Redfeather Hike Snowshoes Field Report

Personal Information:
Name:  Christine Korhonen
Age:  30
Gender:  female
Height:  5’4” (1.6 m)
Weight:  165 lb (75 kg)
Shoe size:  women’s 8½ (EU 39)
E-mail:  chris@wormguy.com
Location:  Western Montana
Date:  February 10, 2004

Backpacking Background:
I recently moved to Montana where I’m becoming re-acquainted with winter.  Now that I’m back above the snow line, I’m attempting some winter camping and snowshoeing.  I’m a lightweight backpacker mentally, if not always in practice.  I’ve gotten my summer multi-day pack weight down to 13 lb (6 kg), but winter backpacking is still new to me, and my winter pack weight hovers around 25 lb (11 kg). 

Snowshoe Experience:
I grew up using wood and rawhide snowshoes.  I would never go far because they were so wide, and I was constantly tripping myself.  I hadn’t done much snowshoeing before I got these shoes, but I’m glad I’ve started.  I love it!  I don’t do much off-trail tramping in the summer, but in the winter it’s easy.  The thick undergrowth is covered, the streams and boggy bits are frozen, and  I can see pretty far because the leaves are off the trees.  I love the feeling of freedom from going off-trail and following deer tracks up the steep part of a hill.

Product Information:
Manufacturer:  Redfeather Snowshoes
URL:  www.redfeather.com
Product/Model:  Hike Series H30
MSRP:  US$119  
Listed strength:  supports up to 220 lb (100 kg)
Measured weight:  3.8 lb (1.7 kg)
Measured dimensions:  2 ft 6 in (76 cm) long, 9 in (23 cm) at widest point

Field Test Information:
 I used the snowshoes to tromp through forested public and private land in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  The course was gently rolling snowmobile trails and off-trail bushwhacking at an elevation of 1400 ft (430 m).  Temperatures stayed around 32 F (0 C).  I was primarily on 6” (15 cm) of crusted base snow with an inch (2.5 cm) of fresh powder on top, though several sections were on drifts up to 3 ft (90 cm) deep.

I also took the snowshoes hiking and backpacking in the Rocky Mountains of Montana at elevations from 4500 ft (1400 m) to 6300 ft (1900 m).  Hikes were uphill going in and downhill coming out, through sparsely forested grasslands.  Temperatures hovered around 28 F (-2 C) during hiking.  Hikes were on well-used trails that had melted and frozen over and off-trail sections with a snow depth around 6” (15 cm).  On the backpacking trips my pack weighed from 20 lb (9 kg) to 25 lb (11 kg).  During all hikes I wore lightweight HiTec boots with the snowshoes.

Aluminum Snowshoes in General:
I’ve converted to aluminum snowshoes.  I particularly like the large front cleats and the fact that snow slides easily off the top of the shoes.  I went hiking with my dad, who was wearing wood and rawhide snowshoes.  For general hiking, the aluminum style won the day.  I had no problem going up and down 45 degree inclines, while my dad was dependent on nearby trees to keep him from sliding.  Snow fell off of the rubber decking of my snowshoes, while it stuck to his rawhide webbing, increasing those shoes’ weight.  I could use a relatively normal gait, while my dad had to widen his stance to keep from tripping.  After our hikes, my dad saw the light and went out and got a pair of aluminum snowshoes for himself.

Redfeather Hike Snowshoes:
The Hike snowshoes have worked well so far.  When I walk in them, my gait is smooth.  I walk normally, and the snowshoe moves with my foot.  The snowshoes’ weight is not the problem that I thought it would be.  The hikes I’ve taken have been short (3-5 mile [5-8 km]) and easy, and I hardly notice the extra weight of the snowshoes.  Overall I’m having a lot of fun with these snowshoes and am excited to continue the test.

Wear:  The Hikes have stood up really well so far.  There are only a couple of scratches on the aluminum frame.  The decking is intact, with no rips or punctures.  The rubber “Live Action Hinge” doesn’t seem affected by the strain that I’ve put on it so far. 

Stainless steel crampons:  I really like the crampons.  At 2” (5 cm) long, they give a good bite.  I’ve been able to walk up and down pretty steep (45 degree) inclines comfortably with a 25 lb (9 kg) pack on my back and without using hiking poles.  I took some off-trail routes with the snowshoes that I wouldn’t have chosen if I were just wearing boots because I felt so comfortable that the cleats would hold. 

The disadvantage of having such large cleats is when the trail has less than 2” (5 cm) of snow or is ice-packed and prevents the cleats from digging in.  This is especially obvious when walking on a plowed road.  When I was too lazy to take the snowshoes off at a road crossing, the cleats forced my toes 2” (5 cm) in the air, and it was a challenge to pick my feet up high enough to prevent tripping.  It’s my own fault if I do trip, since the snowshoes aren’t meant to be used on roads.

The snowshoes are dependent on the cleats for their traction.  There were a couple of times when I stepped on a snow-covered fallen tree branch and slipped because the cleats weren’t able to dig in.  This was the only time I slipped while wearing the snowshoes. 

