Thoughts on snowshoes and axes

C

Chignecto Woodsman

Joined
Aug 2, 2014
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Kind of the wrong time of year for this, but does anyone snowshoe for their axework?

I find that the biggest concern is whether to keep your shoes on and chop from your knees or take the time to create a safe walking area and exit without the shoes. With a little extra care in your placement you can stand with the shoes still on, but there's no real way to ensure the shoes are outside of the cutting zone without altering your swing.

Traditional lampwick bindings are the way to go here as you can remove the shoes and get them back on quickly. And bearpaw may be the only safe design for keeping the shoes on.

And anyone have experience caring for snowshoes? Would linseed oil and general axe handle care be the way to go?

Any thoughts or experience with this appreciated, will help for next years planning.
 
I cut a lot of corner posts with a hatchet or boys axe on snowshoes before I retired as a forester. Mostly out of small cedar or tamarack about 4" diameter. I always kept my snowshoes on, except when digging down through the snow to set the post. I took them off if I cut a big tree on my land. Usually I use a chainsaw then. I sometimes used a machete when working with surveyors. I ruined a couple pair of snowshoes then by cutting the front laces accidently. All the surveyors had laces flopping in front because of that. I always used Michigan pattern neoprene traditional snowshoes with H bindings. They worked the best for me due to the deep fluffy lake effect snow we get here where I live. I've used hide snowshoes with lampwick bindings too but they don't do so well when it gets up within a few degrees of freezing due to water absorbing in the hide and lampwick. They are better for colder temps.
 
Interesting, thanks. Mine are actually a traditional pattern but with fishing line for long-term durability and lightweight - so a hybrid of the old and new.
 
I had a daily paper route in the last half of 1960s and resorted to snowshoes in winter to make time. The houses along the rural forested route were on 1/2 acre lots and going up and down driveways was a curse compared to cutting across snow banks, lawns and backyards. I still have those Torpedo - made in Lac Megantic shoes. The common Eastern/New England patterns don't have much of an upturn and when I lived in First Nations reserve Kingfisher Lake (inland from James Bay) in 2002 the snow was so deep and soft that I had to borrow a set of northern shoes which are really long and have a high upturned front. Far as I know folks (myself included) gave them another brush coat of thinned spar varnish whenever the finish softened, spalled or wore off. A warm dry summer day is when best to do this. There are dozens of versions of bindings and I still use the traditional leather harness. Back in the 70s bindings made of artfully cut truck inner tubes were all the rage and nowadays (what with ash and sinew shoes all but extinct) bindings are probably hi-tech just like in the ski industry.
I don't recall ever wearing shoes when falling trees; you can't get the h out of there fast enough (ie inability to back up) nor stand or pivot properly/comfortably. Merely standing all over loose shoes works fine though, until you're forced to step off. Trampling and packing down a wide circle around the tree is much safer.
 
Thanks for the story. I really want to find work where I could do something like that. Many nice winter days I have to resist calling in sick.

You are definitely correct about having to turn and get away, so it's basically a no go on trees over 6-8"

Any thoughts on the linseed oil before varnish?
 
Snow shoes have evolved dramatically over the past 20 years. The new stuff is much smaller and maneuverable than big old snowshoes. These new styles work great in our 'Cascade Concrete' wet icy snow. Might not do as well in deep fluffy powder. But if I had to work in snow shoes I would want these. The offerings from Mountain Safety Research are highly rated and moderately priced.

https://www.rei.com/c/snowshoes?r=c&ir=category:snowshoes&page=1
 
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