Worth the investment? Do they help that much?

Depends on how much snow you have. I couldn't function without them

Ya they are good as wall hangers !
You will fell like you have been horse back riding the way your hips will tell you after a mile or two in the shoes.
Some of your best friends will be- lefty and righty, when the snow piles up.

They start even at -50 and keep you warm. I enjoy snowshoeing.

They are worth owning, yes. Do they work in all conditions, no.

x2

X3 Most years I wouldn't need them but then there has been years I wore them quite often. They will make life easier and good to have in the tool bag.

I have about 12 pair of them, some antique and hanging on the wall, and several user pairs to match conditions. Gonna thin the herd soon.

Moosetrot

X4 Went marking where to cut for our archery range trail. Guy without them went over knees but I wore them and only sunk about 6".

When I got here to the mountains of ND, I bought a pair of cheap snowshoes ($100) from a sportsman store. With 4-5 foot drifts between me and the tractor at the barn, they were necessary. Since then, I bought a kit (several of the actually) for wood frame shoes. They took some time to lace, but they are worlds better than the sport shoes. While the sport shoes help you flounder through drifts some better than no shoes, the wood frames float you over the powder.

X2 me either

if you want to travel in even 6 inches of snow they make a difference once you pack down a trail it is easy walking , you pack down a trail in 1 pass

when I was dragging all my firewood to the road in a ice fishing sled I would snow shoe in with my sled and saws , cut and drag a couple loads out that day , come back the next day especially with a little thaw freeze and it was like walking on pavement with almost zero friction on the sled the sled follows the packed down trail well and made hauling tons of fire wood out much easier.

I have the magnesium USGI snow shoes from sportsman's guide with bike inner tube bindings

if it is deep snow knee deep they make walking so much easier , if you have a grass swamp that is normally mess to walk through wait for freeze up and some snow all that grass lays right over and you have never had such easy traveling. kind of cool the deer don't want to run because they are working hard to move

you can create deer trails on your snow shoes unfortunately we seldom have enough snow to make this good for deer season , sometimes the holiday doe season.

a spare binding and some nylon cord with is a good idea snow shoes can take you to places you wouldn't have the energy to walk with out them so getting back out is also important.

don't go too far on your first tip your going to find new muscles or use old muscles in a new way how ever you want to think about that.

i always carry a pair of traditional snowshoes on my mechanical snowshoe.

Yes if you get much snow. Anything approaching knee deep and they’re like night and day. Make sure they have good bindings and enough floatation for you and your gear. Really it’s best to have a bigger pair for deep powder and heavy loads and a smaller more compact pair for heavier snow and walking empty.

Bombardier; is that not French for "noisy snowshoes"
and Artic Cat is quiet; cause they don't run all the time.

And don’t wear the dang things on the ice unless you’d be comfortable driving your truck on it. You don’t want to break through a beaver pond with snowshoes on. My dad had a real bad experience on a beaver pond, in the dark, below zero, with snowshoes when I was young.

I wonder how Boco knows where he is going on those webs that are pointy on both ends

The deeper the snow the more you need them. There are several style and your weight is a factor also. If not carful you can brake snowshoe if there is not enough snow. You can also get them hung up on twigs' and down you go. Not easy to get up. LOL

Really enjoy mine . I have boots attached to mine all the time , don't take them off. Just leave them lashed on. All I do is step into my boots and go. Shoveling paths around the place is bad on the back and time consuming, so years ago I just stopped that and saddled up with snowshoes . The trails tamped down so nice and wood hauled in the sled worked fine and does its own grooming. As snow piles up in heavy winters, the trails will of course also rise a bit but still are very good in maintaining with snowshoes. Still shovel in certain places, but never on used trails anymore.