Recommend some decent snow shoes?

[Alberta Bigbore]

Anyout there that might be at WSS or Cabelas that wont break the bank?? Any good models that are easy to walk in yet stay afloat and maneuver with ease around trees? Want to use up the last of my gift cards for a new pair. Main use is shed hunting of course.

[Jerry D]

I use the atlas brand.

I use size 30 but would have bought 35s looking back. I weigh 180lbs. They make 25s, 30, and 35s

They are modern compared to the old style. Lighter, better buckles to boots, better flotation.

In deeep... a few feet of powder I'd get the biggest ones you can regardless of the weight ratings they say each size is for.

[bdub]

X2 on the long ones. In soft snow conditions you can use all the length you can get. To short of ones in soft snow and you are better off to just carry them. It would be ideal to have two sets for different conditions but if just going with one set get the longest ones you can get.

[Grizzly Adams]

Canadian Army surplus ones. :D Good quality at a decent price, well under a hundred bucks and they do the job. Love mine.

Grizz

[Lefty-Canuck]

Should have went to Costco a month ago....they had a lightweight snowshoe package for 80 bones.

LC

[Alberta Bigbore]

Should have went to Costco a month ago....they had a lightweight snowshoe package for 80 bones.o

LC

Whaaaaaaaat? We always go to costco...we never seen them . :(

[BigJon]

I have GV snowshoes. Aluminum frame with synthetic decking. Mine are about 8 or 9 years old now. GV used to make snowshoes is Canada (Quebec) not sure if manufacturing has been outsourced now or not.

I like 'em, at the time their bindings were the best out there...

[Hoopi]

Hi: I snowshoe nearly every weekend during the winter; and occaisionly for coyotes. I like the plastic deck MSR; either Evo or Denali. These ss are very durable and they come with the ability to add surface area to keep you afloat. You can buy the "tails" for many MSR models.

http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/Snowsports/Snowshoes.jsp

Having said that, i have not worn a pair of snowshoes that can support you in deep powdery snow...you sink. If you have a big surface area go under the snow you will have to pick up a lot of weigh to get to the next step...like walking on the moon. If you ss on packed or shallow snow, small ss's work very well.

The biggest snowshoe I could find is the GV 10 X 36...lots of floatation there.
http://www.gvsnowshoes.com/eng/index.html

If cost is an issue, the Canadian Military version made from plastic coated aircraft cable/magnesium frame are very good as well.
WSS occaisionally has them in stock.

Hoopi

[ditch donkey]

The ones at Costco looked deadly! I thought they were $90, but under a
$100 for sure. They had the cleats for ice too.

I'm going to pick pair up if I see them again. Are they as good
as the Atlas shoes? Probly not. They're also not $300. And I'm not making my living with them.

[******]

I highly recommend the Tubbs brand of snowshoes. They have a foot position further back on the shoe than do the atlas or MEC brand shoes. I find that the atlas and similar brands have a very forward foot position and a toe that lifts immediately in front of the cleat. This makes them good for walking up hills and on hard packed trails. Unfortunately this also makes you sink toe first into soft powder, particularly when you are wearing a pack or maneuvering through trees. I have had my Tubbs for over 5 years and I get excellent float, easy to walk in even in deep powder. If you want more info PM me.

[Grizzly Adams]

Friend of mine showed here with a pair of those MEC ones he paid 239. for. "Highly recommended". :lol: Snow shoes work on having as much surface area as possible to distribute your weight so you don't sink too far. These things are hardly bigger than your boot and just the fact they'll sell you a small tail piece doesn't cut it. Yuppie toy I suggested. :lol: Actually own 2 pair of the military ones. Couldn't resist the second pair for 15. in a second hand store. They have the older type harness so could compare which was better. Both seem to have their merits.

Grizz

[Bearen09]

Nothing but MSR.......:sHa_shakeshout:

[hornhead]

i still like the old "web" styles cuz when you are in deep soft stuff you don't lift up the whack of snow that you do with the "modern" ones.

i love the bindings on the modern ones, but the shoes are also noisy. it sounds like you are walking on plastic garbage can lids.

canadian army shoes are good, but i still find the old style wood/rawhide the best for breaking trail. better weight on the tail for lifting the shoe.

the best bindings are the old canadian army web bindings IMHO.
still not as good as the new snowboard style bindings on the modern shoes.

i have 3 pairs of shoes ... ojibway wood/web, cndn army (both with cndn army bindings) and some kind of modern shoe.

they all work, depends on the conditions which i take.

i just saw bear's post ... my modern ones are MSRs.

[C Taylor]

I used the old wooden bears paw until the wife bought me a new lightweight set for Christmas. I don't remember the brand but they are so much nicer than my old ones. Bears paw will be hanging from the wall from now on.

[silver]

Not meaning to sidetrack the post, but where can I get a good set of boot harness for my old set of wood and rawhide shoes?

