Types of snowshoe binding, quality, reliability

[local excursion]

Hi everyone,

I'm from Montreal QC, and this is my first post here.
I've been snowshoeing and loyal to my old snowshoes for a good ten years now. My lovely wife, who knows how much I enjoy my winter hikes (especially after a fresh snowfall), and after noticing how tattered my 10 year old snowshoes were becoming decided to purchase me some new snowshoes this past Christmas.

The reason I'm posting here is to solicit your opinion about snowshoe bindings. My old aluminum frame snowshoes had simple pull-strap type bindings, and with exception that I would occasionally step out from heel, I never had any issue with them ... very simple and reliable.

Of course in 10 years, technology changes, and I see my new snowshoes come equipped with a ratcheting type binding:



Would appreciate if some members here would provide opinion on this type of binding. Tubbs boasts of ease of use and comfort, but what I see is plastic buckles and small springs. I can't help but wonder about reliability of these bindings. Are they prone to breakage, or do they release prematurely in deep snow, or on the trail? Discussion is not intended to debate quality of the Tubbs brand name, rather the merits / disadvantages of ratchet type bindings (or other type of bindings for that matter).

Your comments and feedback appreciated
local excursion

 

[RoySwkr]

In days of yore, bindings were basically leather straps (later neoprene) and connector pieces, took awhile to adjust the first time but then came off/on with one buckle leaving the others fastened. Switch to different-shape boots and go through the process again. If a strap cut or chafed through in the field, replace with spare strap or piece of string.

Every binding since trades off repairability for ease of use. I had a nylon strap chafe through where it left the neoprene toe piece, fortunately it was the buckle end and I was able to attach the strap to something to get home where I drilled out the rivets and hammered in the replacements - no, I don't carry an anvil on hikes even if my pack feels like it

 

[TCD]

My observation is that snowshoe bindings are one area of outdoor equipment that has received very limited engineering attention. Many of the design features of most snowshoe bindings are flat out stupid, their weaknesses are obvious, and their eventual failures are unsurprising. Of course there are some bright spots here and there. But no one seems to have put together a complete package that satisfies the main user needs: Easy to do with mitts, secure on the heel, reliable, not prone to freezing, fits various boot sizes, does not squeeze a soft boot too hard, etc.

Most bindings suck, and all manufacturers trumpet how great their bindings are. That's just marketing fog, and you have to ignore it. Take your boots to the shop, try the bindings with mitts on, and take a good critical look at the design. You might still have to make some "home modifications" later...

I think there's no money in snowshoe binding design, otherwise someone would have cleaned it up by now...

 

[nartreb]

Ratchet-type bindings work quite well on snowboard bindings, don't they? Yes, those little springs will wear out someday, but one shouldn't assume that'll be any sooner than, say, the point where your snowboard deck is riveted to the clasp around the frame.

I have no experience with your particular design. How does the heel strap stay on?

 

[DougPaul]

I agree with RoySwkr and TCD. I started with neoprene and nylon Howe bindings (on wood snowshoes with neoprene and nylon decking) which worked very well with several different pairs of boots with only minor readjustment. Secure with easy in and easy out. In contrast, the "modern" bindings on my current MSR Denalis are much harder to get in and out of, probably less reliable, and harder to field repair.

(A picture of a leather Howe binding can be found at http://www.etsy.com/se-en/listing/120168062/pair-leather-howe-snowshoe-snow-shoe. I don't know of anyplace to buy one these days, but they aren't that hard to make from sheet and strap neoprene and nylon. You also need proper attachment points on the snowshoe and they may be more suitable for wider snowshoes than the current narrow ones.)

Sometimes the new "higher tech" equipment is a regression compared to the older gear...


Sorry, I have never used ratchet binding and cannot give you any useful info about them.

Doug

 

[DougPaul]

Ratchet-type bindings work quite well on snowboard bindings, don't they? Yes, those little springs will wear out someday, but one shouldn't assume that'll be any sooner than, say, the point where your snowboard deck is riveted to the clasp around the frame.

