Burley Bike Trailer Ski Kit

If you have a relatively recent Burley bicycle trailer that has the push-button release for the wheels and trailer hitch, you are going to love this kit. The change-over from bike trailer to ski trailer takes 2 minutes once you know how. The harness is comfortable and the adjustable length towing poles are a nice touch - shorter for snowshoes, longer if you are a tall guy with typical classic-design XC skis.The trailer is comfortable for up to 2 kids, and unlike a pulk that rides on the snow directly, the raised trailer means the kids will be warmer. The extra storage in the Burley is more generous and easier to deal with than in a pulk-type design.The complaints about the durability of the fabric on the lower front section of the trailer are overblown IMO. Methinks Burley's competitors have started a Republican-like smear campaign because they can't compete on design or comfort. If you want your kids to have a comfortable seating position with room for their legs, then you're going to have that dip in the front of the trailer. Use a little common sense and you won't have a problem with wear at that point.The only complaint would be if you are going to use the trailer on narrow trails that have been broken by other skiers rather than a track setter. In this case a narrow pulk-like design will ride in the tracks better - maybe. The trailer's skis have plenty of flotation unless you have 12 inches of fresh fluffy powder, and then why are you out there with your kids in those conditions? Have some respect for the mountain and your safety. Anyway, in the semi-tracked, you will want to keep the trailer's skis out of both tracks, which means you have to pay a little attention to what's going on behind you. The trailer's front-dip foot well will drag in the pow if you aren't careful, and you'll want to try to avoid that. Trust me, having pulled Pulks (the real thing) through those conditions, its not like that's easy either. I've had Pulk tow poles twist and sleds dump sideways on me. The kids were not amused.When you are in groomed areas, the center skate area is perfect for the Burley trailer, and if the track setter is set up correctly for poling, and you really want to be in the tracks, you should have room for the trailer's skis to correctly straddle the tracks even when the tracks are set to the far sides of the groomed trail. You can also half-skate with one ski in the inner track and one ski in the center area (a common technique I often teach). The trailer will follow with one ski in the outer track and the other ski in the center area. As a grandpa, XC ski instructor, and former owner of a bike and ski shop, I'm on my second generation of pulling kids through the snow. I'll take kid warmth, kid comfort, and easy access to diapers and snacks over the supposed superiority of pulk tracking. So when you read those nose-in-the-air reviews that complain about the Burley in this regard, take them with a grain of salt.Get out there and ski or snowshoe. You and the kids are going to love this conversion kit.