[Duk Dog]

Take it for what it is worth as I haven't used them yet, but my research lead me to MSR which I just purchased recently.

http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/snowshoes/category

[creeky]

Nothing but MSR.......:sHa_shakeshout:

Exactly.

Yuppie toys they most certainly are not. MSR hit the ball out of the park when they released these to market. And perfect they are not. If you can get your head around the expense, the aesthetical differences over traditional snowshoes and the fact they can be a tad noisy on hard pack snow. It's then that the proven practicality, durability & reliability benefits will win you over.

Had one pair for over 10yrs full on full time wilderness backcountry trips. Set em and forget em, these things don't owe me a penny.

MSR/Cascade Designs develops some of the most innovative trusted and "go to" outdoor products on the market.

[Mtnbowhunter]

I have msr lightning ascent snowshoes and love them. I have seen them at wss and mec also carries them.

[bsmitty27]

Msr.

[HunterDave]

Canadian Army surplus ones. :D Good quality at a decent price, well under a hundred bucks and they do the job. Love mine.

x2 Cheap, pretty much bullet proof and designed to keep a lot of weight on top of the snow.

[Okotokian]

Just picked up two sets of Atlas snow shoes from Campers Village Calgary. They have a fairly good stock and a bit of a sale as well.

MEC is pretty thin except for MSR shoes (various hard plastic models) but they don't have a lot of flotation, even with the attachable tails.

[Tactical Lever]

Canadian Army surplus; picked up a couple pair at Princess Auto a few years back. I think they were about $80 per pair there.

Probably won't find them there anymore, but a few army surplus places may have them, probably a little more expensive.

[creeky]

Just picked up two sets of Atlas snow shoes from Campers Village Calgary. They have a fairly good stock and a bit of a sale as well.

MEC is pretty thin except for MSR shoes (various hard plastic models) but they don't have a lot of flotation, even with the attachable tails.


sure they do

[Okotokian]

sure they do
OK, let me rephrase that.... They don't have a great deal of flotation if you weigh 225 lbs and have a backpack. If you are 180 I'm sure they would be fine. I'm speaking of the plastic ones. If you want to pay $300 for the MSR Lightning Ascents they do have the capacity. It just seems that there are a lot of negative reviews for MSR's on the MEC website when it comes to floatation and us heavier fellas.

[dgl1948]

Canadian Army surplus ones. Good quality at a decent price, well under a hundred bucks and they do the job. Love mine

X3. I picked mine up onfrom The SportsmanGuide on sale for under $40.00.

[Alberta Bigbore]

Thanks for all the replies. I ended up going to WSS north and got great service from Montec. Ended up with the MSR evo snowshoes. Also got 6 inch attachable tails, and a MSR carry bag for the shoes and tails... every thing was for 50% off!! Still had money to use on the GC's due to the sale price...and picked up some other things at wholesale.

Cant wait to try them out tomorrow while checking trail cams and shed hunting on some strathcona property I hunt.

Thanks Montec for the tips on the sale and helping me out with my purchases today.

I forgot the model name but they were the MSR Evo shoes in Black.

http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/snowshoes/ascent/evo-ascent/product


.

[Bearen09]

Thanks for all the replies. I ended up going to WSS north and got great service from Montec. Ended up with the MSR evo snowshoes. Also got 6 inch attachable tails, and a MSR carry bag for the shoes and tails... every thing was for 50% off!! Still had money to use on the GC's due to the sale price...and picked up some other things at wholesale.

Cant wait to try them out tomorrow while checking trail cams and shed hunting on some strathcona property I hunt.

Thanks Montec for the tips on the sale and helping me out with my purchases today.

I forgot the model name but they were the MSR Evo shoes in Black.

http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/snowshoes/ascent/evo-ascent/product


.

Helped me as well, I bought the exact same ones and they are unreal..... Can't believe I waited so long to get them..:sHa_shakeshout:

[Popcan]

Thanks for all the replies. I ended up going to WSS north and got great service from Montec. Ended up with the MSR evo snowshoes. Also got 6 inch attachable tails, and a MSR carry bag for the shoes and tails... every thing was for 50% off!! Still had money to use on the GC's due to the sale price...and picked up some other things at wholesale.

Cant wait to try them out tomorrow while checking trail cams and shed hunting on some strathcona property I hunt.

Thanks Montec for the tips on the sale and helping me out with my purchases today.

I forgot the model name but they were the MSR Evo shoes in Black.

http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/snowshoes/ascent/evo-ascent/product


.

Helped me as well, I bought the exact same ones and they are unreal..... Can't believe I waited so long to get them..:sHa_shakeshout:

Just picked up a pair of these online thanks to this thread. They were nice enough to match the in-store sale price for me.

Thanks Guys.

[silver]

I bought a pair of shoes yesterday at Canadian Tire for about $95. They are 42" by 12" and I took them out for a test this morning for a look at parts of my yard I haven't seen since fall. Work pretty good. Got into some powder and sank about 8" and if there is a bit of crust, I stay right on top.