull.. personally I’d pick the blue. Looks like the curl on the front is higher on the blue too, you might appreciate that on bumps etc

The old straight skis are better, the newer ones are more designed for better turning when skiing, which does not apply here. Also looks like the old ones you have are slightly longer which also helps.

Thanks all for your valuable input! I’ll post an update once I’ve installed.

I’m go the other way, I choose the ones on the left as I use the same style and have used the older style too, my small loaded sled is light enough to not break through the slush layer this time of year with the newer style as it has just enough surface area to keep buoyant. The difference in ease of pulling would be negligible n my opinion but the narrow ones do have that better point on the end. They would both be great.

Wide skis are better. This is why cross country ski are not as good as down hill skis.
My preference is kids down hill skis. Straight, wide and short.

On my old smitty, I had cross country skis. On my current one that I built with Easysled kit, I used newer kids downhill skis like the ones on the left. Personally I haven't noticed a difference, they both pull fine. I did like the country ski tips better because the curled higher and better on bumps. I shortened my rope on the new one and tied to tip of skis by drilling holes close to the tip so it lifts a bit while I pull. IMO either one will do the job.
John

I have old style downhill skis on mine and they perform great.

I used parabolic downhill skis on my ski doo sleigh and it tends to wobble back and forth unless carrying a decent load. I suspect it is the curved edges causing this. Probably wouldn't make a difference at all at walking speed though.

Initially I installed downhill skis on my sled, but I didn't like them - it was hard to pull in deep snow. Then I switched to kids narrow cross country skis and they are better, much easier to pull, right length and they are also lighter.

I don't think you would notice a huge difference between the 2. One style may be a bit better in certain situations however they will both work. Don't over think it. I wax mine twice a year and definitely notice a difference. Fyi I run OG downhill skiis

Agree with everyone who said you are unlikely to notice a difference between those skis. Waxing for sure helps alot (and if you can find the plant based wax, it's much better for the environment than the waxes that contain petro products or worse, Telfon ot Teflon-like products) - I haven't noticed a difference between the more eco waxes and the older eco-unfriendly (I would call them) waxes.
One thing to consider as well if you have a space issue in your car is the length of the skis. As mentioned before, kids skis make easier fitting into a car without the need to fold down seats or roof-racking them. And if you can get those skis that they use for aerials, half-pipes, etc. where both ends are curved up, they can be great to have if you overshoot or need to just pull back the sled a little bit to where you have drilled your holes (a minor thing but if you are mounting the skis onto a flip-over directly instead of just a Smitty, it helps alot in those situations).

I’ve had my sled for about 20 yrs now, I only walk and found that the wider ski is the best overall. I Carrie a jiffy 10” auger, large pop up tent, several rods, spud bar and three five gallon pails with assorted tackle. I’m in my 80’s and still no problem. The secret is to have good height/clearance between the skies and the bottom the sled.

This winter your sled would have to be 3 ft above the ground! LOL

But I believe what you said to be bang on! Lots of clearance and wide skis to help keep it up on top of the snow.