Discussion: Snowshoes

I think the only person selling Dion snowshoes in Canada is our friend Derrick Spafford, 'Bent's former running coach. He is great and will ship them promptly.
http://healthandadventure.com/sha-online-store/dio...

For someone who hikes more than runs, you might also look at the Atlas snowshoes - something like this.
https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5044-432/Fitness-Sno...

Running/walking snowshoes are designed to allow you to use a normal gait, i.e. you don't need to struggle along with your legs wide apart. The trade-off is flotation. Most of the time in southern Ontario, it's more comfortable to use running/walking snowshoes. The good ones have cleats to help you climb hills and they will keep you on top of forest debris so you can explore off-trail more easily than you can in summer. But don't expect to stay on top of fluffy snow.

As with bikes, there are advantages to collecting a few different pairs of snowshoes. :) The nice thing about snowshoes is that they are easy to share with family members or visiting guests. We have about 7 pairs of snowshoes since visitors can't borrow our skis but everyone can go snowshoeing with us.

It was at Spafford that I saw the Dion. The ability to swap cleats or harness were part of what appealed to me, aside from recognizing Spafford's name.

I looked at the Atlas last year and thought they would probably serve me. I just never got to MEC to see if I would like the harness.

I'll get some light duty ones now and probably some suitable to deep powder some other time.

Sounds like a plan! In spite of our large inventory, I've also thought of adding a pair of Dions to the fleet, along with some of the interchangeable components. It is a cool concept.

Welcome to come over and test our fleet.