Best Snowshoes for Beginners

As a beginner in snowshoeing, what do you expect from a pair of new snowshoes? Is it highly aggressive traction systems, or lightweight snowshoes with user friendly bindings that can be taken on and off in a matter of seconds? I’m sure you will opt for the second choice. Anyone who is just picking up snowshoeing as a thing to do in winter is very unlikely to go off trails and tackle one of those steep slopes in the backcountry. That’s why the best snowshoes for beginners are most likely the recreational type. These snowshoes don’t come with many technical features but they’re lightweight and easy to use. Some of the top rated recreational snowshoes are Atlas 10 Series and MSR Evo. For the complete list, check out these 10 best snowshoes of 2017.

Atlas 10 Series

If you can afford its high price tag, Atlas 10 Series snowshoes will prove to be a magnificent gear for you throughout this winter. This snowshoe is precisely engineered to make trail walking and winter backpacking an excitement. Featuring tapered tail design on its rear, these snowshoes offer great maneuverability on trail. Such design is very helpful at keeping the snow buildup on the decks at minimum, so it won’t drag you down. Also, the bindings utilize rubbery webbing strap to connect to the frames. While it does provide a slight restrain on your feet motion, such fixed rotation system enables the wearer to move more quickly.

On the traction department, Atlas 10 Series snowshoes have more than enough crampons to keep you sure footed on any rolling terrain. There are a set of spikes under placed under the balls of your foot and another set right beneath your heel. All of them are made of stainless steel, so you need not worry about them being sturdy enough on rough terrain. Last but not least, the binding straps are very easy to use. It comes with no instruction as of how to tighten and loosen it, but you won’t take a long time to figure it out yourself.

MSR Evo

The 22-inch snowshoe by MSR has received tons of positive reviews from many people who are both new and experienced snowshoers. Despite its affordability, this snowshoe performs incredibly well on trail. It’s very lightweight yet extremely durable. The all-plastic construction proves to be exceeding what people expect from its low price tag. Seriously, unless you deliberately strike it onto a rock out of frustration or fun trial, this snowshoe won’t show even the slightest sign of cracking.

The bindings comprise of three straps with conventional pin buckle: two of them going over your arch while the other one going around your heel. All of MSR snowshoes, with the exception of the Explore series, use the conventional pin buckle mechanism simply because it’s easy and it works. Yu won’t need a long time to find out how to adjust it and how to remove it. It’s all very natural. You do need to place your foot properly, though. Otherwise, you’ll feel considerable discomfort and that’s not the fault of the snowshoes.

Those two are the best snowshoes for beginners in my opinion. If you have any other question about this trending winter sport, check out BestSnowshoesReview.com. There are many helpful articles that you can read and learn about snowshoeing.