Snowshoes vs. Skis | What is Best for Winter Backpacking?

Winter Gear for snowshoeing or backpacking:

My favorite gear for backpacking:

Want to get out for a winter backpacking trip but the deep snow has got you thinking twice? You can still get out for your adventure if you have the right tool under your feet. I discuss the pros and cons of using snowshoes and skis to help you decide what's best for your winter backpacking trip.

[maxviking]

Just to add yo what you said. This is a lite to compare:
Walking, less then 30cm snow. Prepared trail 2-3km/h, unprepared trail 1, 5-3kn/h
Walking, 30-50cm snow, prepared trail 2-3 kn/h, unprepared trail 0, 5-1, 5 km/h
Snowshoes, prepared trail 3-4 km/h, unprepared trail 1, 5 - 3 kn/h
Skiing, prepared trail 5-6km/h, unprepared trail 1, 5 - 5 km/h
And walking with more then 50cm of snow unprepared trail is very very difficult to get anywhere.
This is what we use in the swedish army to calculate how long time it takes to transport a troop in snow.
Thanx for a great video :)

[dongladstone]

Super simple but SO informative! Thank you 🙂

[mobilewintercamp]

Terrain is a big factor. See your videos are on the western end of the country. The freedom of using land and the open areas and trees being spread out lean toward using skis. In the north east the forests are very dense. What public land there is may have hiking trails. A tight Appalachian roller coaster style trail with tight trees traversing the fall line, essentially like single track, leans toward snow shoes. Many plowed public lots will have hiking activity which now packs the snow and then can lean toward crampons being the choice. Where I see your videos I think skis definitely thrive.

[paulshirek]

I know not many people use them but traditional snowshoes provide a lot more floatation and are a real connection to our past and true wilderness exploration... We did an 11 mile backpack trip through a wilderness area with over 3 feet of. snow... By the way your channel is the best ever. More helpful than others and a lot more fun to listen to. Thanks for doing it!

[batwithglasses]

Snowshoes all the way, been using them without fail for 40 years.
Oh and Happy new year to you guys!
-45c here right now, not a snowshoeing day.

[daek]

Skis all the way, all the the time.. except if they're just some sort of back-up (e.g when snowmobiling), or for some fairly easy access back country snowboarding.. :D

I grew up in the north of sweden, hunting, enjoying nature, not least during thr long winters. Roaming the forest and mountains on wooden skies from late fifties/early sixties (about 40 years old skies). Worked like a charm! :D. If slopes were to steep you just had to zig zag..

If real good grip was necessary one could pour some water on the bottom of the ski (then you had kind of like snow shoes).. Then scrape most of it off if you needed better glide again.. :) Gravity will help you get downhill even with bad glide.. :)


Finally after a many years of using those "ancient" skies one ski tip split in two. After that I only used them for one or two more winters, was quite anoying in the snow, hehe! :)

Point being: You can travel GREAT distances, and/or just enjoy a day hike through the snow, quite easily with the cheapest of skies. No need to buy anything costly. Also dont worry abt learning. It doesn't take long to learn nordic skiing. Thete will be lots of harmless falls in the beginning for everyone, but luckily snow is soft and refreshing to fall into!!

With regards to snowshoes. I've actually never encountered anyone using snowshoes to move through the forests here in sweden. Although I've unfortunately not been out and about for a decade or so now.. :/ and I'm pretty sure snowshoes are more commonly used over here nowadays.. The only time I saw anyone on snow shoes was in western clone dike movies or comics.. :) It looked exotic, but very effortful.

So, skis FTW.

Anyhow. Thanks for the video. I actually checked it out to perhaps get a better understanding on why snowshoes seem so popular in the US.. :) I guess it's much due to advertising, and that people are not comfortable to try nordic ski-ing.. :)

Over and out
Swedish "former" Winter Forest & Mountain dweller :D

[philsmith]

I don’t have the knees for skiing now, and never wanted to spend the money, time, and effort learning to ski well. Where I live in NW Maine the forests are so thick in many places that between standing and fallen trees you simply aren’t going to fit between them on skis. Snowshoes do just fine, though, and I’ve even been able to low-crawl under dense trees without taking the snowshoes off.

