I know its early but preparing for a late season hunt in the snow. Can I get some feedback on which shoes you like and why and ones you wouldnt recommend and why. I have heard that the leather bindings swell after getting wet and dont work as well. I would really like to stay away from the newer frames and stick with a more "TRAD" style but not opposed to the lighter frames if that is what people say seems to work the best. If this is somewhere in the archives or talked about recently, point me in the direction and Thanks!

Leather bindings are will not swell if you treat them with a good water proofer. Warm the leather and the proofer in the sun or similar and get the proofer soaked into the leather. Some folks should not use leather because they are not capable of maintaining it. Leather is not maint. free like synthetics, though some treat it almost like it is and so problems arise.

Whatever you do make sure your trad shoe is also well sealed. A big deal in wet conditions. Even new shoes should be given extra coats of spar varnish ( the more elastic formulations of varnish).
When I lived in Maine and used shoes a lot in sometimes wet conditions I found I needed to "refresh" the varnish mid season to maintain sag and swell free performance.
Some really good threads here already covering snow shoes if you wish to use the search feature.

Joshua

Some of what you chose depends on the terrain you plan to hunt. Mod. bear paw or Green Mt. style for thick brushy stuff, Mich. or Alaskan style[longer] for open ground. Some of the newer styles are good for both. Just do some research and you'll find lots of info. ...I like the old style also!

Thanks guys -


JHG - Do you recomend a brand or do all treatments /varnish work about the same?

As long as it says SPAR on it. That is what you want.
Man-o-war, or any higher end (more expensive) brand will work great. Be sure to let each coat dry 24hrs before the next.

Spar urathanes are good too.

I never skimp on quality for applications like this. Its a tough job protecting snowshoes!
One quart will serve each season+, with a little left over.

J-

Oh, and grab a handful of 1" or so foam brushes and save having to clean up. They work great for this sort of thing.

For a traditional snowshoe, I recommend Iverson snowshoes (Google for thier webpage).  This is a small operation in Michigans UP. I like the Michigan or modified bearpaw depending on how big you are.


I would go with the neoprene webing as it is low maintenance.  I would also go with the A or AA harness.  

If you are up for a road trip, they used to sell "seconds" at thier shop.  I have a set of seconds that are 30 years old and still working well.

Check out these Made in Michigan traditional wooden snowshoes from Northwoods Outfitters.
http://northwoodsoutfitters.com/Pages/AdvStore/Snowshoes.htm