Snow Shoes

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
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Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
:):)We used to laugh like mad at the foreign troops.


In Scandinavia we had skiing and skating a couple of hours every week during winter as PE in school.
Most families do/did cross country trips in the weekends.

Warfare in winter is hell.

Well, that was 40 years ago, I guess today they sit and glare on a screen and kill grey cells.
 
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Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
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Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
The smilies should have been at the end not the beginning.

I do not know how to do it, the prompt refuses to stay at the end of the message.
It jumps to the beginning.
 

Robson Valley

On a new journey
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
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McBride, BC
I frightened myself today = IRL snowshoes are $350/pair. The bindings are $50/pair.
Canadians in Geology/mining/Forestry buy these without blinking.
These are Life Insurance.

I had to use SS for work. Every January and February for 10(?) years , every week.
I supplied my own, I thought that everybody did that.

You can buy an "Ojibway" design kit (aka trail-breakers) and lace up and finish your own snow shoes for $189.00.
Those are the big ones = 60" x 12"
 

Imagedude

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Feb 24, 2011
2,005
46
Gwynedd
I've used the Atlas snow shoes and various MSR shoes in Finland, Norway and Canada to good effect. The MSR Lightning are my go to shoes but the Atlas were much cheaper and a good hardwearing shoe. They were once common on Ebay at around £99 a pair, sadly they don't appear to crop up often these days. The UK surplus bear paw design shoes on eBay are good around camp but not much help in deep powder snow.
 
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Robson Valley

On a new journey
Nov 24, 2014
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Imagedude: any of yours come with ice claws?

Trail breaking on any shoes in deep snow is real work. My hip joints didn't like the stretch.
Getting up if you fall over is another challenge.
All I had to do was walk in and out of the forest to collect about 3 m^3 conifer tree branches as a sample,
different place every week. The trailbreaker pointed tips went between the shrubs so that was OK, never got hung up.
Usually less snow under the canopy as well. Always had such a nice trail by the time I was done.

I was gifted a bunch of Sherpa bear-paw wreckage. Company could not justify
parts and/or time for repairs. Hobby project for me to buy some parts from IRL and cobble
a hybrid pair together out of the junk. Don't look like much but serviceable.
The claws are good on hard open drifted hillsides. The shoe can't skate.
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
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Absolutely. Even doing a ‘number two’ you need to step out of the skis.
I have a memory of when I did not. :)

What we did was that we prepared areas we needed to walk on with skis, comressed the snow as much as we could, then did the final compression by foot.

I imagine snowshoes are more useful where you do not have to travel any distances?
 

Robson Valley

On a new journey
Nov 24, 2014
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McBride, BC
Some times the trail is really long. The big disadvantage to the round bear-paw design is that the snowshoes do not "nest" together.
Wearing trail breakers and taking a step, the wide middle of one snowshoe "nests" in the space next to the pointed tip of the other snow shoe.
That means you can walk like on skiis with your feet sort of a normal spacing and not spread so far apart.

Several of the local trappers have really long lines. One has a line in where motorized vehicles (eg snowmobiles) are prohibited
so he has miles to walk to get around. Two or three line shacks along the way.
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
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Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
It may be that snow shoes are a First Nations design. Hence no traditional snow shoeing in Europe or northern Russian Federation?

Traditionally forest skis were wide and short.
 

Yeoman13

Member
Nov 29, 2017
31
11
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Canada
You asked what to look for in buying snowshoes.
First thing I'd look for if I were in your situation is a source from which to rent or borrow a pair.
As mentioned in a few posts above: they are expensive and if it's a first or only time to use them, don't buy.
Consider the type of snow and terrain you'll be on and your own weight and height and the weight of your gear.
If you'll be in deep, light and fluffy snow, if you are heavyset and if you're carrying a large amount of gear, you'll want something more in the lines of traditional snowshoes.
https://www.snowshoemag.com/2012/11/25/the-morphology-of-snowshoes/

If you'll be in icy conditions, in dense cover or steep terrain, or on groomed trails then modern aluminum and plastic shoes might be best as they have integral crampons.

