Yep, any amount of snow they are almost required, sure beats pushing snow that's up to the crotch. By they way, the old thighs and leg muscles are going to hurt like nothing you've ever felt before, even if you're in great shape. IMO

The trick is to start using them before you think you need them. Your muscles will notice a lot more if you start breaking trail in four feet of snow as opposed to one foot.

That's what I've been doing wrong, always waited until snow got knee high, !st time I couldn't walk the next day, man did my legs hurt, almost wanted to cry. Always figured it was the distance I went.

My first pair. I grew up on them. My folks bought me these for Christmas almost fifty years ago, best present I ever received. Retired to the garage now.

I have a pair on the wall that I out ate!. I have 3 pair for usage. One is a pair of Alaskan shoes that are 10 by 56 inches and very good for open areas and deep snow as the up-turn is sizable. The next pair of wooden shoes are 13 by 48 Michigans with less up-turn and I have re-webbed the main area with Neoprene. The Alaskans are Neoprene as well. I made those in a snowshoe building class. My last pair is a pair of Tubbs aluminum frame that are 10 by 30. I have those as many times in our area of WI we get icy snow and that ice shreds the wood frames and the webbing. Been lucky the last few years. I have only used them a few times trapping during a winter canine line and mine are not fast to get in and out of so they were cumbersome. The Michigan shoes were used for snowshoe hare hunting but that population has been low for a while now.

Bryce

Like these? I loaned this set to a guy who flew into the same area I was vacating. He came in unprepared so I loaned him mine. Gave him my contact information to use to return them after his hunt. Never heard from him again.

A lot of the rabbit hunting we do you cant do without snowshoes on.

I have a few pairs and really enjoy them. I have both traditional Alaskans and the metal hybrid shoes. My main ones are 12x60's traditional which are a good on trails and through the woods. For open country I have pair of 12x72" traditionals. For rougher blow down areas I use the clankers. They are shorter and more durable when crossing logs and going through brush.

I like to fish remote lakes in the winter so terrain dependent I grab a pair and often shoe 2-3 miles off road with a pack and gear. YMMV, but I enjoy them.

WS

My exact same experience, but 48 years ago not fifty.
Snowshoes can be a real lifesave literally. I now own several pair of Sherpa brand snowshoes I don't think they are made anymore. I lend them out to friends who occasionally go on little expeditions with me. It's really amusing to see people who have never used them try to keep up without using snowshoes. Once they put them on they realized there benefit.
Go on eBay and you can always find some good used Sherpa snowshoes with bindings for under $50.

White ;Don't you know nothing about the Cree fur trappers; they worked the French and English both ways, and it got them really confused which way they came from.

Makes perfect sense !!

If you're even asking the question, you probably don't really need them. Spend some time in the woods post-holing to your crotch and it won't be a question. I don't know a single Alaskan trapper that goes anywhere without them.

However, once you get used to them they are useful in less snow as well. I use them after about 10", because I'm comfortable enough in them it's worth it to me. It's like skiing or skating or many other physical activities- it uses different muscles and your body won't be used to it at first, but if you get conditioned enough it becomes natural.

The critical element to snowshoes "working" is flotation. I've seen 250 lb guys try a little pair of 18" trail shoes in the powder and say "they don't work." No kidding. You wouldn't build your house on T-posts, you need a foundation to handle the load. The bigger the shoes, the less psi you're pushing into the snow = the less you sink.

The best flotation comes from traditional wood-frame shoes, simply because they come in the biggest footprint. Most real winter outdoorsmen I know prefer wood. One issue with wood-and-lace is icing up if you go through slush or sticky snow. They'll get heavy fast and you can't get too rough knocking the ice off, so keep them clear. A few guys like the military (or copy) metal ones with cable mesh. I have a magnesium pair. They have a pretty good footprint and you can beat them against a tree if they ice up.

My personal favorite shoes are these high-tech yuppy plastic ones with removable tails made by MSR. I kind of thought they were a gimmick but I bought them to try anyway. They don't have as much footprint (flotation) as big hoops but they're enough for me (I'm skinny @ 170 lb dressed). And I'm so much more agile in them, its a worthwhile compromise. I can walk, run, turn, kneel, sit, stand (with a little bit of practice), fell trees, limb, buck, load, even walk a log with the chainsaw if I want to (no joke). Actually the built-in crampons make walking logs easier with a little technique, not to mention I can cross glare ice without a second thought. If I'm working in a packed or icy area I take the tails off and it still beats boots.
Did I mention that since they're only 8" wide and straight sides, I can wear them on the running boards of the sno-go if I'm constantly getting on-and-off?
Ok I'll stop the sales pitch. I know I'm an embarrassment to the "traditional" culture of trapping, but I don't care.

Without a set of snowshoes floundering through thigh deep snow is not for weaklings. I own several pair, but I detest walking with them unless I have to, so I don't web up until the snow is high on my calves. My absolute favorite time of the year to use them is late winter after the snow has settled a bit and some warmer weather has a bit of a crust on the top. You can mush all over the leatherleaf bogs and it's like walking the sidewalk in your carpet slippers. We live in a "destination" type area where downstate urban types come to recreate all year around. You see these folks treking along the forest roads in plastic snowshoes all the time. I find it comical.....the roads are so packed down that you could, quite literally, walk in Air Jordans comfortably without your socks even getting damp, yet these pseudo-outdoors types are decked out in Everest/Arctic type gear and it's a big adventure. A place in the north end of the county rents those plastic and aluminum shoes for good money.

One style for deep powder snow:

Another for packed trail and in thick timber areas:

"I've fallen and I can't get up."

Add campaign started by some guy on snowshoes.

I own four pair. Much prefer the narrow pickerel style rather than walking spread legged. Have found rawhide lacing no good in wet snow, snow sticks to them.

Always leave heel strap unhooked and wear like a pair of slippers when travelling on ice or beaver pond. Want to be able to kick them off if you go through the ice.

Yes, I wish I would have had them 45 years ago.
Even if the snow is only ankle deep snow shoes are better, your boots slip n slide enough it makes you more tired compared to snow shoes

Haha. That’s about right.

Come winter time I don't go anywhere without my bear paws.