My new shoes...

[Canotrouge]

I just got today my new snowshoes, Innu style 20”x30” birch frame and 400lbs test mono and 3/4” poly webbing hitch! These things are amazing, they are light and they float me high on the snow and are easy to walk in!! The hitch is a bit different than the one I use, but I think it is a bit better!!

 

[Dagger]

I can't seem to get to the large photos and only see the thumb nails. They look very nice indeed!

 

[Cruiser]

I am having an ongoing issue with photos... I see the pics in the post, but any time I click them i get a flash and empty screen

 

[Canotrouge]

Sorry guys I have the same issue than you guys when I try to look at others pictures! I tried many many different things trying to fix the matter but alas it is not working for me!

 

[PeteStaehling]

I wish I could see them better. They look good in the thumbnail, but I really cant see much detail.

I am in flip flops here in Tallahassee. I'd enjoy some time in the snow, but am not travelling during the pandemic. Family back in my old home have either been enjoying snow or complaining about it

 

[Patrick Corry]

Many years ago I went winter mountaineering in Japan; the North Japan Alps & Mt. Fuji. I was introduced to traditional Japanese snowshoes known as 'kanjiki' or 'wakaan'. Your Innu snowshoes look similar in concept and I find it interesting that indigenous peoples arrived at similar functional 'shoes'.

 

[dschult2]

Very nice! Love the traditional snowshoes.

 

[memaquay]

I have lusted after those monofilament shoes for quite a while....some day they will be mine, ha ha!

 

[lowangle al]

They're pretty nice but as a back country skier when are you going to use them?

 

[Canotrouge]

They're pretty nice but as a back country skier when are you going to use them?

I don’t back country ski much anymore and these are mainly for hunting, I find snowshoes way more practical for hunting, especially in tight forested area, in willows, and in cold weather than skis, skis don’t float me as well, boots are not as warm as my mukluks, skis are more cumbersome in the bush and they are not as quick to put un and take off! I xc ski lots but in the bush I like snowshoes better!

 

[lowangle al]

That sounds like a good plan. Rabbits, grouse, and ptarmigan?

 

[Canotrouge]

That sounds like a good plan. Rabbits, grouse, and ptarmigan?

And wood bisons.....

 

[Turtle2]

Cool! people don't appreciate traditional snowshoes. My go to deep snowshoes are a pair of ww2 surplus 10X56 Alaska style shoes. the problem is i end up breaking trail for others on the tiny modern snowshoes because of their poor flotation!

 

[PeteStaehling]

Cool! people don't appreciate traditional snowshoes. My go to deep snowshoes are a pair of ww2 surplus 10X56 Alaska style shoes. the problem is i end up breaking trail for others on the tiny modern snowshoes because of their poor flotation!

I never worried about that. Nobody else snowshoed and almost no one skied where I snowshoed. I did find that I broke trail for myself and my dog on upcoming days of trail running (I have given up running these days).

I always wanted to build my own traditional snowshoes but never got around to it. I never lived where they'd get enough use to justify the effort. Maybe if I move far enough north some day...

 

[Canotrouge]

I always wanted to make some my self, I even have drawings of “my own design”, the wood part is easy, the lacing part is not, I relace a pair of Ojebway a few years back and man it was hard!

 

[RickR]

Nice combination of traditional and modern materials in a time honored design! I'm a big fan of wood frames. They may be a tad heavier, but they're so much quieter than aluminum.

 

[ppine]

The Innu style shoes are fairly wide. Watch out for that lilttle muscle on the inner thigh. It takes awhile to get used to the wider gait.

 

[Canotrouge]

The Innu style shoes are fairly wide. Watch out for that lilttle muscle on the inner thigh. It takes awhile to get used to the wider gait.

I didn’t put any miles on those yet, but the little test drive I did in the back, showed that I can walk with a normal gait for me.... but a longer walk in them will tell weather or not I will need to adjust! I 6’2” and have 34” inseam, the snowshoes are 20”x30”, seem to fit me quite well! Time will tell

 

[Iskweo]

I have a pair of Bastien Bros 12 x 42 traditional style with milsurp bindings. I put the bindings on after the original leather ones broke. My loaner pair are bearpaws 10 x36 and I have weaved cordura into the original rawhide mesh to give better flotation.

I have noticed the new style shoes and have never understood why they bother. Those type hardly even keep you on top of the snow.

 

[snapper]

Canotrouge - I haven't seen this addressed yet so I'll ask...would you mind sharing where you got these shoes from? I did make a pair of Ojibway shoes about ten years ago using the kit from Country Ways. They're great snowshoes but yours are wonderful so I'm curious how you came about them. No worries if you need to keep that close to the vest.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...

be well.

snapper