Modern vs Traditional Snowshoes 

They both are just as good, it all just depends on what terrain you're going to be hiking on.

Traditional shoes are fine for flat hikes, but throw in some nice climbs or some hard icey inclines and I'm glad I have my modern shoes with the crampon and extra traction. If you had the proper sized modern shoes in your test I think it would have been a more fair representation. New shoes also have features like a heel elevator to make climbing even easier.

Took the old wooden and rawhide tubbs out of the rafters, strung on some new bindings , went for a hike. Couldn't even figure out what had cut the narrow gorge in the middle of the trail until some folks on modern shoes shuffled through it going the other way. I wasnt even sinking in an inch and I out weighed any of them. Biggest problem was not falling into the ditch they left. Dog liked it though. Thanks for confirming my observations.

For climbing mountain trails, the Sherpa snowshoes, circa 1975 are GREAT. We bought two pair in 1975, aluminum and neoprene and still have them. Keep your woodies for the flats and you're fine. I'd like to see you try them for uphill hiking in the Cascades.

I use the old military issue magnesium snow shoes they only weigh 1/2 pound more than lightest modern ones and the new ones have a tendency to post hole thru deep snow when wearing a pack the military ones are wider and stay on top of snow better they have a long rear tail which also serves as a handle to shovel snow out and to stick in the snow to keep them visible and ready

Thanks for sharing .... My wife and I have been using the traditional Ojibway snowshoes for over 50 years ..... over 5 feet long about 12 inches wide .... fantastic shoes ..... No desire at all to spend 100 to400 dollars for modern snowshoe

Excellent video. I was wondering what the difference was. Thanks for posting this. I do find the crampons are good for climbing in steep country.

Different purpose/conditions. Like comparing winter tires vs summer tires. Those modern MSR shoes are designed for Pacific Northwest concrete snow/ice. For hiking steep mountains and icy slopes. We don't get fluffy dry snow here. Sounds like you are in a location that gets very deep and powdery snow, obviously better to have a traditional style shoe for those conditions. But when you are on a 40° slope with 5" of slush and ice underneath, your traditional shoes, and tubes modern shoes, are going to turn in toboggans as you slide downhill.

Wow! Thanks for that great demo. I was just planning to buy snowshoes and was looking at all the modern brands. I was suspicious about the modern designs but really didn't know for sure. Definitely going with the traditional snowshoes now after seeing your demo. The proof is definitely in the pudding. I was shocked at the difference!

Thanks for the video. I have a modern pair I picked up at MEC a decade+ ago (29"x9"). Me, clothing and a light pack and I'm pushing 230lbs. While they are fine for groomed trails and great for icy surfaces, they really suck breaking trail and walking in soft conditions, picking up slush under the crampons. My wife and I are now looking at traditional pairs (likely Huron-styled). We live in the Peterborough area so there are a few rolling hills so we don't expect to do a lot of climbing. However, we live in the country and we'll pretty much be breaking trail every trip out across fields and woodlots. My current snowshoes are just brutal at that in deep snow or any sort of powder...no flotation (well, better than just boots). I'm looking at a 30" pair of MSR Lightning Explore on the MEC website as I type this. $459.95 Canadian with an option for getting tails (so more $$$) Or, 14x48" with neoprene bindings from Canadian Outdoor Equipment for $333.50 (cheaper if you opt for DIY lamp wick bindings).

Seems like this would be a good video if I can hear what you're saying I can barely make out

I love this video! I'm set on wooden shoes. I use a pair of 10x56'' Alaskan and 10x30 green mountain style shoes for different conditions. I use the Alaskans for deep snow and longer walks. I use the green mountains for packed trails, and gathering sap in the spring. You can turn in the 10x30s as easy as any modern shoe, and I've never seen wet March snow stick to them. Use metal shoes in snow like that and pretty soon you'll be teetering on big snowballs that are sticking to those cleats.

i love my gv blizzards they are 10x36" and float like my canoe plus not too heavy either and the deep tooth crampon comes handy unless snow is really sticky. they are by no means high end but sure get me around algonquin and places without breaking the bank.

