December 5, 2001


What's the best snowshoe on the market?

I am in desperate need of your snowshoe technical expertise. I am attempting to buy a surprise gift for my boyfriend who is obsessed with products that represent the "best of the best". Let me put this in perspective for you: only a Professional series Rolex will do for this man! I have done some research and the monetary evidence appears to indicate that the best snowshoes are the Tubbs Mountain Series and the Atlas 12 Series. Can you please tell me which snowshoe brand and model would be best with respect to quality, performance and durability? We will be using the snowshoes for deep powder multi-day backpacking/mountaineering in rolling mountainous terrain. Thanks for your help Gear Guy! Whatever would a not-so-gearly inclined woman like me do without you?

— Krista Munro
Vancouver, British Columbia

So, what you're saying, Krista, is that your boyfriend is a greedy little weasel of a Material Boy? Isn't THAT special! But that's OK. I'm sure that in his spare time he takes in stray cats and sends his unused Rolex watches to orphans in Somalia.

Anyway, snowshoes. Indeed, Tubbs and Atlas snowshoes are superb. In the Tubbs line, I'd suggest -— as you have found—a Mountain Series snowshoe such as the Model 30 ($285/pair). A great snowshoe, with a rugged, easy-to-use binding, sturdy construction, and an aggressive built-in crampon. Among Atlas snowshoes, again you have found a good one in the 12 series, take a look at the Model 1225 ($260/pair). Really, very similar to the Tubbs, which of course the Atlas people will hotly deny and vice versa. One could put them side by side and find one more to his/her liking based on the binding layout, but to a large degree a snowshoe is a snowshoe is a...

Unless you take this game one step further. To do that, purchase a pair of Alchemy Ti-Rol snowshoes. These are made with (rising violins, chorus of humming voices, deep-voiced announcer takes over) TITANIUM! Yes, that's right, ladies and gentleman, titanium, the world's most amazing metal, formerly found only in high-tech military aircraft designed to save the free world from godless Communism, but now available to you, today's consumer, in a wide array of useful products. It's light, tough, impervious to heat or cold, and of course, comes in an attractive burnished-metal finish. How can you say "no" to titanium? Face it, you can't. Best of all, snowshoes made of this wondrous material are guaranteed to cost more than those made from humble, base metals such as steel or aluminum. That's right, guaranteed! The Alchemy Ti-Rols, for instance, sell for the Rolexesque price of $450 a pair. Expensive? Of course! But a small price to pay for the opportunity to hike into a mountain lodge, shake the snow off those snowshoes, then say in a voice just loud enough for everyone to hear: "Why, titanium makes me feel like I'm not wearing ANY-thing on my feet!"

So there you go, Krista. You want to impress this boy-toy, this him-hunk, this walkin', talkin' streak of steamin' sex, who is even more attractive due to that strong, manly whiff of self-indulgence? Then get thee to an outdoor store and demand, that's right, demand, that they order a pair of Alchemy Ti-Rol snowshoes for you. Or, go to the Alchemy Web site, www.alchemysnowshoes.com, and order them yourself. Allowing for the Canadian currency conversion, you WILL feel like you're buying a Rolex watch!