Old tubbs TD 91 binding issues? NE I have a problem!

[Gray48dog]

I know the Sun rises over there, maybe could send me a photo of how to hook up-my control wing bindings.
I called Tubbs just over the Cascade Mtn’s Seattle, they had nothing to help.
Were getting dumped on here,

 

[NH2112]

I don’t have any pics but it looks to me like the boot should be farther forward. That strap looks like it goes over the instep, not the toes. But it’s been years since I’ve seen any of that style binding and I wasn’t really paying attention to how they were attached.

 

[peakbagger]

What is your question?

Is the question about how to attach the binding to the snow shoe? Or is it adjustment of the existing binding.

Tubbs when they were US based had a couple of variations, the most common being the ones that pivoted on a steel rod that was part of each snowshoe that had "dogbone" ends that were attached to the aluminum frame with plastic straps. The low budget design was rivetted to the deck of the snowshoe with no pivot rod.

Assuming you have the pivot rod design, the normal setup is line up the ball of your foot to line up with the pivot rod by adjusting the toe piece straps. The rear strap is then adjusted up tight against the rear of the heel. The extra straps are then wrapped around the front of the boot as you have shown. One thing I note is that the boot shown is not great for this binding as the back of it is tapered towards the heel. Ideally you want a boot that has straight heel.

Assuming you have the pivot rod, the goal is with the snowshoe on you should be able to lift up your leg and the snowshoe should rotate vertical with the front of the boot sticking out the face of the snowshoe. This allows you to dig into uphill slopes and crust. If adjusted improperly with the foot too far back the front of the boot does not stick out far enough. and they are not very useful on slopes. Its also somewhat painful with you foot too far back as you are supporting you weight with your toes instead of the ball of the foot.

If its one of the low budget snowshoes without the pivot rod, they are pretty worthless for slopes, fine for golf course or well graded trails but not very good for slopes.

Oen big caveat is that design came out 35 years ago when the Sherpa patent ran out, it was around for possibly 20 years. It was a robust design, but plastic does have a lifespan especially if stored improperly. You need to inspect the bindings and the snowshoes carefully for cracks and the nylon straps for abrasion. Bring a repair kit if you go out serious hiking and realize that there are far better newer designs. The early models did not the heel crampons in the deck, they can be handful on side slopes. In the east on rocky slope, the aluminum crampons on both the toe and the heel did wear out eventually.

Nice spot to be in, I did the PCT north to Stevens Pass in September. I

 

[wardsgirl]

Also, unfasten the straps that you have around the boot's ankle. Extend the straps to their maximum length and let them trail on the ground behind the snowshoe. Then, cross them behind the back of the ankle (the higher on the back of the ankle, the better) and bring the buckle ends to the front of the boot's ankle, essentially making an X of the straps behind the ankle. Fasten the buckle at the front of the ankle after adjusting them to be at their tightest.

Have fun!

 

[NH2112]

Like Peakbagger said, that style of binding wears out and it usually happens deep in the woods. I had it happen about 5 years ago on a pair of Garneau snowshoes that were about 4 years old. The rivets pulled through the strap and really enlarged the holes in the deck. I used 80A durometer 2” EPDM rubber strips (from McMaster-Carr) to reinforce both sides of the deck, and 1” biothane straps (Strapworks, I think) to attach the binding to the frame. I pulled the frame tubes together about 1/2” with a ratchet strap, used a heavy-duty hole punch to make holes in all the layers, and held everything together with wide flanged pop rivets. Cut the biothane straps just long enough to be able to attach everything, that way there’ll be some tension on them when you release the ratchet strap. The strengths of this type are ease of manufacture and repair, and the snowshoes will conform to the terrain so your ankles don’t have to flex as much. (Pics 1-4)

Most Tubbs trail walking and day hiking snowshoes use this same attachment method, the Mountaineers use something a little different that looks much more difficult to repair. (5th pic)

Pics 6 & 7 are 2 styles that I like better than the strap-type attachment. The first is on GV Mountain Extreme traction-framed snowshoes, and the second is on GV Wide Trail, Snow Aerolite, and their other performance & utility snowshoes. These are completely rigid and immensely strong, your ankles will need to provide the flex on uneven terrain. I prefer these to pivots that use pins such as MSR or plastic Tubbs, I’ve broken or cracked too many of the thin steel pieces and lost pins on trail. Replacing pins is pretty easy, except for getting the retaining rings in the pins if you have fat, painful mechanic fingers like I do.

 

[peakbagger]

I had one of the wings crack off my TD91s long ago and Tubbs sent me a new one. I got at least 1 more years on them. What did them in is they are slightly wider than the more modern snowshoes being used. The Tubbs Katahdins are just wide enough to catch the edges of a modern snow shoe track. Plus I really like the televators on MSRs.