Thanks for this video!! I am looking for snowshoes for mainly lake use (ice fishing) and you really showed the difference between the traditional and modern designs.

I grew up on traditionals but the moderns make more sense where I camp. I cross a lot of dense bush, over blow downs, through tangles in marshes, etc, where traditionals are too big to back up & change course easily, and reeds & twigs gets caught in the webbing. Crampons on moderns are great for the steep hills, climbing over blowdowns, etc. The 'traditional route' is a type of route determined by the TYPE of snowshoes available then. My solo igloo vids explain the merits of moderns. -Martin

Great Vid , would love to see the handsfree , step in binding thing that you do with the traditional shoes in detail. Thanks

I took a trip this winter on some very steep trails where the weather had made a very hard crust, I was wishing HARD for some crampons for traction! I finally took off my snowshoes in favor of my boots so I could stomp out a hole for a foot-grip on those steep side hills. Even so, I took a fall and slid about 50 feet on that hard crust.

Excellent analysis, comparison, and we could see that you were doing a demo on at least minus 30 :)

Thanks, I knew I was a fan of wooden snow shoes for more than just being "Old School". They just work. I never understood the facination of the new metal ones. I have never had an issue with my wooden "Made in Canada" eh shoes. -Peace

Crampons are great when going uphill or over ice

My traditional 13 X 46 Iverson snowshoes work great. At 57 years of age; I'd rather huff & puff walking more so on top of the snow; rather than through it. lol Good info on your video.

I will take traditional materials any day. Bought the a new pair of modern shoes. Lasted one year and the plastic straps broke. Can't beat Mother Nature!

Modern shoes are good around the house and are durable, but if I'm doing any sort of winter hunting/camping I'm bringing traditional shoes. The surface area really makes a big difference and from my experience modern shoes with 60+lbs of gear sink way to far for my liking.

Yup, I'll stay with my old wood Tubbs. I have seen many modern aluminum shoes broken.

Nice video. I'm not a fan of the traditional bear paw model, but you still make a good point. To go along with that, note that even the size of the modern shoe you were using was quite a lot larger than what the usual recommendations would be for someone your size. What's that mean? To anyone who wants to get modern-style snowshoes, they really need the largest ones you can get to have decent flotation (and even that won't be all that large). I think the reason small sizes are always recommend with modern snowshoes is because that's what works in steep mountaineering situations, and like so many aspects of outdoor gear, what works in the most rugged mountain situations is viewed as being best, and so that's what sells. But that's not where most of us go hiking. The same logic can be applied to using ski poles for snowshoeing but I'll save shooting-down that nonsense for a video where that's actually the topic!

You should look Wide Trail 12x 42 made by GV snowshose you have the flotability of the traditional ones with modern fix/grip/swivel. For me if i dont need to be stealthy the moderns ones wins hands down!

My two cents: I had Atlas 830 s like 15 years agomy 1st shoe! They lasted for rec. but surveying in the interior barely lasted 1 season.... you can't wrap that material over the bars it wears and tears .... my large Sherpas were the best ever made! Unfortunately the belonged to the company, but my new similar build Article Trekkers, who took over Sherpa are great! I averaged around 8-10km of busting trail in the hard interior terrain of BC for over ten years that's a lot of clicks, traditional shoes serve a specific purpose and are super cool for open lakes rivers but not in the woods. Crampons are critical in bush work , up down gullies or preventing sliding down a mountain and fending of wolves. Sticky snow can be annoying but trekkers have designers a sharper smaller more open crampons to prevent it . I've trained and worked with a lot of ppl with a lot of different snowshoes and they all ended up switching over to trekkers. I've put a lot miles on them and looking to out many more back here in the east. Big fan of all your doing keep up the great work and stay warm!