Snowshoe bindings need to pivot with every step and it is my understanding that snowboard bindings hold the foot down flat on the snowboard. Perhaps a pivot bearing might added--the pivot point needs to be under the ball of the foot.

Doug

 

[bikehikeskifish]

All bindings, in my experience, have strengths and weaknesses. Most (all?) have a strap around the heel.

The MSR system with three straps across the toe
+ lies flat while strapped on your pack
+ pretty mitten friendly
- tends to allow boot twist
- may allow boot to slide forward, especially while descending
- requires three straps be adjusted
- can put extra pressure on your boot

For the Evo in particular, it is not designed to fit a large boot (my size 13 Columbia Ice Dragon IIs will not fit)

The Tubbs Flex Alp binding
- does not lie flat, harder to carry
- back strap doesn't always stay locked on
- a bit less mitten friendly
+ faster on/off, only two straps to adjust
+ doesn't allow boot to slide forward
+ does not squash boot

Tim

 

[local excursion]

Many thanks for the responses.
BTW, I erred in post #1 when I mentioned Tubbs. My new snowshoes are made by company called Snow Shoes Canada. There is a much better pic (along with spec’s) on their website (clearly shows ratchet type bindings that I’ve been referring to). As you can see nartreb, heel is secured by a strap (neoprene?).
I’ve been out on them once … had no issues. We need some fresh snow
local excursion

 

[Jay H]

There are also different types of bindings but since MSR has such a big presence, the two probably get lost in the shuffle. Some bindings allow the snowshoe to rotate around the pivot axle freely, some are limited. The different is easily tested by lifting your foot and seeing if the tail of the snowshoe hangs freely or does it only go so far before it stops..

Has somewhat a difference if you are akin to jumping with your snowshoes on... and perhaps the snow tossing when walking in fine powder..

Jay

 

[sardog1]

In days of yore, bindings were basically leather straps (later neoprene) and connector pieces, took awhile to adjust the first time but then came off/on with one buckle leaving the others fastened. Switch to different-shape boots and go through the process again. If a strap cut or chafed through in the field, replace with spare strap or piece of string.

Every binding since trades off repairability for ease of use. I had a nylon strap chafe through where it left the neoprene toe piece, fortunately it was the buckle end and I was able to attach the strap to something to get home where I drilled out the rivets and hammered in the replacements - no, I don't carry an anvil on hikes even if my pack feels like it

Roy isn't nearly as old as he thinks he is.

In days of yore before leather straps, snowshoe bindings were lamp wicks, from kerosene lamps. A length of wick was looped around a toe cord of thick rawhide running across the snowshoe as part of the webbing, criss-crossed around the boot and tied off. It was the single most reliable snowshoe binding ever invented and carried the means for its own repair. If it broke, you tied the pieces together and got back on the trail. If a porcupine ate it during the night, you cut off a new hunk of lamp wick and got back on the trail.

The binding on the original Sherpa snowshoes mimicked this with a flat cord that criss-crossed over the top of the boot via open hooks. There was a heel strap of neoprene that you put on your heel before tightening the flat cord. It was the second-most reliable snowshoe binding ever invented and carried the means for its own repair. If the cord broke, you tied the pieces together and got back on the trail. If a hook broke off or pulled out, you skipped it in the criss-cross pattern and got back on the trail. If you were plagued by OCD and couldn't stand the notion of a missing hook, you ran a short piece of paracord through the hole formerly occupied by the hook and tied a loop through which you threaded the binding cord. This was far too simple, reliable and durable for the snowshoe manufacturers to tolerate its presence on the market. They got to work convincing people that, as Benjamin Braddock was so famously informed, their future was: "Plastics."

You'll notice that the MSR binding looks not a little like the lamp wick and Sherpa bindings. There is a reason. God forbid you should ever discover the wisdom of this arrangement at thirty below some night while wearing some other type of binding. Me, I've never wanted to take that chance.