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A modern bobsleigh toboggan

Rescue Toboggan

A toboggan is a simple sled used on snow, to carry one or more people (often children) down a hill or other slope, for recreation. Designs vary from simple, traditional models to modern engineered composites. A toboggan differs from most sleds or sleighs in that it has no runners or skis on the underside. The bottom of a toboggan rides directly on the snow. The Olympic version of this sport is bobsleigh, which extends the curved front of the toboggan to full sidewalls and includes runners. Some parks include designated toboggan hills where ordinary sleds are not allowed and which may include toboggan runs similar to bobsleigh courses.

The traditional toboggan is made of bound, parallel wood slats, all bent forward at the front to form a sideways 'J' shape. A thin rope is run through the top of the loop to provide rudimentary steering. The frontmost rider places their feet in the loop and sits on the flat bed; any others sit behind them and grasp the waist of the person before them.

Modern recreational toboggans are typically manufactured from wood or aluminum. Larger, more rugged models are made for commercial or rescue use.

The toboggan is a traditional form of transport used by the Innu and Cree of northern Canada.

The Mountaineer [Innu] method is the only one adapted for the interior parts of the country: their sleds are made of two thin boards of birch; each about six inches broad, a quarter of an inch thick, and six feet long: these are fastened parallel to each other by slight battens, sewed on with thongs of deer-skin; and the foremost end is curved up to rise over the inequalities of the snow. Each individual who is able to walk, is furnished with one of these; but those for the children are proportionately less. On them they stow all their goods, and also their infants; which they bundle up very warm in deer-skins. The two ends of a leather thong are tied to the corners of the sled; the bight or double part of which is placed against the breast, and in that manner it is drawn along. The men go first, relieving each other in the lead by turns; the women follow next, and the children, according to their strength, bring up the rear; and, as they all walk in rackets [snowshoes], the third or fourth person finds an excellent path to walk on, let the snow be ever so light (Townsend 1911:357–358).

Toboggan Hat

In Southern American English, toboggan can also refer to the type of hat. This is sometimes shortened to boggan or lengthened to boggan cap. This type of hat is more commonly referred to by other names: knit hat or knit cap, sock cap or stocking cap, watch cap, tuque, skull cap or sometimes as a ski cap. A beanie is a similar type of hat, and although toboggan and beanie typically refer to synonymous items in most regions, a beanie is normally more rigid, not knitted, and usually made up of structured panels of felt, twill, or other tightly woven cloth. The term toboggan is widely unknown outside of the southern United States.

Toboggan also is the name for a BMX trick where the bars are turned 90 degrees, held with one hand. The other hand grabs the front of the seat, while your legs push back so you are extended over the back of the bike, with the nose pointing down.

• Townsend, Charles Wendell, ed. (1911). "Sixth Voyage, 1786," Captain Cartwright and his Labrador Journal, Boston: Dana Estes & Company.

• Bobsled
• Luge
• Hat
• Skeleton (sport)

• Image of a toboggan chute