Regarding breaking trail on snowshoes, yes, it’s often difficult but choosing the correct size snowshoe for your total weight, the terrain, and snow conditions is critical. I’m only going to be referring to modern snowshoes because traditionals generally do a poor job in mountainous terrain, but in more rolling terrain they may be better. MSR Lightning Ascents like you showed are great snowshoes, but they’re meant more for hardpacked snow like they have out west than the softer stuff in the east. And MSR is second only to the band KISS when it cones to marketing! I can’t count how many times I’ve seen people ask what they should get for snowshoeing in the Park, on the golf course, in the woods, wherever, and before the digital ink has dried a dozen recommendations for “MSR Lightning Ascent because traction!” have popped up. Yep, they have great traction, but the overwhelming majority of people who ask aren’t going to be on terrain where that traction is needed. What they need is flotation, and MSRs have crappy flotation even with the tails (which make the backs of your snowshoes ride higher than the fronts.) They’re only 8” wide at max, and even if you get the largest pair (30” long) and add tails you’re still going to sink a lot more than you would with a pair of 36x10 tube-framed snowshoes of around 325 sq in each. And at $350/pair for Lightning Ascents nowadays? Forget it. For day hiking or backpacking in rolling terrain or gentler mountains something like the Tubbs Wilderness or GV Snow Aerolite is fine.

As I said, your total weight is probably the single biggest factor to take into consideration when choosing snowshoes, and the bigger the snowshoe the more weight it can carry. So having one pair of snowshoes probably isn’t going to work for many people. I have 3 different size ranges for different conditions - 42”, 36”, and 30”. For modern snowshoes, nothing comes close to the GV Wide Trail 1242. Capable of carrying well over 300lb on firmer snow, it’s still good for 170-180lb off-trail in softer snow. Drawbacks? Weight, at about 7.25lb/pair they are HEAVY, and they offer only decent traction. They’re definitely rolling terrain snowshoes. I use mine mostly earlier in the season when the snow hasn’t really had a chance to consolidate and build a bottom yet.
My all-round favorites are Louis Garneau Blizzard IIIs in size 1036. They’re a more rounded snowshoe than most moderns, with maybe 10% more surface area than equivalently-sized competitors’. Plus, they have very aggressive steel toe and heel crampons and a heel lifter for steep terrain with crusty snow, and the BOA binding system. There is nothing more comfortable, and they’re very quick and easy to use with gloves or mittens. Flotation is excellent, I’ve had one of my trekking poles pushed by hand almost 5 feet deep in the snow and my Blizzards had sunk maybe 4”. My 1036 GV Snow Aerolites are more of a rolling terrain snowshoe, with less aggressive aluminum crampons. They do have heel lifters as well. Bindings are 2 wide straps across the forefoot with ratcheting buckles (a “Spin” binding similar to the BOA is available), and a heel strap with auto-locking buckle.
30” snowshoes are for later in the season when the snow is more packed but not firm enough for bare-booting it. I have 3 pairs - 10x32 Tubbs Hunter XD (almost identical to the Tubbs Mountaineer but allegedly with a tougher frame and only available in Europe), 930 Garneau Blizzard IIs, and GV Mountain Extreme 830s. These are an MSR Lightning Ascent equivalent, with a toothed traction frame, toothed crossbars, and aggressive toe crampons. One feature they have that I like are toothed heel rests that poke up through the decking and are riveted to a crossbar, to really allow you to stamp them into crusty snow. Much better than your heels wearing through the decking like with MSR. The GVs are built like tanks and weigh about a pound more than the MSRs, which can be a drawback. On the other hand, I used mine as traction boards to get my stuck Jeep out of a ditch once, the spinning tires didn’t wear through the decking and it took maybe 10 minutes with Vise Grips to straighten the twisted frames. They do not have tails available.

Features to look for in snowshoes that will see rolling or steep terrain use? Heel lifters are nice, these take a lot of strain off your calves on uphill sections. I don’t use them very often because we don’t have a lot of long, steep hills. Toe buckets or toe stops are more important, IMO, because they keep your boots from sliding forward in the bindings on steep descents. The pre-Paragon binding Lightning Ascents didn’t have these and you’d have to tighten the binding straps to the point of discomfort to keep your feet from sliding forward and making the bindings uncomfortably tight. BOA bindings make their own toe buckets, the Hunter XD bindings are built with them, and my 3 pairs of GV snowshoes have a plastic footplate with a 2” high toe stop. I also have a slight preference for a rigid pivot because it lets you traverse more easily, but half my snowshoes have flexible pivots and do just fine.

[kato]

This was great. At sixty three I've been to a lot of places but I've never used skis or snowshoes. I'm thinking of a winter trip in Norway and wondered about both skis and snowshoes. Now I've got some basic knowledge about both, thanks to you so thanks very much for that and I've subscribed.

