Adapted from Snowshoeing by Larry Olmsted

"But I only want to buy one pair of snowshoes," you say. This is understandable. Again, perfect flotation is a luxury, not a necessity. In fact, if you climb a large mountain you will discover that your snowshoe needs change along the way, so there really is no"perfect" size. Buy the smallest shoe that will handle both the most common snow conditions that you'll encounter and the weight you will carry most of the time. Don't worry about the exceptions—you can always make do.

Snowshoe manufacturers love to include dimensions in their shoe descriptions—9" x 29", 10" x 36", 12" x 34", and so on. The reason that they include these measurements is to allow buyers to estimate the surface areas (and thus, compare the flotation) of differently shaped shoes easily, when visual comparisons are difficult—for example, between a nearly round shoe and a long, slim oval. Don't bother. The age-old formulas for

Most manufacturers offer a recommended weight rating for their shoes. Usually a tag on the shoes will state what weight range the model is designed to support. You can use this information to compare various brands. A few manufacturers include snow conditions on their fitting charts, but many do not. Since it is more important to know the type of snow the shoes are designed for than their weight rating, look at where tile shoes are made. A manufacturer in Salt Lake City who rates a shoe for 200 pounds most likely has something different in mind than one from Vermont, since these regions have very different snow conditions and therefore different flotation requirements.

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Snowshoeing by Larry Olsted Click here to order!