Very interesting, but why a bear paw over trail type shoes? Obviously the bear paw snowshoe is going to float better than a narrow modern snow shoe. But how does the longer and slightly wider traditional trail snowshoe compare to the modern metal shoes?

Looking at the size difference and using your head could have saved 7 minutes of viewing the obvious. I've been snowshoeing for 30 years, started out with modified bear paws, and now use modern shoes. I find them to be superior in almost every condition, with the exception being deep, dry, fluffy snow in open terrain. Snow in the east isn't as dry as the stuff out west and in the far north, and generally consolidates relatively quickly. Even in fresh snow my 10"x36" Tubbs Mountaineers don't sink more than 6-8 inches with 300+ pounds of me and my pack, occasionally going to the knee if I step on or next to a buried shrub. They also give traction for climbing hills and work on crusted snow thanks to the crampons, which traditional shoes don't. My 8"x30" MSR Lightning Ascents are optimized for more packed snow in mountainous or steep terrain, with a frame that provides traction, 3 transverse traction bars, and 2 big toe crampons, but still do well in softer snow. I often find them to be easier to use than the Tubbs because while they may sink deeper they're easier to lift out, being smaller. They also give much better traction in late season, wet, "mashed potatoes" snow than tubular-framed or traditional snowshoes do. I just ordered a pair of GV Wide Trail 12"x42" and am looking forward to trying them out. Now, if I was in the far north, where the land was flat or open, I'd use traditional snowshoes with the most surface area. I'd also wear mukluks instead of Sorels, because liquid water doesn't exist for most of the winter up there. But in most snowy areas of the lower 48 a good modern snowshoe, sized appropriately for your weight, will do better. Maybe some day I'll pick up a set of Iverson 10x72s or something similar.

Interesting topic!

I have a set of snowshoes 10 inches by 40, traditional style, called "Vermont Tubbs" made of hardwood and rawhide webbing. They seem to be very adequate to get me through deep snow. I can see the advantage of the bearpaw style you shoe here, they are flat-out bigger, meaning (obviously) better floatation. I find my 10 x 40 easy to walk in, not needing a wide stance. Here's the question- is it awkward to walk with a wide stance using the shoes you show in your video?

My conclusion is the same as this vid: the trad snowshoes give much better float. I think "modern" snowshoes are designed with some eye to fashion at the expense of function. If you need snowshoes for deep fluffy snow, go traditional

Traditional won at about 2:20 for me!

Nice review!

tank you its very interesting

I like traditional. HOWEVER, modern snowshoes can use modular, clamp on floation accesories. So you can increase surface area AS NEEDED! That means you can have MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY on packed snow with a smaller, lighter shoe, and add the modular sections on softer snow! Comparing against those would be a fair comparison!

I am looking for traditional snowshoes for east coast snow, usually wet rather than dry. They will mainly be used in the woods but with very little underbrush, but occasionally on wide trails with some hills. I am a bigger guy, 6' 5" 240# what shape and size do you suggest for me? Because we only get infrequent snow they will likley be used just two or three times a year, a day or two in a row. Thanks for any suggestions.

What happens if you try to snowshoe uphill or downhill in traditional snowshoes? (No ice). Will you just slide downhill?

With the 16" width, do you ever have issues with your snowshoes hitting each other? Or what width do you think you would have issues with that?

I love your channel but the volume on this isn't listenable. Don't use the camera microphones they are horrible. curious how come you didn't use a traditional snowshoe roughly the same size (like a Green mountain type) as the new one...? You have more apples and oranges here.

Got some traditional looking snow shoes. surplus? They came with a webbing for my shoes. Two piece. I cannot figure out how to attach them? Any ideas or links? Dan

Do you have a video of bushcrafting a pair?

wow. The modern shoes seem almost totally useless.

Get new camara your mike sucks