Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Snowshoe Help

Any help buying a pair of snowshoes would be nice. I don’t weigh a lot 150-155 and wouldn’t be carrying over 25lb if I was carrying anything at all.
S.

Is this for enough use to justify good ones or will $60 Costco shoes work?

The money doesn’t matter really.

A friend has the MSR snowshoes that use angle instead of round tube. They climb hard pack super well and are great for trails with lots of dips and steep hills. Way better than my round tube shoes.

Atlas.

Terrain? open country or brush? deep snow? icy conditions? hunting or hiking or backup/emergency?
Traditional or modern construction?

These are the two that I finalized on: MSR Lightning Ascent and Maine Rabbit Hunter

Bought the MSRs, no regrets, but still really want to try the Maine Rabbit Hunter shoes. Might still buy a pair.

Mike - The rabbit hunter shoes have sweet flotation especially when the snow is icy on top and powdery below (most VT snow is icy compared to the West) they are kinda big tho. Been looking for some MSR’s cuz I think a person could climb better in them - I’ll have to look at the Lightning Ascent you mentioned.

Smallfry - I’m following this - curious as well what others think. Having a few options to cover varied conditions makes sense to me

We've got a pile of snowshoes at our house. Really, a guy needs a couple for different conditions, or buy something like the MSR Lightening Ascent that allows an additional tail to be attached. I really like a 30" shoe for the deep stuff, and a 25" shoe for lesser snow. MSR shoes are my favorite, and USA made. I'm a bit under 150 lbs, so same-same.

Search GV brand snowshoes made in Canada. But once ,cry once.

Those look excellent... and really not that expensive.

I’ve been using older Tubbs (which is now K2 I think) mostly because they are common here in VT and have a friend that uses the newer Maine Guide Rabbit Hunters that were mentioned earlier, with the elevated front & rear sections. They seem to work really well from a mobility standpoint. Mine are more standard 30x9 long ovals with Control Wing bindings or something like that. Anyhow they are older but work great.

I run an athletic 185 so honestly I could go bigger and/or explore the MSR options but I like the profile of mine because it works with my normal-ish hiking/walking pace.

small fry,
If you are totally new to this, buy something rather inexpensive based on your weight plus load. This will give you a baseline for performance and help you fine tune if need be. Make sure that the bindings are "universal" so that your hunting boot is compatible. Some of the higher priced shoes need a special binding to attach. I have snowshoes from ash/moose hide to aluminums - it is a great winter activity. My most enjoyable elk hunts are on snowshoes at below zero temps at above 8,000 feet in New Mexico! The boys from Texas just glass from their trucks and say - you can't do that!

I have been using the living hell out of the Maine Guides Rabbit Hunters, in mainly powdery snow. You'll sink some, but not as much as with other shoes. They can be a bit tough to climb steep areas in though, if that is important to you. The binding system is also not perfect, but nobody else's are either. I usually "step out" of their bindings at least a couple times every outing it seems.

I like traditional woven shoes as it allows powder to fall through as you step up, if the powder is deep enough to cave in over the top as you step down. It can be from modern material, but the old school woven design beats non woven in my mind.

MSR makes good shoes too and I have had several, but the Rabbit Hunters are better for me and what I do.

Thanks guys these are all good leads! I have already been considering the MSR’s. I’ll let you know.
S.

Brad and others are correct that no one snowshoe will serve well in all conditions. I like the MSR's with detachable extensions to increase surface area of the snowshoe.

The critical factors in using a snowshoe are:

-weight of the user and gear,

-surface area of the snowshoe,

-weight bearing condition of the snow. (Deep powder is vastly different from coastal snow.)

Those three factors are always present, and sometimes traction on ice crusted snow adds another factor.

Most snowshoes sold in the US are cutesy toys designed to look cool and be agile in snowy parking lots and on groomed trails. Nothing wrong with that, but know that if you want to hunt, trap, work or travel off trail or on ungroomed trails, it is a different world. The fine print on weight charts I've read always say they are based on groomed trails and that for off trail use get a larger size snowshoe.

IF you plan to hike off trail, get bigger snowshoes than you think you need. Post holing in snow is bad and post holing when wearing snowshoes is BAAAAD. Too big a shoe is a small problem, maybe a bit clumsy or costing a bit of extra energy. Too small a shoe, even by a tiny amount, is exhausting.

I have three sets of snowshoes and if not in my declining years would buy one more, bigger than what I have. I'm 230 lbs. and nowadays mostly use snowshoes on short off road forays to call predators. I have a 30 inch set of wooden bear paws with many miles on them, a 36 inch set of cheap Yukon Charlies and a set of GV Wide in the largest they make them 12x42. I wish the GV were 48”. I almost bought some 60” semi-tradionals instead but since I moved to the US from Canada with not as much deep powder snow, the GV’s have worked fine and I like them.

I really like the short, wide wilderness skis with traction skins for hunting in up and down country, especially contouring a mountainside across ravines. Some days moving from shade to sun changes whether the snowshoe will hold you up near the surface or punch deep. Ridge to swale often does the same. On those days, IMO it is better to have bigger snowshoes than needed in the more dense snow than to flounder in the soft stuff.

Buy a cheap set of 30” and after using them some, make an informed decision about buying another pair that are bigger or smaller. Check out some Canadian snowshoe forums.

I can't help on what to buy today but have pondered the same question thinking I'd like to try the newer technology. My snow showing experience goes back at least 45 years with a pair of Vermont Tubbs but they haven't been used for probably 40 years (did a lot of winter hiking and camping as a youth in Boy Scouts ). This thread prompted me to dig these out last night:

After trying ever else, that's what I bought. They have a lifetime warranty. Mine have been solid kit.

Maine Guide Rabbit Hunters

I wish they had MSR style crampons and bindings, though I am sure I could rig something up that would work better for me.
The shoe itself I like way better than MSR Lightening.

Love that Model 37!!! Best pump shotgun ever made...sorry Model 12 fanboys.

ITHACA...mmm mmm mmm!