[TheWillRogers]

For the past few years i've been on snowshoes. This year I bought the bullet on an XC ski set up and have been out on both plenty. Actually did a 4mile on the skis and an 8 mile on the snowshoes this last weekend. When it's really icy, say you're in the forest where the top layer is covered by tree melt the skis strugge but the snowshoes excel. Generally though i've found skis to just be so much less effort. Climbing the 1600 feet to a viewpoint on snowshoes means walking back down, on skis it means zooming past the snowshoers while drinking from your thermos.

Something to touch on if you do an update: Sking don't have to be (too) expensive. If you're just looking to cover ground, cross country (check out Fischer OTX line of skis, metal edges + sidecuts) is cheaper even for just the skis. Prices are much lower on the used market of course. Boots are a fraction of the cost unless you're getting plastic telemark boots, and boots which use the light weight 3pin binding are often built on Vibram bases-- they're sturdy and easy to walk in for miles if needed. Boots+skis+bindings, all used in good condition, I was all in at about $250. If I was doing goomed xc skiing then I could have gotten a full setup for under $80.

[larserikertzgaardringen]

Norwegian here: Skis are the better choice in 95% of all scenarios. But the skis showed in this epidode is NOT a good choice for cross country skiing. What this is is Randonee skis, made for walking up mountains to ski down again. That makes them far to bulky, stiff, and heavy for effective cross country skiing. To do that, find a pair of of Nordic style cross country skis. But NOT the kind ment for pre packed trails. Find a pair for off trail use, with telemark style, meaning that the front and the back of the ski is wider than the middle. Go for a pair with metal edges for better grip on hard snow. Pair it with bindings ment for these types of skis, and a pair of good and high leather ski boots, in stead of the stiff plastic type in this video. When it comes to the ski poles. Buy a pair that reaches you to your arm pits, and with large ski pole baskets that stops the poles sinking to far in to the snow.

If you use this equipment to train skiing, you will learn to master all types of skiing like a pro. Even alpine skiing will come natural for you, because your balance will be good because of your experience with cross country skiing. Do not start learning skiing with stiff alpine skis.

Good luck!

[lostintheclouds]

What about a gliding snowshoe type of ski that uses a universal binding and you use your own footwear, not a ski boot

[HardtailsandFunTrails]

Hok skis for anything I would have snowshoed on previously

[GabrielJM]

The 125 cm Altai Hok sliding snowshoes will take you anywhere if user load wight is under 180lbs or so.If using snowshoes make sure the binding system is similar to snowboards, ie ratchets or the BOA system. Th old buckling straps system will put you off snoshoeing for good.

[andrewmitchell]

Fact check: Msr lightning ascents are closer to $300

[AndyOnTheMountain]

I’m all about the slog uphill and ride down. Splitboarding is my go to now days. I feel like snowshoeing gets kind of boring but great for some people. Great video!

[ecole]

Neither of these is the best option if the terrain you're dealing with isn't too steep. The skis demonstrated are backcountry downhill skis - most people use these for getting up skin tracks and downhill fun. If you're looking to cover ground on snow, backcountry cross-country skis are much better at this, because they kick and glide far better than these downhill-focused skis due to their higher camber. If the snow and terrain are suitable, nothing is faster for covering miles than cross country skis, except maybe a snow machine.

[frstesiste]

IMO this video is kind of misleading. Granted you mention that there are several types available, but you only show one pair of snowshoes and one pair of skis, both (particularly the skis) geared toward off track use. It's of course possible to combine alpine and winter backpacking, but the skis (and bindings) you show is really specialized and not really suited for more general use. These types of skis don't work well except off trail - they wont fit in prepared tracks and you cant get a good kick-and-glide motion. Doing 10 or 20 miles on these skis would be horribly slow compared to a good pair of cross country skis.

Same goes for the snowshoes. I'm not an expert on those, but like someone else mentioned you'd need larger size for backpacking off trail in deep and powdery snow. On firmer snow they might work fine though.

[marilynsue]

I bought some mid-rise boots for snowshoeing because the back strap rides up.

[heidih]

There are so many options and features re: snowshoes and skis these days. Consider renting snowshoes or skis in your intended environment, being sure to describe terrain and weather to the person helping you select gear to rent. :D

[Parnissios]

I tried snowshoes in deep powder and it was a nightmare 😂 not practical for more than 50cm