Snowshoe mag...German snowshoes

[spider solo]

I'm always looking around for different snowshoes that might be around.
There is a fledgling on line snowshoe magazine (this is year #2).
They recently redid their format and updated their site.
If you go to www.snowshoemag.com
and check out their Links section...you will see a heading for "German Snowshoes"
These look like some really nice state of the art snowshoes...kinda makes some of our "modern" ones look pretty clunky.
Though the descriptions are all in German, I would certainly enjoy having a nice look at them...they look to be nicely designed...would love to see them in person.

The magazine has some nice articles and is trying to reach an international audience of people...right now the forums are out of commission (I recieved a notice that hackers had ruined it)
but they sure are trying and I think they have someone from Maine writing an article or two for the Northeast
Thought you might like to check it out...they hope to have a printed version this year...time will tell.

...you don't have to subscribe to look at the links or anything as far as I know...let me know if I'm mistaken thanks ..spdr

 

[TomD]

Snowshoe mag

On the home page, click on First-Timer's Guide in the gray box next to the picture, that takes you to a beginner's guide that has a whole list of snowshoe company websites-check out the one for TSL-lots of very high tech shoes. Don't think they are sold here, but they are available in Canada. Plenty of others, including the German company, but the TSL's are really something to look at.

 

[John H Swanson]

From my experience, many european snowshoe efforts are on consolidated snow of groomed trails or open above tree line areas or other rec. areas so the size of their shoes is smaller and they have a lower need for flotation than we do. In some cases our shoes see tougher conditions as we have more ice and times with lower snow cover exposing more rocks.

I am sometimes impressed by their gear and other times I wonder if I would trash it in a heartbeat doing what I do. Like parralel parking by rough feel in a new honda or a 1970s dodge.

 

[hikingfish]

I find their snowshoes look a lot like salomon snowshoes. A friend of mine had a pair (salomon) and the traction was terrible. Going downhill, she kept sliding and falling on her butt. They were terrible on Mt Tremblant, I can only imagine how nasty it would of been in the NE.

Fish

 

[KayakDan]

I saw TSL's on line,and checked them out at Boreal Designs when we were in Quebec last year. Very cool looking,but the bindings were not step in as I had seen on line-and at 300CN a whack-I couldn't bring myself to do it.
I will however drool over them again in when we go in Feb.

 

[cbcbd]

check out the one for TSL-lots of very high tech shoes. Don't think they are sold here, but they are available in Canada. Plenty of others, including the German company, but the TSL's are really something to look at.

Wow, very nice snowshoes... and their website is amazing!!

 

[Jeff-B]

The German designs look...fast!
What I mean is, the back end of the shoe has a clean exit for the snow to release, unlike a Tubbs or Atlas shoe which uses bent aluminum tubes and causes tail drag.
This clean exit is probably partially responsible for the gripping failures as mentioned by Hikingfish.
The crampons and spikes also seem a bit on the light side compared to the aggressive Tubbs Viper crampon on thier Mountain model.

Jeff

 

[spider solo]

I think the shoes are probably made to be fast. I know there are a fair amount of snowshoe people who run and race . I read one report of a person here in the northeast complaining that there was no standard snowshoe requirements from one race to another so people use a lot of homemade "jury rig" set ups which he thought was unfair etc.
I only know of 2 people who have running snowshoes..both are bicyclist...looking to stay in shape in the winter. Neither one of them is pariculary fond of running in them.
I see the kind we have in this country have a right and left shoe..perhaps the ones we are seeing on line are a hybrid of shoe trying to please the general snowshoer and those that want them for training.

When the mag forums were up and running one of the people was from Austria, we could ask him/her questions like that if they get them going again.

I'll be up In Quebec this winter so I'm curious if I can find the Boreal Design place . It would be fun to see what some of the snowshoes are made of.

 

[Louis]

tsl Snowshoes

I bought a pair of TSL 217 rando snowshoes at the end of last winter and I love them...
I did Jefferson And Adams and the Sawteeth, Gothics , Armstrong , Wolfjaw traverse with them and they were excellent so far... cant say in the long term...
They cost me around 235 (canadian) in Montreal...
Great bindings... it does put your feet a bit high for lateral balance but still very good overall...

 

[TomD]

TSL Randos

Louis, Is that wire I see at the back of the shoe in the pic on their website a "televator" type heel lifter? I've only worn a pair of Atlas 1025's a couple of times in moderate territory-any idea how your 217's would compare?The Atlas's are pretty macho and probably way more than I really needed. I top out at about 180 and that's with a 40 lb. pack on-hehehe.

 

[Louis]

tsl Snowshoes

Yes the metal thing is a heel elevator and it does help on steep climbing...
Not sure what you mean by 'macho'... these are made for all-terrain but are lite enough for your weight (i would think)... I really like the way the bindings work and once adjusted they are super fast and easy to put on and very sturdy...
dont hesitate to ask me more questions if theres more stuff that you want to know...

 

[TomD]

Randos

Louis, Thanks-by macho I just meant that that Atlas shoes were heavy duty and had a fairly large crampon design on them compared to some of the lightweight shoes like the Northern Lites. I've seen those (went snowshoeing with a guy who had a pair) and they were a lot lighter than my 1025's. What kind of boot are you using? I have a pair of Sorels and am wondering if they would fit. Thanks again for the info.

 

[Louis]

tsl Snowshoes

They do have quite agressive crampons but still feel lite...I say better to buy snowshoes that you will be able to do anything trown at them with than having to buy another pair if you decide to climb a lot after a while (imho)...
I just use my regular Asolo 535 boots with them and your Sorel should be fine... the binding really locks them into position so it doesnt matter if the boots are stiff or not...

 

[TomD]

Randos

Thanks Louis, I read a review I found from someone who had bought a pair and found they didn't give them enough flotation-they said they sank in pretty far, so they thought they had gotten too small a pair. This was in Sweden, so no idea what the snow is like there-no idea how big the person was either since they didn't say. I know they make a bigger pair-227 I think. Any problems with the 217's as far as that goes?

The next problem would be finding them-they don't sell them in the US as far as I know.

 

[Louis]

tsl Snowshoes

I weight about 185 (without pack) and never had any flotation problem (remember that I bought them only at the end of winter last year though)...
Good luck finding them... come up to Montreal! (watch out, some come but never leave....)

 

[TomD]

Randos

Thanks Louis, I hear it's a beautiful place-and thanks for the snowshoe info too-hehehe.