How To: Snowshoes 101

Slow-but-steady, snowshoes will take you step by step into a winter wonderland. (Tim Jones photo)

Gliding on cross-country skis is elegant (and exhausting). Carving turns on open slopes and through the woods on Telemark and alpine skis is exhilarating. Sledding is simple joy. But if I had to choose one piece of equipment to enjoy snow with, it would probably be a good pair of modern snowshoes.

Slow-but-steady snowshoes are the All Terrain Vehicles of winter. Pick the right pair for you and you can go almost anywhere from the highest summits to the gentlest valley, through deep snow or over slippery ice.

If you don’t already own snowshoes, I’d strongly recommend renting and/or borrowing (ask your friends!) as many different pairs as you possibly can to try out before you buy. Most cross-country ski areas rent snowshoes; so do outdoor shops and many snow-country lodges.

Each brand and each model has slightly different characteristics, different bindings, different price tags. The more you’ve tried, the more likely you are to find the right pair for you.

Frame, filler, binding and cleats, the four major components of a modern snowshoe. (Tim Jones photo)

A snowshoe, has four main components: the frame, the decking which fills the frame (in the case of plastic snowshoes, frame and decking are one), bindings, and traction cleats. Each of these components has its impact on how the snowshoes will perform for you.

Most modern snowshoes have a lightweight aluminum frame which (except among traditionalists) has replaced the bent ash of yesteryear. The decking of modern shoes is plastic instead of rawhide. This combination is strong, lightweight and essentially maintenance free.

The other modern standard is a stiff plastic deck that does away with the need for a frame. They look like they’d break easily. They don’t .

Bindings are especially important. They should be easy for you to put on and take off, preferably with mittens on.  More than one pair of snowshoes sits unused in an attic or garage because the bindings are hard to use.

One thing to look for in the binding: does it allow the snowshoe to pivot freely when you lift your foot so the tail of the snowshoe stays on the snow with each step? Some snowshoes have a tight connection (called a toe cord) that forces you to pick up the entire weight of the shoe  and any snow that’s on it. Snowshoes with a tight toe cord can flip snow up your back (and down your neck) with each step. Yes, that’s as unpleasant as it sounds. . ..

Sherpa made the very first "modern" aluminum framed snowshoe more than 30 years ago. Not how wimpy the cleats are compared to newer designs--but they still work. (Tim Jones photo)

The final component of modern shoes is traction cleats. These were pioneered more than three decades ago by a defunct company called Sherpa. I still have  a pair of the original Sherpa’s  and the “teeth” under the foot are tiny compared to today’s crampon-like designs.  In fact, many of today’s snowshoe claws are so aggressive, they’ll take you some places you used to need full crampons.

In addition to the claws directly under your foot, most modern snowshoes also have additional cleats or spikes  back under your heel area. These allow extra traction on steep downhill terrain if you put a bit of weight on your heel. Trust me, the last thing you want to do is go glissading down a steep slope on your snowshoes—especially if you are wearing a pack.

Any snowshoes are better than no snowshoes, but good ones that you like and find easy to use are the best of all. Snowshoes give you infinite opportunities to enjoy winter at a safe and friendly pace, uphill and down,  across the snowcovered landscape. Try some out today. Life isn’t a spectator sport. Get out and enjoy!

Size Matters

The sizing charts companies provide to help you choose snowshoes only tell part of the story. Most only tell you to choose by your weight. But is that weight with or without winter boots, clothes, and the pack you need to carry your winter safety gear? See the problem?

There’s also the matter of flotation. Bigger snowshoes generally float you higher on softer, untracked snow than small shoes do. Some of the tiniest snowshoes today are made for running on packed and groomed trails—but they’re about useless anywhere else. They look tempting, but be careful.

The plus side of smaller shoes is that they are lighter and, perhaps a bit more maneuverable

Personally, I generally pick snowshoes a size larger than the sizing chart recommends—I’d rather go too big than too small, have a little more flotation than too little.

Snowshoe Testing Notes

Alas, in all the years I’ve tramped the trails on snowshoes, I’ve never found the perfect pair for all terrain and conditions.  But some are awfully close . . .

In recent years I’ve extensively tested aluminum-frame shoes from TSL, Tubbs, Yukon Charlie’s and Kahtoola. Each has had its pros and cons .

I have less experience with the composite plastic shoes. I tried pre-production prototypes of the first plastic shoes nearly two decades ago when Bill Forrest of Forrest Mountaineering and Patrick Smith of Mountainsmith were making them out of blue plastic barrels. MSR now markets the direct descendents but I’ve never tried the production models. Tubbs and GV Snowshoes also have new composite shoes. I have, however, extensively tested an excellent pair of composite shoes from TSL and will happily give my impressions.

You can occasionally find surplus Canadian military issue snowshoes with magnesium frames and wire fillings for sale, particularly in northern New England. They are bombproof but weigh a ton.

And then of course there are still wood framed snowshoes filled with either traditional rawhide or neoprene. Beautiful to look at and perfectly wonderful on soft snow, they require more care to use and maintain than the knockabout modern models.