Footbed:  There are two separate sections to the footbed, the front and the heel.  The front footbed is bolted to the Live Action Hinge along its forward edge and pivots up and down.  The heel bed is immobile and bolted to the snowshoe decking.  Both sections have raised striations to provide traction with the wearer’s boot. 

When my foot is strapped into the snowshoe, the striations on the footbed may play a small role in keeping the foot stable.  The striations on the heel bed do not seem to be necessary.  The purpose of the heel bed is to reduce wear on the decking from the heel of my boot.  The striations in the heel bed trap snow, which accumulates under my heel and soon turns to ice.  This snow and ice has gotten up to an inch (2.5 cm) thick.  I can walk, but I feel the ice lump under my heel.  If the heel bed were smooth, the snow and ice might slide off while still protecting the decking from wear.  

All Terrain Bindings (ATB):  The bindings consist of molded rubber supports holding 1” (2.5 cm) nylon webbing in a Z-pattern over the foot.  The bindings can be tightened with buckles at the toe, instep, and back of the heel.  My foot size is 8 ½ women’s (EU 39), and I need to tighten the toe strap as far as it can go.  Even with the bindings as tight as I can get them, my feet tend to drift slightly, forcing the snowshoes pigeon-toed.  This seems to be a function of the instep strap. The instep webbing is attached at the outer toe, crosses the foot to the inner ankle, and then crosses again to buckle on the outer ankle.  When the strap is tightened, it tends to push the toes of my foot out.  When I walk with my feet parallel, the snowshoe turns in, making the snowshoes look pigeon-toed.  I try to keep my foot straight in the bindings while I am tightening them and make sure that the sides of the instep webbing are even, but my right foot especially tends to drift during a hike.  When the snowshoe goes crooked, I start walking with my toes out to keep the snowshoes in line.  It’s minor, but annoying.  A way to alleviate this problem might be to have two independent straps across the instep instead of one that crosses the foot twice. 

The buckles that tighten the webbing around the foot are very nice.  They’re large and easy to use with mittens, and the yellow color is easy to spot in low light.  The buckles also help me figure out which snowshoe goes on which foot.  There are “L” and “R” markings stamped into the footbed, but these are hard to see in low light.  By putting the buckles on the outer side, I’m sure to have the snowshoes on the right feet.

The buckles are easy to use with one mittened hand, but the snowshoes are difficult to take off wearing mittens.  The strap that goes around the back of the heel can be loosened with one hand, but after it’s loose I can’t just kick the snowshoes off.  The strap has to be pushed down before I can take my foot out of the bindings.  This is hard to do with mittens on because I can’t see or feel the strap that I’m trying to move.  I usually end up taking my mittens off, moving the strap down, and then kicking the shoes off.  Sometimes it takes a couple of tries before I can get the snowshoes off.

In my initial report, I mentioned that there is some extra webbing that drags on the ground when the snowshoes are tight on my feet.  This webbing hasn’t been much of a problem.  I step on it all the time, and the tip of the webbing gathers a small ball of ice.  I few times I stepped on the webbing and stumbled slightly, but it’s more of a mental than a physical obstacle.  I can always just snip off the extra webbing and be done with it. 

Rounded Western Tail:  The Hike snowshoes do not have a rudder, but instead are rounded at the back.  Since I don’t have experience with different types of aluminum snowshoes, I can’t tell if this feature is useful.  The snowshoes are long, especially since I’m using a larger sized model (Hike H30).  The length was a problem when I tried to make tight turns in deep powder, when I tried to lift my foot 2 ft (60 cm) to step over deadfall in the trail, and when I tried to walk backwards. 

Size and fit:  Redfeather recommends customers choose the size of their snowshoes based on the weight the snowshoes will carry.  I’m on the border between two sizes, and my pack weight puts me over to the larger category.  In the H30’s, I have to tighten the toe straps to their tightest around my boots.  The snowshoes stay on, but a smaller size may be more suitable for me.  Including a range of shoe sizes that work best with each snowshoe in the sizing chart would have helped me make sure I had the right size snowshoes.

Pros:
Crampons work well.
Yellow buckles are easy to see and use.
Snowshoes are standing up well to my abuse.

Cons:
Snow and ice accumulate on the heel bed.
My feet shift in the bindings.
Sizing chart could be expanded to include shoe sizes that work best with each model of snowshoe.

Long-term Test Plan:
It seems that there will be plenty of snow for me to hike and backpack in the Redfeathers for the next couple of months.  I will test the snowshoes in the varying types of snow the season brings.  I will pay particular attention to the bindings, watching when and how often my feet shift, and what I might do to stop this.  I will test the snowshoes with hiking poles to see if the poles are useful or if the snowshoe’s cleats make poles obsolete.  I will see if the width of the snowshoes interfere with the use of poles.  I will also pay attention to any signs of wear that appear on the snowshoes over a longer period of use.