History of the Kicksled

The kicksled is a Swedish invention that later spread to Finland and Norway.
In our opinion the firstreliable information regarding the use of kicksleds is written in an 1872 newspaper article from Piteå way up north in Sweden (1,4 meridian!). But there is also informationsuggesting that kicksleds were used as early as in the 1850s in the province of Västerbotten.
The first kicksleds had wooden runners, but this didn´t work very well. It was really hard to steer, because the framework was to stiff.
The steering was radically improved in the early 1900s when the kicksled got thin steel runners, and the definite breakthrough for the kicksled came in 1909 when mass-production started in Orsa, here in the Dalarna County. This sled became famous as the "Orsa sled".
We still make it in exactly the same, patented shape today - here at Vansbro Sparkfabrik.
The kicksleds simple construction and usability has always sparked people´s imagination and resourcefulness. At the Swedish Patent and Registration Office there are an amazing 148 approved patents for the construction of the kicksled, its details and accesories.