Bindings for Traditional Snowshoes?

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MattC

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My dad has a pair of wooden snowshoes he made a while back in a class. He's interested in putting some bindings on 'em. Anyone ever do this, or know from who or where to get them? Best type of bindings? Have someone else put 'em on, or DIY?

I know there's some stuff on the net that would be mail order-able. My dad lives in Troy, NY, and I'm an hour south in the Mid-Hudson Valley, so we're interested in something/somebody in this area, if possible. I'm going to ask over at Rock and Snow here in New Paltz, but I was curious if anyone on VFTT might have any ideas.

Matt
 
I think Carl Heilman who is better known for his photography of the ADK's used to or still does make snowhoes. You can probably come up with an address or phone # if you google him
 
Theres a store in Mayfield NY on rt 30 or 30a which used to have the leather bindings. I bought a pair there 25 years ago. Its still open, maybe someone knows the name.
 
MadRiver said:
I changed the old leather bindings and added some cleats to my old wooden snowshoes. Although they work quite well on flat trails, the cleats do not give enough traction to climb steep trails.

Here is the web page: http://www.creatcompsol.com/havlick/Bindings.html
This page shows an H binding (among others). A traditional and proven design.

The only problem with this binding is that your boot tends to slip forward when going steeply downhill and you need to keep the strap over the toe of the boot rather tight. (Can cause circulation problems with a soft boot.)

The Howe binding fixes this problem (Also a traditional and proven design.) It is the same as the H, but adds a 3 inch wide strap from attachment point under the front of the shoe, around the front, and into the "plate" (colored gray on the above web page). This forms a toe cup which need not be tight.

Nylon reinforced neopreme (same stuff as crampon straps are made of) is the material of choice. Raw leather cakes with snow, soaks up moisture, and freezes and cracks with age.

I used Howe bindings on Flat Bearpaw neopreme laced snowshoes for many years. The Howe bindings work well with everything from my rigid winter technical climbing boots to mouse boots to Sorrels, to my summer hiking boots. When properly adjusted, they give good control of the snowshoe and one need only loosen/tighten one buckle for exit/entry.

Doug
 
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Book Review!

For more ideas, you might check out a book called A Snow Walker's Companion by Alexandra and Garret Conover. They describe traditional north woods winter camping skills, especially wooden snowshoe travel. I remember they show a number of binding styles.

Since I've brought it up, this book is actually a great read for anyone who does any winter camping. The skills described don't usually transfer well to crowded high mountains, but they do remind me how even modern, high-tech mountain travel can be informed by the traditional skills.

:D
 
The leather bindings I used for my homemade traditional shoes I found on e-bay. In fact, they are still on sale occasionally from the same supplier in Canada. Search on "snowshoe bindings". Simple, inexpensive, and fairly secure.

Another option I am interested in trying is the traditional lampwick binding. Once tied, you can put on and remove your shoes with just a twixt of your foot, a great benefit when travelling frozen lakes. Here is a great page describing it:

http://www.wildernessrhythms.com/snowshoelace/snowshoe.html

Tony
 
lampwick etc

I keep one or two pair of snowshoes with lampwick for a binding. I find it easy on and off.
With just the flick of your foot you can be in or out of the binding...this also means whether you want to or not. I keep them on a longer snowshoe where I primarly want to go in straight direction with no real "fancy footwork" through the thickets.
I also keep them on a 21" (wide) bear paw..like when I'm fetching wood and you want to be able to work the wood pile without triping all over yourself.
Then the shoes become more like a work area/work station where you are on the shoes any which ways....side ways etc...while you make kindling or whatever.
Another rather incongruous binding ,which I believe came into being in the World War 2 era, is made from rubber . Much like a heavy piece of inner tube you place your foot through the opening and it holds remarkably well on a wide variety of foot wear. Though not as pretty to look at as lamp wick or leather bindings.
 
spider solo said:
Another rather incongruous binding ,which I believe came into being in the World War 2 era, is made from rubber . Much like a heavy piece of inner tube you place your foot through the opening and it holds remarkably well on a wide variety of foot wear. Though not as pretty to look at as lamp wick or leather bindings.

not a snowshoe fashion trend!


But they do the job, and there are no straps to monkey with. They don't provide as much lateral support though.

You could make these pretty easily out of inner tubes.
 
The "Mountain H binding" shown in http://snowshoe.com/index.cfm?pageid=31&productid=102 is very similar to the Howe binding that I described earlier. The only difference is the toe flap extends up to the over-the-arch-strap where the picture shows a narrow strap connecting the toe flap to the over-the-arch-strap. Probably functionally equivalent.

Re lampwick and flexi-rubber bindings:
They look like they might be usable on the level--wouldn't want to try any mountains in them. The Howe binding is secure enough for mountain climbing and only requires a 1-handed (single) buckle to enter and exit. Easier and faster to enter and exit than my modern MSRs.

Doug
 
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