by andrewbish » Sat 13 Oct, 2012 10:51 pm
I bought my Yowies second hand last year and have now used them for winter hikes last year at Mt Bogong (5 days - firm snow), Mt St Gwinear (2 days - firm to soft snow) and Mt Stirling (2 days - firm snow), and this year at Mt Clear (3 days - deep, soft snow), and Mt Feathertop (4 days - deep, soft snow).
My general view of them is that they are better than having no snow shoes at all (less post-holing in soft snow, better traction in hard snow), but have definite weaknesses:
- the cleats (ball of foot location) clog up with snow quickly and can be fiddly to clear
- snow tends to gather on the toe area
- they are wide, requiring a change in gait ie. circular motion
- the fixed rear heel tends to cause blistering
- they are only adequate at flotation on soft snow (My feet frequently sank 6-12" during the last 2 hikes)
- they have limited traction on harder snow when the slope is steeper (I had trouble getting the Yowies to grip as I summited Mt Bogong)
- the velcro binds do not cope well with shear forces on steeper slopes ie. the feet slide in the direction of the slope, straining the bindings - I had a lot of trouble on my last two hikes with the Yowies coming off
- snow gets into the velcro bindings, weakening them and exacerbating the above problems.
I am keen to hear from anyone who can recommend a snow shoe that
- performs well in soft and firm snow
- can handle steep inclines, declines and traverses
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