Anyone snowshoe kilted?

[Marcel]

The other day I thought it would be a lot of fun to go snowshoeing in a kilt. It might even be more practical than pants, as it would be warm but then after you began to sweat it would be easy to cool off. I thought I would seek some feedback while I wait for it to snow.

[Wompet]

Every winter, practically every other weekend, for the last four years, whenever there was enough snow. Weatherproof boots or shoes for the feet, wool socks or neoprene gaiters for the lower legs, anything from a 13 oz 5-yd to a 16 oz tank, layer the upper body as necessary, gloves as necessary, hat or headband as necessary. Get out there and enjoy the snow.

[Chef]

It might even be more practical than pants, as it would be warm but then after you began to sweat it would be easy to cool off.

Yeah, just sit without the sweep

[ChattanCat]

Not in Kansas City - no snow! My downhill and cross country skiis have not even been used since I moved here.

[Marcel]

Yeah, just sit without the sweep

I LOVE IT!!

[pipesndrumsnun]

I would suspect that you'd certainly find some folks from Michigan's U.P. who have tried this!

[Andrew Breecher]

I've snowshoes in a kilt, and had a great time. The temps were around zero degrees Fahrenheit, so the snow was nice and crisp. I'd just rented some snowshoes, and had only one difficulty. The bindings weren't hinged, but were instead attached to a strap. I'm not sure if I'm explaining this right. Because they weren't hinged (swinging freely) the shoes snapped back with every step, flinging a little bit of icy snow up at the backs of my knees. This hung on and built up on the back pleats of my kilt, so I had rough ice particles rubbing the backs of my knees with every step. If I'd had better snowshoes this wouldn't have been a problem.

Andrew.

[Moosedog]

Snowshoe bindings can be fixed or rotating. Fixed ones (like the ones you tried, Andrew) are actually easier to use on broken trails and gentler terrain. The "snap" helps keep the tails from dragging and most importantly snow from building up on the newer, solid snowshoe decks and weighting you down. I don't enjoy these types because they often deposit snow down the back of my collar.

In the olden days binding were pretty sloppy and so we learned to snap or kick the shoes a little to keep snow off the tails. Also the woven rawhide decking didn't allow so much buildup.

Shoes witha rotating toe cord are more suited to steeper terrain and unbroken snow. They allow one to go up and down hills more easily. They require the user to manually "snap" the tails as you walk to keep the snow off. A lot of rental places are catering to casual users and so they rent the fixed toe type.

I have snowshoed in a kilt and it is great. But I now live in the land of heavy, wet snow, so there's not much of it flying anywhere.

Moosedog

[O'Neille]

It depends on if there is snow in SLC Utah in a couple weeks. I've got a seminar to go to and am hoping. I've Xcountry and telemarked in a kilt. Never snowboard or downhill. Too much speed. With my knees just getting useable again I'll not be skiing on this trip and snowshoeing might just be the ticket.

[Ayin McFye]

I'd have to live somewhere with snow to have to experience that, but my theory is if you can do it with P@nts, then you can do it kilted.