msr denali classic snowshoes

[cheaphiker]

Last friday night I bought a pair of denali classic snowshoes for $99!. A good price I think. It's sunday evening now and I just came back from trail testing them and I'm very happy with my purchase. Now comes the best part: I need suggestions on how to rig a heel lifter like the ones on the ascent models. Also on rigging home made tail; not that I'm cheap, I just enjoy projects.

[DebW]

There are telemark ski bindings with heel lifters. You might look at those and and see if they can be modified to fit on the snowshoes. Regarding the tails, I'd buy the commercial onea. Doubt you can make something that fits onto the snowshoe as well.

[cheaphiker]

I'll be checking on ebay for those type of bindings. I was thinking of getting some small diameter steel rods at a local hardware store but don't know which kind is strong and light enough to support the wight they would be under the heel once you start hiking up hill.
Thans once again for your suggestion.

[Roland]

I'll be checking on ebay for those type of bindings. I was thinking of getting some small diameter steel rods at a local hardware store but don't know which kind is strong and light enough to support the wight they would be under the heel once you start hiking up hill.
Thans once again for your suggestion.

Why do you want heel lifters and what do you expect they'll do for you?

[cheaphiker]

Roland, the local parks where I hike have lots of ups an downs, and i've read that heel lfters aid in comfort when snowshoeing long climbs. Not wantng to shell out the extra $80 that my local outfitter wask asking for the model of snowshoes that has lifters built in already, I figuered I would tap into to the vast knowledge base of DIYS members in this forum

[Roland]

Roland, the local parks where I hike have lots of ups an downs, and i've read that heel lfters aid in comfort when snowshoeing long climbs. Not wantng to shell out the extra $80 that my local outfitter wask asking for the model of snowshoes that has lifters built in already, I figuered I would tap into to the vast knowledge base of DIYS members in this forum

Cheaphiker,

My snowshoes don't have heel lifters, so you can take this opinion and throw it right out the window if you wish.

I don't doubt that heel lifters drop the tail and raise the toe of the snowshoe. But frankly, I see this more as a marketing gimmick, than a necessity.

It is important to keep your "tips" up to prevent them from catching in the snow and tripping you. But given the placement of the binding and the balance point of the snowshoe, the tail will drop without the assistance of a spring-loaded heel lifter. Additionally, the tips of the Denali snowshoes are upturned, thus further resist digging into the snow.

I would advise using your snowshoes for a season, before making any decisions regarding the need for heel lifters. I bet you'll decide they aren't necessary.

[cheaphiker]

Thanks Roland, I'm defenately enjoying my new toys in the aftermath of the blizzard of '06 in the northeast, and hoping for a lot more of the white stuff for the remainder of the season. I agree that climbing with out the lifters hasn't bothered me one bit this last couple of days. The only reason I thought of adding lifters to the snowshoes was because I have a habit of tinkering and modding the gadgets I buy specially, like you stated, when a marketting gimmick that adds so much value to a product could be rigged for almost nothing and not lessen its performance if the mod doesn't pan out as intended.

[DebW]

Heel lifters are not just a marketing gimmick. To get maximum traction out of your snowshoes on steep uphills, you need to have your weight on the full surface of the snowshoe. If you have very flexible achilles tendons you just walk with your heels down but this becomes very tiresome very quickly. The heel lifters avoid the achilles fatigue.

[Roland]

Heel lifters are not just a marketing gimmick. To get maximum traction out of your snowshoes on steep uphills, you need to have your weight on the full surface of the snowshoe. If you have very flexible achilles tendons you just walk with your heels down but this becomes very tiresome very quickly. The heel lifters avoid the achilles fatigue.

After nearly 40 years of snowshoeing experience, without heel lifters, it never occured to me that anyone would consider them anything more than a marketing gimmick. Much less did I anticipate that my opinion on the matter might be offensive to anyone who had purchased snowshoes with this option. Given your defense of heel lifters, I suspect you felt my comments were inflammatory, and I apologize, DebW.

From your description, I understand that heel lifters raise one's heel off the ground, so that the foot is kept in a more level plane when climbing uphill. This would be like having a large wedge under the sole of one's boots. By keeping the foot in a level plane (while going uphill), stretch of the calves and associated tendons are minimized.

I can't help but wonder, what do you do in the summertime?!!

[cheaphiker]

Heel lifters are not just a marketing gimmick. To get maximum traction out of your snowshoes on steep uphills, you need to have your weight on the full surface of the snowshoe. If you have very flexible achilles tendons you just walk with your heels down but this becomes very tiresome very quickly. The heel lifters avoid the achilles fatigue.

Your explanation makes sense, thanks.

[weary]

After nearly 40 years of snowshoeing experience, without heel lifters, it never occured to me that anyone would consider them anything more than a marketing gimmick. Much less did I anticipate that my opinion on the matter might be offensive to anyone who had purchased snowshoes with this option. Given your defense of heel lifters, I suspect you felt my comments were inflammatory, and I apologize, DebW.

From your description, I understand that heel lifters raise one's heel off the ground, so that the foot is kept in a more level plane when climbing uphill. This would be like having a large wedge under the sole of one's boots. By keeping the foot in a level plane (while going uphill), stretch of the calves and associated tendons are minimized.

I can't help but wonder, what do you do in the summertime?!!

I've also been snowshoeing for many decades and many hundreds of miles with genuine "traditional" snowshoes. I never heard of a "heel lift." My several pairs are wood=framed with webbing of rawhide. I bought one pair new; the rest at yard sales.

I do have modified instep crampons tied to the webbing under the binding to aid in uphill walking. I can't imagine why one would need a heel lifter in a properly balanced snowshoe.

[DebW]

Weary, I too have used traditional snowshoes (13x23 flat bearpaws) for many decades, with 1/2 a boot crampons laced to the bottom. There were 2 techniques to getting traction on uphills: (1) keep your foot flat on the shoe on moderate uphills, and (2) kick steps on the steeper stuff. Modern snowshoes all have upturned toes, which makes kicking steps difficult. And any trail that get alot of use is packed down so that kicking steps is impossible. Thus technique (1) has replaced technique (2) for the majority of New England (at least White Mountain) snoeshoeing. I certainly don't feel that heel lifters are required most of the time, but since I have them on my MSR Denali Ascents, I have found that I use them at times and they save energy.

Roland, in the summertime it works to have the ball of the foot only in contact with the rock on uphills. When the trail gets steeper and I prefer full-foot contact, I switch to a sideways gait.

[betic4lyf]

just hike without them. they probably are easier on the calves, which is an advantage for people with huge wads of cash, who don't want to build up their calves. to try it out for *****s and giggles, try coathangersor something bent up, or maybe wooden wedges velcroed in place up hills

[weary]

just hike without them. they probably are easier on the calves, which is an advantage for people with huge wads of cash, who don't want to build up their calves. to try it out for *****s and giggles, try coathangersor something bent up, or maybe wooden wedges velcroed in place up hills

Our young friend has won the prize for the most sensible post of this long thread. Send me a snail mail address and I'll send a great prize, as soon as a figure out what that might be.

Weary