Snowshoes

[The Sikes]

This may seem like a stupid question but one I'm going to ask anyways. I have 2 different pair of snow shoes and was tyring them out the other day to see which one I liked best. My question is how far are you suppose to sink in the snow with these on? I felt like I sunk too far but may be from lack of experience and an unrealistic thought of how I want them to work they are working fine.

 

[Tramper Al]

Sound like a good question to me. You will always sink to some extent in snowshoes if there is enough soft snow to consider wearing them. You will sink to an extent inversely proportional to the 'float' or surface area of the snow shoes. Bigger shoes, less sinking.

So, if your two pairs of snowshoes are of different sizes, you might want to try the bigger in deep snow and the smaller when there is less sinking to be done.

 

[Rick]

Absolutely - When snow is soft fluffy or powdery, and unconsolidated, you will need a larger pair of snowshoes to spread your weight - Your main concern is flotation, then traction. Once consolidated or with a wet thick snow, a pair that is a bit smaller works well, because then your concern is traction more than flotation.
I have 9x30's for myself for most occasions, but when we get into late winter and early spring on packed trails I will use my wife's 8x25's.

Course - Having a pair that is a bit smaller than what you normally need is a luxury, which is why you should always buy your wife a pair of snowshoes for Christmas.

 

[MadRiver]

which is why you should always buy your wife a pair of snowshoes fro Christmas.

I have always found that when I buy a given piece of gear, it is in my best interest to buy my wife the same gear as well. Hence, it has significantly cut down on the beatings.

 

[adkleaddog]

Don't forget the kids....they need to be outfitted as well, plus they'll grow into it if they're small!

 

[Mr. X]

I had this same concern when I first strapped on a pair of snow shoes. I think what you are talking about is normal given the type of snow your treading. The people above have posted some valid information regarding this. Did you look at the recommended pack wearing weight when you bought them? If you got them as a gift or second hand you may consider going into a store and checking out the similar model and seeing what yours are rated for. I personally would go look them up on the internet. Internet aye?

 

[KayakDan]

I have always found that when I buy a given piece of gear, it is in my best interest to buy my wife the same gear as well. Hence, it has significantly cut down on the beatings.

Wowww! If your wife is beatin' on ya 'cause you don't buy her backcountry gear-you are one lucky guy!

Of course the problem with having a wife who enjoys the same activities is nobody to slow you down in a gear store.
"Cool..let's get a couple of these" "Oh,yeah,OK"
"And how 'bout this great ###" " Oh,cool,let's get them too"
And then the credit card bill comes in!

Ohh,but ya gotta love a woman who will sleep in the snow!

 

[spider solo]

Yes it sure does depend on how much powder there is. Sometimes if you feel like your sinking to your knees on a given day you may be surprised that after the snow sets up for a few days you float on it a bit better.
this past storm of beautiful powder found me playing with four different styles of snowshoes just for fun and comparision.
I tried some large bearpaw style (22" wide) and very flat shoe I sank pretty deep, about 10 ".
Next time out I put on a pair 12" x 65 " and floated nicely sinking down about 4 or 5 inches.

 

[TCD]

There are a lot of factors in choice of snowshoe size:

Will you travel mostly on trail or off?
How's the snow?
How far do you want to sink in or not sink in?
How many trail breakers in your group to take turns?
How heavy is your pack?
Will you be carrying the snowshoes during other activities like climbing or skiing?

For my purposes (70% on trail, 30% off, often carry shoes while skiing or climbing) my rule of thumb has been to pick one size smaller than the manufacturer recommends. Everyone's different.

But I think the most valuable piece of information in this thread is:

if your spouse shares your activity, you had better budget what my wife and I call "Times Two" for that hot new gear!

TCD

 

[The Sikes]

Thanks for the advise. My husband thinks I'm crazy so I don't have to worry about buying for him but I do have to think of my 2 kids. That is a tough one. Stuff for them is limited.

 

[mavs00]

I think our kids are pretty much similar ages????? We've rented so far for them and so far we've gone with the LADY Atlas snowshoes for both (they fit great).

As for crampons, we got our kids the Trango 6 pointers. The smaller size crampon platform seems to fit perfect with their smaller boot size. Plus, no front points (which greatly increases their risk of tripping and shredding pants). The've worked great on the last few hikes (including above treeline).

Our kids are 100 lbs (daughter) and 120 lbs (son) or so