Fimbulvetr - The next thing in snowshoes?

No, that's not a typo!

Fimbulvetr is a Norwegian company that has come out with a hi-tech plastic snowshoe.

Company web page

Review

Pretty interesting product. Curious to see if that gains any traction in the market.

DayTrip said:

Pretty interesting product. Curious to see if that gains any traction in the market.

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Hilarious.

I have to say, the Scandinavians have been cranking out some ridiculously good gear lately. Lots of innovation going on between Fimbulvetr and Fjallraven. There are all sorts of new gear companies being started by people who just love to hike, and want to make better equipment. Oboz out in Montana, Fjallraven in Norway - much of this "local" gear is phenomenal.

Looks a little short in the tooth.

DayTrip said:

Curious to see if that gains any traction in the market.

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They're probably just floating the idea out there.

Chip said:

Looks a little short in the tooth.

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Now that was funny!

Toss the Viper and Python crampons on there and it may be worthy. Until then, I'll stick with my Atlas.

The puns should probably stop. Criticism is a slippery slope.

Poor chose of words I guess. Didn't realize the pun I was making. I was legitimately curious about their viability.

I just dug this up from Gizmag. They are quoting the pre-order price at $500. Wow, I will stick with my MSR Evo Ascents, not to start the "favorite snowshoe" thread again.

http://www.gizmag.com/fimbulvetr-ultralight-thermoplastic-snowshoes/29676/

Z

The price is beyond my means, but this snowshoe design looks like it will performance well on the flats and rolling hills.

Looks good. I watched the video - it does a good job with demonstrating the product. I've got 4 pairs of snowshoes in the basement and the trails are always broken in the winter.

Can anyone find any specs on surface area? weight? They look like running snowshoes to me ... I'd be interested in them for tooling around some of the local stuff by me like Mt. Tom.

-Dr. Wu

dr_wu002 said:

Can anyone find any specs on surface area? weight? They look like running snowshoes to me ... I'd be interested in them for tooling around some of the local stuff by me like Mt. Tom.

-Dr. Wu

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Technically Speaking

SNOWSHOE/BINDING
DuPont™ Hytrel® TPC-ET
CRAMPONS
Stainless Steel
NUMBER OF COMPONENTS
12 - incl. binding and bolts
LENGTH
71,1 cm
WIDTH 27,8 cm
AREA 1976,6 cm²
WEIGHT/CM²
0,56 g/cm²
TOTAL WEIGHT 2214 g/one pair

I wouldn't call 2214g/pair lightweight! Freakin' heavy actually......

Petch

Petch, Thanks for noting that.

These appear to be designed for flotation but there are much lighter options available. So the "All Direction Hinge" would need to be a real value to justify these.

Model Weight [lbs/pair] Surface Area [sq.in/pair]
Tubbs Mountaineers 36s 5 lbs 13 oz 325. sq in
Tubbs Mountaineers 25s 5 lbs 5 oz 251. sq in
Fimbulvetr 4 lbs 14 oz 306.4 sq in
Tubbs Mountaineers 25s 4 lbs 11 oz 188. sq in
MSR EVO 22s 3 lbs 10 oz 176. sq in
Northen Lites Tundra 3 lbs 0 oz 258. sq in
Northen Lites Race 2 lbs 0 oz 130. sq in[/td]

Model Weight [lbs/pair] Surface Area [sq.in/pair]

Tubbs Mountaineers 36s 5 lbs 13 oz 325. sq in
Fimbulvetr 4 lbs 14 oz 306.4 sq in
Northen Lites Tundra 3 lbs 0 oz 258. sq in
Tubbs Mountaineers 25s 5 lbs 5 oz 251. sq in
Tubbs Mountaineers 25s 4 lbs 11 oz 188. sq in
MSR EVO 22s 3 lbs 10 oz 176. sq in
Northen Lites Race 2 lbs 0 oz 130. sq in

I was checking out some other non-traditional snowshoes and found "The Hive". It is basically a hard plastic deck snowshoes with some type of crampon. The real allure is that the binding can be locked and you can ski downhill on them. I can't say if they are suitable for any challenging ascents but the ride down looks like fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lccultKW9xc

No idea on price. The website does not have a dropdown menu for language options.

z

Get a grip. No, there was no way I was going to let that one pass.

I'd have been a little more impressed if they weren't priced beyond the reach of all but the oil-drenched Norwegians. I also wish they'd had the foresight to name the binding Gleipnir after they named the crampon Fenris.