You have your snow grooming equipment and are ready to head out on the trail to lay down some perfect corduroy but you probably are wondering what else is needed?
Over the years of snow grooming, every winter I have collected a few tools that I feel are a must-have while snow grooming in the winter.
Everything from tools to fixing your snow grooming equipment and to the vehicle you also want to make sure you are prepared with water, food, and winter survival gear.
Tools you need while out grooming snow:
- Extra Fuel
- Winter Survival Gear (first aid)
- Firestarter
- Extra Lighting
- Food/Water
- Tools Socket set (Can be compact)
- Trail cutting equipment (Chainsaw)
- Winter shovel
- Radio
Extra snow grooming lighting for nighttime grooming
Lots of snow grooming is done at night in the dark. I don’t know about you but I don’t feel like the headlights on my snow grooming towing machine are good enough.
Yes, you can add extra lights to your machine which I do recommend. We have added a light bar to one of our tracked UTV’s. However, we recommend that you bring a backup light in case of an emergency. This light needs to be able to operate at freezing temperatures and can get wet. Personally, we use the Oxbow lights that are built for snowmobiling and are lithium-ion batteries with really bright lumens.
We use the Oxbow Voyager (CLICK HERE TO VIEW) and the Oxbow Maverick (CLICK HERE TO VIEW)
These lights can be applied to your snowmobile helmet or really anywhere. They come with the GoPro base mounting system which is really well known and easy to use. The Voyager is 2100 Lumens and comes with a rechargeable battery.
The Oxbow Maverick helmet light also doubles as a flashlight. The Maverick light comes with 1000 Lumens and has an integrated rechargeable battery.
Personally, I carry both the Oxbow Voyager and the Oxbow Maverick.
Extra Fuel for snow grooming
Personally I normally always make sure to fuel up before heading out on a snow grooming run. I generally carry a small fuel jerry can onboard my snow grooming machine but if you have longer distances it is a good idea to carry a larger fuel can. With the new utility snowmobiles and tracked vehicles, carrying extra fuel is not an issue.
Winter Survival Gear
It’s cold and can get really cold if your snow grooming towing machine breaks down. YOU DO NOT want to be stranded without a way to keep warm. I cold weather or winter survival kit is a MUST HAVE. You want to make sure you can start a fire and have survival heat blankets to keep you warm enough to stay alive. On longer snow grooming trips I will bring along my jet boil as well.
Food and Water
Usually might night snow grooming only takes a couple of hours and so I tend to NOT bring food and water. This is a mistake just like the winter survival gear you need fuel for your body. Make sure you pack enough water and food to keep you alive if you get stranded. I also will bring a jet boil on my longer grooming trips.
Tools for Snow Grooming
Now, machines break. This means you need to haul the right tools for your snow grooming equipment and snowmobile. I typically carry a small compact socket set along with a crescent wrench. You want to make sure that you can fix things as needed. For example, our snow groomers come with breakaway shear bolts. I will make sure I carry replacement bolts in case I shear something.
- Socket Set
- Crescent Wrench
- Pliers
- Leatherman
- Extra bolts
- Metal wire
Chainsaw For Clearing Trails
There is nothing like getting a major snowstorm and getting way out on your trail and cannot get around all the downfall that fell during the storm.
Now, you can get away with an ax or hatchet but I would rather cut out the downfall as quickly as possible. I have 2 different types of chainsaws that I use. I carry my larger petro powered chainsaw and also I have a Ryobi battery-powered chainsaw.
You also can get a quality handsaw like a Silky big boy saw (CLICK HERE).
Snow Shovel
Any shovel is better than no shovel. Personally, I want a shovel that can handle the abuse of really digging in the snow. Normal snow shovels do not stand up to the abuse of digging in hard or frozen snow. I recommend getting a quality backcountry snow shovel. These shovels will collapse down for easier packing. I personally own the DMOS stealth shovel and man is it a beast of a shovel.
CLICK HERE TO SHOP DMOS SHOVELS
Radio
Having a radio so you can communicate with others on the trail is crucial. You want to make sure that others are aware that you are on the trail grooming snow. Typically snow grooming is done at much slower speeds which means others that are using the trail can come around a bend and crash into you. I use the Oxbow Renegade radios as they are built for cold weather and snowmobiling (CLICK HERE TO SEE).
I highly recommend that you put together a snow grooming kit and it can be in a backpack or a weather-tight bin. You want to make sure you are prepared to be out in the freezing cold with all the tools you need to get you home safely.
