Yukon Charlie’s Snowshoe for Winter Hiking

Sport de raquette

I bought these just before Christmas but didn’t get a chance to try them out until yesterday (2/25/22) here in Minnesota. I put my boots on at home and when I got to the trail I stopped to put the snowshoes on. Utter frustration. I got my boots in the front part and ratcheted them down, no problem. I could get the heel strap behind the boot and pull it tight, but there was no way on earth to get that damn buckle pin to go through one of the holes. I tried for about 20 minutes and even thought of giving up and going home. But I tightened the toes down and moved forward without the heel straps attached It mostly went pretty well, but I had to stop every now and then and retighten the left toe straps. This morning I sat down on the floor with them while they were clean, dry and warm. First I took the boots (which were not on my feet) and set them in place and tried to attach the heel strap. No luck. Then I took the boots out and took a rough guess as to which hole would be the best. I managed to get that buckle pin into one of the holes, finally. I put the boot in all the way forward (having loosened the toe straps) and then put the strap up on the heel. Then I pulled the boot back to what I thought was the right position and tightened the toe straps. It was okay, but I thought I could go one hole tighter. So I took it apart, readjusted the strap and put the boot back in place. Both of them. Then I thought “Pretend it’s cold and you’re out in the snow and try to put them on.” So I put the boots on and stood up. It wasn’t too hard to get my foot in, pull it back a little and tighten the toe straps. Good news. So then I undid everything. I noticed the heel strap slips out of the little clip that’s supposed to hold it in place, so I wanted to do something about that, too. First I tried a bent paperclip, threading it through both sides of the strap through the holes, which are roughly 5/8 of an inch apart. That would keep the strap from moving, since the inside one is stationary. The paperclip could work but it is awkward. I’m still thinking, but maybe some strong thread to hold it in place. Or fishing line. Bottom line is I don’t ever plan to unhook the heel straps and will adjust to that. If I can make it work out, I’ll keep the snowshoes. The end.

I already have a perfectly good pair of snowshoes but they are are incredibly hard to put on and once on they keep coming off. I am happy to report that these Yukon Charlie’s are the exact opposite of the ones I already own. East to put on and they stay on until I’m done. They work very well in areas with lots of snow without manicured trails which is how I have used them so far, although possibly overkill for a petite person like myself on the manicured ones or when we only have a more manageable amount of snow.

So far so good

My husband and I have been snowshoeing for fifty years, but at 77, we find we can’t break trail the way we used to, and the older bindings and the full-size snowshoes are too cumbersome. Over the years we’ve downsized from the old wooden Bean snowshoes, through the Tubbs 36-inch shoes, and after much research and try-ons, we settled on these Sherpas. We’ve used them for a year now and are very pleased. They’re short enough and light but still track well through half a foot or more of new snow. The crampons grip well on hills or crust, and the bindings are amazingly easy to use. We did find we had to use thin wire or twist-ties to clamp the heel strap back on itself, otherwise the small metal tongue will pop out of the adjustment hole. In cold and and snow, having the heel strap loosen was an issue, but wiring it tight was the solution.

These are very hard to get on if you are 76 like me! I can not get two hands down to fasten the back of the boot strap! Bad design, rubber hook and eye. Should have the same ratchet adjuster used on the toes and top of foot. My wife had to fasten mine! Once on, the snow shoes worked good in 1 ft powder snow using ski poles.

Très bon achat, facile à mettre et a enlever. Vraiment content du prix.