Snow shoes

[fish-r-man]

This may be a long shot, but has anyone made their own snow shoes? Have a coyote hunt coming up and I for one am not gonna be walking around in balls deep snow. Any tips/tricks?:;:help

 

[Wild and Free]

If the snow is balls deep the coyotes will not be in it anyways, they like the path of least resistance same as us.

 

[Kurtr]

father in law has some old school home made ones and they are a pain in the ass to get around on. I have used the newer aluminium ones and those are way better and will be getting my own pair. The snow is great for snow shoeing just hard enough where you fall through with out them but will stay on top with them on

 

[dschaible]

go to sportsmanguide and search for U.S. Military Surplus Magnesium Snowshoes

 

[Wildyote]

I Military and old wood shoes. The wood and rawhide are better than any shoe out there. The military work just fine and the one type are spiked to climb steep incline. The aluminum tubing shoes are junk unless you are a flatlander.

 

[luvcatchingbass]

Bought aluminum pair a few years back and they do help quite abit. But they can be noisy at times, still better than not having them.

 

[jr2280]

go to sportsmanguide and search for U.S. Military Surplus Magnesium Snowshoes

I second this. I have a pair and made my own bindings out of an old truck tire inner tube. They kick arse.

 

[Kurtr]

I Military and old wood shoes. The wood and rawhide are better than any shoe out there. The military work just fine and the one type are spiked to climb steep incline. The aluminum tubing shoes are junk unless you are a flatlander.

from researching it looks like msr has a pretty big following have you used any of there looking at the ascents,.

http://www.cascadedesigns.com/msr/snowshoes/ascent-snowshoes/lightning-ascent-snowshoes/product

 

[huffranger]

Didn't read any of this thread but I have been trying to wear out a set of 36" Tubbs and they are awesome.

 

[johnr]

are snow shoes expensive?
why not just purchase a pair?

 

[fish-r-man]

not too expensive, just for how many times ill use em why not just make a pair

 

[Kurtr]

200 ish it seems but i have learned the hard way spend more up front to save in the end

 

[Sum1]

I personally don't think making them would be worth the hassle when you can get a good pair of wooden ones for $70, $80 that will more than likely be better than anything you could make yourself. Would be a definite "cool" factor in making your own though.

 

[Sluggin_Guts]

When i was still a kid in college I tried building a set of my own and they weren't worth a shit. I bought a pair of aluminum framed shoes from Cabelas and they work really well and are way easier to walk in. On hard snow they can be loud, but I took some foam pipe insulation and zip tied them around the frame work. Night and day difference in the noise they make.

 

[jr2280]

I paid $20 for my military surplus magnesium shoes. I put some camo form on the tail end to quiet them down a bit and made new bindings out of a free inner tube and $1 of paracord. My friends use those aluminum frame shoes and they are loud as hell compared to mine. On and off in about 10 seconds now. I would not trade anyone for aluminum tube type that's for sure.

 

[Kurtr]

How do they climb up icy slopes that is what caught my eye with the msr offering. Is the traction they also provide

 

[jr2280]

I have never had a traction problem. They have teeth on both sides of main rail even with the location of the ball of my feet. Not quite like those ice cleat looking ones up there though. I have never slipped in them but never walked on a lot of ice either. I worry more about falling down until I get the hang of them after not wearing them for a while though ha. Falling in snow shoes sucks. So does getting back up in them.

- - - Updated - - -

The bindings that come with the surplus shoes suck bad though. They take forever to get on then mine kept loosening up and falling off the backs of my heel. So if anyone decides to get some I suggest looking up inner tube snowshoe bindings on YouTube and spend 20 minutes making a nicer option.

- - - Updated - - -

I delete my previous post about $16 surplus shoes on eBay those were just the bindings. My phone was not friendly while looking at that. Sorry for any confusion.

 

[muzzyhunter]

I just spent the afternoon coyote hunting in snow shoes, for a tip, I recommend hurons, over the alaskans.The alaskans (trail) work well in open country but that extra length outfront tends to catch in the cattails and brush ahead of you.
I have also made bindings out of innertube, but they dont compare to the bob makis, definetley recomend the makis! They stay tight to my bunny boots even.

 

[Tillerman2095]

I have a pair of Redfeather snow shoes (www.redfeather.com). They have a vinyl base and aluminum frame. There is a cleat on the bottom that helps with traction. I like mine and I've put some miles on them. They have a good sizing chart to go off on their website. But remember to add a few pounds for gear and clothing; it does make a difference. I'd rather have them then not in these type of winters; even though they do make some noise and are clumsy at times.

 

[SupressYourself]

As mentioned several times already, get the military surplus magnesium ones. Here’s what they look like:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TG17B4C/?tag=nodakangler10-20

I have two pair and they are the thing to have. Way better than the aluminum / plastic ones, and cheaper too.

However, the bindings that come with them suck balls. Do yourself a favor, and get these ratchet bindings:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001U1CJNO/?tag=nodakangler10-20

They are a dream to get on and off. Also, the picture here doesn’t show it, but they have a cleat on the bottom that helps with ice or steep hills on packed snow.

The links provided were mostly just to show pictures. I’m sure you can find both cheaper. You should be able to do it for less than $100. I think I have $70-80 each into both sets of mine. They sometimes even have both on-hand at Fleet Farm in Fargo.