Trails » Snow & Ice Sports » Snowshoeing & Sledding » Snowshoe Bindings » Homemade Snowshoe Bindings

Homemade Snowshoe Bindings

Homemade Snowshoe Bindings
A pair of old, traditional, sinew and wood snowshoes float on top of the snow just as good as the new metal and plastic versions and sometimes they work better. In storage the old bindings deteriorate and end up being unusable. Finding new bindings can be a challenge, but making homemade snowshoe bindings is an easy project and results in a solid easy-to-use system that works on old snowshoes or the pair you just made.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:
  • Inner tube from a tractor trailer tire Heavy scissors Hole punch Cordage
  • Inner tube from a tractor trailer tire
  • Heavy scissors
  • Hole punch
  • Cordage
Step 1
Cut a rounded triangle shape for the binding out of an inner tube from a tractor trailer tire. Make the forward edge of the triangle as wide as the snowshoe at the pivot bar. The length should be four inches longer than the distance from the pivot bar to the back of your foot.
Step 2
Step on the snowshoe with you toe hanging over the toe hole. Make sure that your toe is far enough away from the toe bar to allow your toe to pivot easily in and out of the toe hole. Ideally, the ball of your foot will be directly over the pivot bar.
Step 3
Measure from the pivot bar to your leg along the top of your foot. This is the distance from the front of the binding to the binding's foot hole. The foot hole is a rectangle opening centered on the binding. Make the foot hole just barely wide enough and long enough for your boot to fit in. The tension from the rubber helps keep the boot in the binding.
Step 4
Make three holes on the far sides of the front of the binding. Thread cordage through these holes and tie the binding to the pivot bar of the snowshoe. Experiment with the tightness of the cordage to find the correct length to hold your boots on the binding.

Tips & Warnings

 
Add several discs of rubber at the attachment points to reinforce the holes. Look at a few commercial rubber bindings to help you dream up the perfect shape for your own. Check the local commercial tire shops for free old inner tubes.
 
Add several discs of rubber at the attachment points to reinforce the holes.
 
Look at a few commercial rubber bindings to help you dream up the perfect shape for your own.
 
Check the local commercial tire shops for free old inner tubes.

Resources

Article Written By Bryan Hansel

Bryan Hansel is a freelance photographer and kayaking guide who began writing in 1993. His outdoors articles appear on various websites. Hansel holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and religion from the University of Iowa.

Write for Trails.com

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