Historians trace the origin of snowshoes to Asia sometime between 4,000 and 6,000 B.C. As recently as the 1950s, snowshoes were still constructed from wood and rawhide. I share this historical note because as I stood surrounded by the white washed world of the snowy Sierra Nevada Mountains and strapped on the Artica Hike from Easton Mountain Products one thought stood solemn in my mind….
Those poor souls of yesterday would have killed for a pair of these shoes! Featuring ergonomic efficiency and a wide variety of technical innovations to keep your strides competent and comfortable, Easton’s Artica Hike™ is built to handle a wide variety of terrain.
Snowshoes are the sports utility vehicles of the winter backcountry, and like an SUV what’s under the hood (or in this instance decking) matters. Towards those ends the Easton Mountain Design team has included two aggressive, split-axis crampons near the toes of the Artica Hike™. The pivoting crampons deliver more grip to the inside or outside of the boots, wherever it’s needed most. So as Mother Nature continually changes the winter landscape, you’re prepared with a crampon that adapts to the slope angles and snow conditions for solid handling and better performance.
Once you try them on and experience the difference a pivoting crampon makes, you’ll wonder why Easton Mountain Products is the only company designing a snowshoe that works with you rather than simply for you.
While technical features like pivoting crampons or frames that flex may seem like minor distinctions in print, they make a massive difference when out on the trail. For instance, the articulating Easton® frame gently twists to absorb shock and stress from the trail thereby saving your ankles, knees and hips from otherwise enduring that punishment. The result is an ability to move longer tackling more terrain in greater comfort – a big advantage for the winter outdoor enthusiast.
Despite graceful pictures depicting snowshoers floating over powdery fields of winter bliss, there are some snowshoe designs that can leave you feeling as though your spending time plodding rather than exploring. The Artica Hike remedies this issue by providing a curved frame design resulting in a more natural streamlined gait – not plod – that will bring you closer to that picturesque image frozen in your minds eye.
The tapered frame provides a more maneuverable shoe, perfect for technical terrain and quick movement over flat or gently rolling trails. The flip side however is that the tapered design also provides less surface area to keep you afloat on the powder. In other words, you’ll sink a little further into the deep powder than you otherwise would with a shoe that features a wider deck.
Easton Mountain Products designed the Artica series of snowshoes for easy entry, so you can get started on your adventure without delay. The ‘Quick Cinch’ binding system allows you to effortlessly lock and load for your adventure while the binding’s contoured padding evenly distributes pressure and keeps your foot tracking straight for a secure comfortable fit that doesn’t inhibit circulation.
While the Artica Hike snowshoes aren’t constructed of wood and rawhide like their forefathers, it doesn’t mean that they are any less “green”. All energy used in the manufacturing of Easton Snowshoes is wind generated. Moreover, 80% of the snowshoe is recyclable and Easton labeled each recyclable piece with its own code so you know how to sort it out when the time comes – although we aren’t yet convinced you’ll outlast this snowshoe.
The Hike snowshoes are available in three sizes. The 21-inch size is suitable for a total weight (user and gear) of up to 150 pounds. The 25-inch snowshoes support a weight of 150-200 pounds and the 30-inch shoes accommodate a total weight over 200 pounds. The 30-inch version also provides a wider snowshoe for better flotation in deep powder.
Room for Improvement…
First it is worth mentioning that if you’re new to the the triangular shaped design, the tail of the Artica Hike does take some adjustment. While the design helps provide an effortless stride, the first few times you throw it into reverse, don’t be surprised if you dig into the powder and have to readjust your step.
Easton’s “Quick Cinch Binding” provides a superior fit which our field team loved. Yet the release wasn’t quite as fast and easy as the one-handed cinch and go system. The most significant critique offered by our team centers around the heel loop. We were provided the 25” version of the Artica Hike. On that particular model our team noticed that even when the heel loop was fully extended it took a bit of doing to slip the heel strap over the rear of one testers size 13 boot. As such we’d like to see Easton extend the length of the heel strap in future iterations. If your feet aren’t so sasquatchian in nature… you won’t need to worry.
Bottom Line…
Living the life of a gear does have its benefits, yet there is also a downside. When the trial period comes to and end and you are forced to return an exceptional piece of gear, it can prove to be a sad moment. This is one of those moments, and we will not place the Artica Hike snowshoes in the ‘return to sender’ box willingly. While not the perfect performer in deep powder, the Artica Hike from Easton is stacked with technical features that get you deep into the wilderness with efficiency, comfort and an ease of motion any winter enthusiast will appreciate.