Winter Sport Specialist Discusses Basics of Snowshoes

REI winter sports specialist, Jen Kohl, recently publicly discussed the basics of snowshoeing for consumers considering taking up the winter activity. Some of the points highlighted include the fact that snowshoes are constantly getting lighter, even without compromising their durability and stability. She also stessed that it is one of the few winter activities that virtually anyone can take up without much experience needed.

She highlighted the three main categories of snowshoes as well, which include recreational, adventure and backcountry. Beginners will do fine with recreational snowshoes. Adventure snowshoes are aimed at those users planning to go snow shoe hiking, backpacking and off-trail exploration. Backcountry snow shoes are ideal for mountaineering and extreme backcountry activities. The running snowshoes category, while still relatively small, is growing as runners wanting to train in the snow can now strap on running snowshoes and go trail running. Snowshoe racing is becoming more popular as a result too.