How to Fit Snowshoes
Snowshoes are one of the types of winter equipment that are easy to fit and don’t require a humongous investment. Most modern snowshoes and snowshoe bindings fit a variety of boot styles and sizes including hiking boots and winter boots. Here are the basic steps for fitting your snowshoes and snowshoe bindings.
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Instructions
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Ask the customer associate if any boots you already have will work with the snowshoes. This means bringing in the boots you think you could wear with snowshoes. It’s a simple way to avoid spending money for a new pair of boots if you don’t need them. Your boots should cover your ankle to keep the snow out and resist water so you can spend all day in the snow without soaking your feet. Warm, waterproof and supportive hiking boots are best.
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Get assistance in fitting snowshoes. Discuss what type of snowshoeing trails you are planning to use--are you using groomed trails or going wilderness hiking? This, along with your weight and levels of experience, will influence which snowshoe bindings and snowshoes you will purchase.
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Fit your snowshoes and bindings by first placing your snowshoes on flat ground or a level flat surface. Make sure you’ve matched the snowshoes to the correct foot--they are not symmetrical.
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Loosen the straps and place the ball of your boot over the snowshoe's rotation strap/bar. Center your heel over the snowshoe.
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Tighten the heel strap around the back of the boot, then pull up on the other straps to remove any looseness or slack. Test and get familiar with your bindings. While there are a variety of binding styles, all bindings must be properly adjusted to ensure a secure fit. You want to know how to secure and release them quickly and easily. Get the service rep to walk you through the fitting process just so you're familiar with the basics, and can ask questions.
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Tighten the straps at each of the buckles. Re-tighten any straps if needed and tuck any loose ends away from you foot. If your foot is slipping and moving around inside the binding, it is not fitting correctly.
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Tips & Warnings
Try before you buy. Rent a few different models of snowshoes first before buying, preferably with different bindings, just to make sure you're really going to enjoy doing this sport, and to get an idea of what you like and don't like.
As a general snowshoe rule of thumb, the larger the surface area of the snowshoe, the greater the flotation in the snow--in other words, staying on top of the snow. The smaller the surface area of the snowshoe, the greater the maneuverability in the snow.
