Can you recommend best beginner snowshoes???

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Can you recommend best beginner snowshoes???

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sandy

Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 5:35 am

Guest

This is my first winter in snow country (NE Washington) and I'm
loving it! I've been snowshoeing three times on borrowed snowshoes
and I'm ready to get a pair of my own but just can't make a decision
as to brand, length, etc. I'm a 63 year old female and I'll just be
using them for fun and exercise and hiking and probably not doing any
strenuous overnight hikes. I weigh @120 currently but I've been up to
135 lbs in the last year. Don't have a clue as to whether I'll ever
carry a pack while snowshoeing. Snow that I've been in so far has
been powder. Like to get something that will last me but don't want
to invest a whole bunch either.

I was all set to get Atlas women's shoes (are the womens specific
snowshoes worthwhile or should I just get regular ones?) when I read
feedback about them kicking snow up all over you (a neighbor has that
brand and they really do kick up the snow).

Really appreciate some feedback and suggestions on brands and what to
look for in a snowshoe.

Thanks!

Sandy

Wolf Leverich

Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 6:34 am

Guest

On 2008-02-10, sandy <fossilnut@isp.com> wrote:

Quote:

Be aware that besides the old tennis-racket designs, there are also
plastic snowshoes like the MSRs:

http://www.basegear.com/msrdenali.html

Most of the mountaineering community seems to have shifted to plastics,
because they are much more stable on a slope than classical shoes.

Good plastics accept a couple of different sizes of "tails", which let
you tune the buoyancy of the shoes to the hardness of the snow and the
weight of your pack -- you might want no tails for going packless on
frozen snow, and long tails for carrying a 7-day pack over powder.

"Televators", which change the angle of your foot relative to the shoe,
are extremely useful if you're going to do much travel on slopes. Your
ankles will thank you.

Re throwing snow, almost all shoes seem to do that in one situation or
another. Good gators are your friends ...

Cheers, Wolf.

--
Dr. Brian Leverich Co-moderator, soc.genealogy.methods/GENMTD-L
Angeles Chapter LTC Admin Chair http://angeles.sierraclub.org/ltc/
P.O. Box 6831, Frazier Park, CA 93222-6831 leverich@mtpinos.com

Guest

Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 6:24 pm

On Feb 10, 7:35 am, sandy <fossil...@isp.com> wrote:

Quote:

At your weight I would go small and light. Mountain Gear and REI in
Spokane have a wide variety. Try the ease of binding use on your
intended boots. I prefer hinges that let the heel drop freely, they
may throw a bit less snow.

Have fun!

Bill

mustangtraveler

Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2008 6:33 am

Guest

Greetings Sandy,

After years of snowshoeing to get to varis back country snowboard
locations and having sore hips, I wet to a demo and talked to as many
people as pos. There was a kinsiologist (SP? study of human motion)
there talking to people about there movements in ref to shoe design.

He was kind enough to tell me I walk like a woman, I cross over when I
walk thus if I had hips I might be a good runway model. (not this
extreme but slightly) The crossing is over in non tapered snowshoes
would cause me to either step on the shoes when walking or have very
sore hips due to being out of my normal stride. The rectangle shape
of the MSR's were out for me.

I def recommend trying a mile or so in any snoeshoe before buying,
demo days and rental shops help make this possible. If you are ready
now please look at the Crescent Moon Snowshoes from CO.

They have received awards for their fitness and race shoes and have a
very versitil binding system. ( I can fit both my snowboard boots and
GTX trailrunners in them based on the outing.)

http://www.crescentmoonsnowshoes.com/womens.htm

I think REI picked up the line but I support mom and pops so I would
say call them to see who might have them in your area. I got mine in
CA at Elevation in Lone Pine, CA. www.sierraelevation.com. I used
their demos when i was on Mt Whitney. This was the second time I had
use them with minimal structural pain, I was still sore but I think
that was the shape I was in and the MT. They special ordered them and
drop shipped them to my home.

Do your research and if you can, try before you buy. Your post gave
us the right info thus you are on the right path.

I'll monitor the thread to see if I can help at all in the future,

Patricia J. Hawkins

Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 1:33 am

Guest

Quote:

"s" == sandy <fossilnut@isp.com> writes:

s> This is my first winter in snow country (NE Washington) and I'm
s> loving it! I've been snowshoeing three times on borrowed snowshoes
s> and I'm ready to get a pair of my own but just can't make a decision
s> as to brand, length, etc. I'm a 63 year old female and I'll just be
s> using them for fun and exercise and hiking and probably not doing any
s> strenuous overnight hikes. I weigh @120 currently but I've been up to
s> 135 lbs in the last year. Don't have a clue as to whether I'll ever
s> carry a pack while snowshoeing. Snow that I've been in so far has
s> been powder. Like to get something that will last me but don't want
s> to invest a whole bunch either.

s> I was all set to get Atlas women's shoes (are the womens specific
s> snowshoes worthwhile or should I just get regular ones?) when I read
s> feedback about them kicking snow up all over you (a neighbor has that
s> brand and they really do kick up the snow).

Well, when I decided to get snowshoes so as to join my sister's
snowshoeing expeditions, I just did what she'd done -- went to Sierra
Trading Post's website, where they always seem to be offering
seriously discounted snowshoes, and chose snowshoes that best
fit my needs from among the ones they were offering. This was some
time ago, so choices were narrower than they are now.

We're both 5'6", around your weight range, but were allowing for
backpacking weight. Both of us got Redfeathers with nice aggressive
crampons; this is in New England, lots of hills, lots of rocks, lots
of stone walls.

Mine are 30" and look comparable to what they're now selling as Alpine
Snowshoes; those will take 220#, which means they're waaaaay more
snowshoe than I'll ever need, but I've found them quite comfortable.
My sister's are comparable, though a couple of years older. No
complaints from her, either, and she's done considerable backpacking
and day hiking on them. Gets up at oh-dark-thirty to drive from
Western MA to NH so as to climb to the top of Mt. Monadnock to see the
sun rise.

If I were buying now, I'd go with the $109 25" Sport Trek snowshoes,
because they have the crampons, their weight limit is about right for
me and a pack, and they're the cheapest ones on offer at Sierra
Trading Post.

Get gaiters and trekking poles with snow baskets, as well.

--
Patricia J. Hawkins
Hawkins Internet Applications
www.hawkinsia.com

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