How to Shop for Snowshoes

Snowshoeing may be an ancient sport, but modern technology has created high-tech gear to make traipsing through deep snow easy and efficient. Gone are the days of enormous, leather-bound snowshoes. Today’s gear is calibrated to fit your size, minimize weight, help you climb ridges and slip on and off easily.

Buying snowshoes for the first time can be overwhelming when you’re looking at a range of products and prices in the store. First, consider the terrain you’ll be visiting. If you’re a beginner, you’ll likely seek out flat trails, but you may want to progress to slopes later on. Or maybe you’re looking to go more advanced, and need snowshoes to help you scale more mountainous terrain. Seek out snowshoes made for the terrain you’re after; the more extreme you go, the more advanced the crampon or traction system will be. Heal lifts are also useful for climbing or for steep terrain.

The size of your snowshoe will depend on how much you weigh and how much you plan to carry with you on trips. If you’re backpacking, go for a longer shoe that will spread your weight out more. In general, buy the smallest snowshoe you can get away with without compromising on its effectiveness.

Try out different binding types to determine which you like best and which is easiest to use. And be sure to ask questions in the store if you’re confused about a feature or aren’t sure which is best for you. If you’re just starting out but have bigger ambitions, get something middle-of-the-road in terms of price and traction.