Racing Snowshoes

Races are a lot of fun, but most people tend to take the winter off, thinking that snow gets in the way of having a good time or of competing. But there are a couple of different ways to enjoy a race in the snow, and one of the more popular ways is with a pair of snowshoes. For such a race, however, you will need a good pair of racing snowshoes. And if you expect to win your race, or at least be competitive, you will want racing snowshoes of a certain variety.

Racing Snowshoes

Things that you want to look for when buying racing snowshoes.

• Weight – First and foremost, you need to worry about the weight of your snowshoes if you plan to race in them. You wouldn’t wear a big, heavy pair of boots to race in, and so it’s not a good to pick up a big, heavy pair of snowshoes for a race. They’ll only slow you down and sap your energy while everyone else sails past.
• Crampons – Depending on what kind of race you’re engaging in, you will want more or less crampons. Back country races, where you would be navigating between checkpoints, for instance, would require a good back country snowshoe with ample crampons, whereas racing along an established trail will require much less robust crampons.

Best Racing Snowshoes

Some of the better options for snowshoes to take racing.

• Atlas Run Snowshoes – First up, a great pair of running and racing snowshoes from Atlas. They’re a standard combination of aluminum frame and nylon deck, though they have a minimal amount of crampons to help save on weight. Atlas also uses a spring loaded suspension system to help you along and create a more natural stride. They will support up to 220 pounds on a trail, and weigh 2 pounds 11 ounces, or 1.21 kilograms.
• Easton Race Snowshoes – These are another excellent pair of racing snowshoes, this time from Easton. They use a higher quality of aluminum for the frame, to save on weight, and a kind of carbon fiber for the decking material. Like the Atlas Runs above they have just a toe and heel crampon, to help save on weight. And at just 2 pounds 4 ounces, or 1.02 kilograms, they are noticeably lighter, though they are only recommended for weights up to 180 pounds.
• Atlas Race Snowshoes - These are very similar in design to the Atlas Runs up above, with little in the way of design differences. The one big difference is that these are lighter. At just 2 pounds, or 907 grams, these are the lightest racing snowshoes on this list. They pull this off by using the same, improved aluminum for the frame that’s found on the Easton snowshoes above, and a material called Nytex for the deck. They also have a slightly smaller maximum weight than the Atlas Runs, at 190 pounds, but if you want the best running and racing snowshoes you can find, these are them.