Why You'll Want To Bring A Sled The Next Time You Head To The Beach

There's nothing quite like a great day at the beach, but making sure you have everything you need can feel like packing for an expedition to the South Pole. It's often a long way from the car to that perfect spot by the sea, and carrying everything by hand can prove a real chore. The simple solution to transport your beach blankets, sand toys, picnic hampers, windbreakers, and everything else you need is to load it all up on a wagon, but the challenges don't stop there. Unless you have a beach wagon with wide wheels specially designed for navigating soft sand, you can quickly find yourself bogged down.

Even the most experienced four-wheel driver can get stuck in the sand. This leaves little hope for the rest of us when trying to push or pull regular narrow wheels across a few hundred feet of the soft stuff. Often, it leaves you with a straight choice between strenuously dragging the wagon to your destination. You might even have to team up with someone else to carry the very thing that was supposed to save you the effort in the first place.

Luckily, there is a range of big-wheel beach wagons on the market specifically designed for navigating soft sand, but they can be quite costly. If you haven't picked one up yet or don't fancy the extra expense, there is a hack using a far cheaper seasonal item: a humble plastic snow sled.

There isn't a huge amount of difference between how wheels behave on soft snow or soft sand, which is probably why Santa Claus still hasn't traded in his sleigh for a 4WD yet. His trusty old conveyance might have received a few high-tech upgrades in the movies over the years, but the basic principle is the same: When it comes to negotiating the white stuff, sliding is still tops.

Winter toys may not immediately spring to mind when it comes to solving summer problems, which is why this hack is so good. Just about every family has a few cheap plastic sleds hanging up in the garage ready for those snow days in the cold months. If not, they are easy enough to order online for a few bucks and can make the task of transporting your beach gear much more stress-free.

As Tiktoker @gusfrancospizza demonstrates in their video, all you need to do is load up your regular foldable wagon on top of two kids' sleds and attach a length of string. Get the thing sliding and you can transport all of your equipment to your desired spot with minimum effort. It's a great tip because this type of sled weighs next to nothing on its own and takes up very little space in the car. You'll be ready for a glorious day at the beach in no time.

It isn't just wagons that benefit from this simple and clever beach hack. Parents with babies or toddlers will know all too well that strollers are especially prone to getting bogged down in the sand, largely due to the swivel wheels that tend to flip on first contact. Loading up the stroller on a pair of plastic sleds will have your little one sliding serenely across the sand, ready for a day of paddling and building sand castles. It is advisable to have someone at the back to make sure the stroller doesn't tip over backward during the journey. If you have the type of snow sled with sides, you can also use it as a makeshift water table for very small children so they can amuse themselves without needing supervision in the surf.

Carrying a cooler or two full of cold drinks can be strenuous work while walking with shifting sand beneath your feet, so the sled method also makes transporting refreshments on a hot day much easier. Once the day is done, kids have the habit of suddenly losing energy for the walk back to the car after all that sun and play. A few sleds are a fun and easy way of getting tired children back to your vehicle. Who knew snow sleds had so many summer vacation uses?