If choosing wooden framed shoes, examine the wood carefully to ensure there are no knots and that the grain does not run out. They'll likely be made of ash or spruce. Check the points where the seams are lashed to ensure that there's adequate lacing beyond the ends of the joint. For the lacing, babich is traditional. You'll likely be unable to determine whether it's deer, moose, cow or whatever. Just ensure that the lacing is well shellacked, not too brittle and that it doesn't appear to have any laces cut too thinly. Bindings are more variable on traditional shoes than on modern ones. I preferred buckled leather bindings as I could adjust them for whatever boot I happed to be wearing. If you use bicycle tire inner tubes or lamp wick, then you're somewhat set to a certain size boot. Speaking of which, ensure your show shoes have a large enough toe hole to accommodate your boot or conversely that your boot toes fit the hole.

For modern aluminum snow shoes, check the temperature rating for them as the plastic may get brittle. You want the plastic to be more "rubbery". Most are made with some sort of PVC but some are nylon. Check the size of the rivets and look for pairs that have washers under the rivets to spread out the stress. Most modern versions have integral crampons. The binding and toe hoes are somewhat fixed so as with the traditionals, make sure your boots fit the bindings.

Boots. They have to be warm. They need to be flexible but have to protect your arches. You have to be able to wear multiple pairs of socks and still be able to wiggle your toes. I recommend something up to just below your knees. Blisters are less likely when snowshoeing than when walking but the if they form they'll be on the back of your heal, under the arch behind your big toe and most likely on the top of your foot behind your big toe (ouch!).

Sigh, almost done.

As for military surplus snow shoes. Canadian Army snow shoes can be had on e-bay for about $50 Canadian. They are large and light and very durable. I remember our instructor telling us that they were made from magnesium and wire from decommissioned aircraft. I'm pretty sure that was just barracks room rumour, but I do know that they were very good pieces of kit.

For what it's worth, I know most militaries use skis, but the Canadian Army uses snow shoes if on foot. Mostly though, they use snow machines or snowmobiles.
 
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bearbait

Full Member
I have a couple of pairs of plastic/aluminium snowshoes: MSR Denali and MSR Evo, both with the large removeable "extension" plates for softer snow. They both have crampon-like "teeth" for grip on ice or hard-packed snow. The Evo has a sort of step you can switch in and use when ascending so your foot remains level(ish) even when the snowshoe isn't as it's inclined to the slope.

They've worked well for me in various conditions, including some fairly steep ascents and descents.

I also have a couple of pairs of Kahtoola Microspikes, a sort of hiker's crampon. I'd always have a pair of these with me when on snowshoes as, if the snow is packed hard or is ice, I can make a much better speed over the ground on the spikes than the snowshoes.

I would recommend wearing gaiters with your snowshoes as otherwise your boots will fill!

As Robson Valley says above, breaking trail on fresh snow is hard work.

Have a great trip!
 

Broch

Life Member
Jan 18, 2009
8,452
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Mid Wales
www.mont-hmg.co.uk
It may be that snow shoes are a First Nations design. Hence no traditional snow shoeing in Europe or northern Russian Federation?

Traditionally forest skis were wide and short.

I thought Otzi had snowshoes? Their first use has been documented thousands of years ago in central Asia and UK troops used them in warfare in the 1700's (but that was against the French in North America). There is some evidence apparently they were being used in Britain in the iron age but, being made of wood and leather typically, probably not actual samples.
 

Robson Valley

On a new journey
Nov 24, 2014
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McBride, BC
Probably convergent thinking which arose independently in many places around the world.
Any casual glance in winter at the feet of a Canadian Lynx, grouse & ptarmigan or the snowshoe hare
ought to give you the snowshoe idea quite quickly.

The Canadian "Faber" snowshoe brand preserves many different shapes with the local tribal names for that design.
Names such as Ojibwa and Mohawk have survived on designs.
Good Faber snowshoes are made of wood frames and leather sinew woven webbing.
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
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Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
Interesting about Oetzi, will check that out.

Raindeer have nice naturals. Toes splay out hugely in softish snow. The Moose on the other hand, is ill equipped.

Edit:
Oetzi had shoes but no snowshoes.

His dagger is impressive, will try to replicate it when I manage to source a flint blade1
 
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