ESKER OUTDOORS: Exploring The Art Of Traditional Snowshoe Design

There is something special about exploring a snow-covered landscape on a pair of traditional wooden snowshoes.

The quiet of the forest. The rhythm of your steps. The ability to venture beyond the packed trails and experience winter on your own terms.

While modern snowshoes have introduced new materials and technologies, traditional wooden designs continue to earn their place in the Canadian outdoors.

Their distinctive shapes aren’t simply a nod to the past. Every curve, length and material serves a purpose, developed through generations of experience travelling across Canada’s diverse winter landscapes.

The ideal snowshoe for navigating a densely wooded trail isn’t necessarily the best choice for crossing a wide-open expanse of deep powder.

Canadian-made Esker Traditional snowshoes offer distinctive designs, each reflecting a different approach to winter.

Four Designs. Four Ways to Explore.

Esker Boreal Snowshoe:

The Esker Boreal features a short but wide traditional design that provides maximum flotation while the lack of a tail provides responsive movement making navigating wooded terrain easier. Its smaller footprint allows for more natural movement where longer snowshoes might feel cumbersome.

Best Suited for: Deep snow, off-trail travel and dense terrain

Esker Woodland Snowshoe:

This classic design provides greater flotation in softer snow than more compact styles, making it a practical option for general winter travel. By spreading the traveller’s weight across a larger area, the snowshoe reduces how deeply each step sinks into the snow. Its long-tapered tail helps maintain a straight path while creating an efficient stride for covering long distance travel.

Best Suited for: General exploration and distance travel for open forest, frozen lakes and flat terrain

Esker Tundra Snowshoe:

The Esker Tundra takes a different approach to flotation. Rather than relying on additional width, its long, narrow design provides surface area through an elongated profile. The result is a traditional snowshoe shape that combines flotation with a relatively narrow track.

Best Suited for: Efficient long-distance travel and moving across open terrain

Esker Muskeg Snowshoe:

The Esker Muskeg features an extended design with a raised nose and a long, tapered tail which offers a smooth glide while remaining easy to maneuver. The traditional design provides dependable flotation and natural flex with each step.

Best Suited for: Travel across mixed terrain and changing snow conditions

A Little History Beneath Your Feet

Long before snowshoeing became a popular winter recreational activity, snowshoes were essential tools for travelling across snow-covered landscapes.

Indigenous Peoples developed and refined snowshoe designs over generations, drawing on their knowledge of local environments, available materials and the demands of everyday travel.

Different regions called for different solutions. For example, historical Gwich’in snowshoes included larger designs for hunting through fresh snow and smaller versions for travelling on established trails.

Traditional construction also varied by community and region. Wood, rawhide, sinew and other natural materials were selected and adapted according to local knowledge and availability.

Materials in a Traditional Snowshoe

Unlike many modern snowshoes constructed with aluminum frames and synthetic decking, traditional wooden snowshoes use natural materials that each play an important role.

The wooden frame is the foundation of the snowshoe, providing structure and determining the overall shape. Crossbars help support the frame and the webbing.

The rawhide webbing is an open network of lacing that distributes weight while allowing snow to pass through the space rather than collecting on a solid surface.

The leather bindings secure the snowshoe to the traveller’s footwear while allowing the foot to pivot naturally during each stride.

Together, these components create a functional piece of outdoor equipment that can be maintained and repaired over time.

Snowshoe maintenance and care

Unlike equipment that may need to be replaced when a component fails, traditional snowshoes can often be repaired and returned to use.

One of the appealing qualities of traditional wooden snowshoes is that they are made to last with a few simple maintenance habits that can extend their working life.

• Keep them protected. Inspect the protective finish regularly. An annual application of an appropriate varnish helps protect the wooden frame and rawhide webbing from moisture.
• Watch for wear. Pay attention to areas where the finish has worn away, webbing has become damaged or bindings are showing signs of wear.
• Make repairs when needed. Individual sections of rawhide webbing can be repaired, and binding components can be replaced.

Esker offers a Snowshoe Repair Kit containing dried hide for webbing repairs, as well as replacement binding components.

The idea is simple: take care of your gear, repair what you can and keep enjoying it for seasons to come.

Some Traditions are Worth Keeping

Outdoor equipment continues to evolve, but innovation doesn't always mean replacing what came before.

Traditional snowshoes are a reminder that thoughtful design begins with understanding the environment.

The right shape for the terrain. The right materials for the job. Construction that allows equipment to be maintained rather than discarded.

Esker Outdoors brings these principles into its Canadian-made collection of traditional wooden snowshoes, offering outdoor enthusiasts a connection to time-tested design and craftsmanship.

Whether you're exploring a quiet forest after a fresh snowfall or heading off the beaten path on a winter adventure, there's a traditional snowshoe designed for the journey.

Discover a different way to explore and experience winter.