There are many pieces of dedicated footwear for travel over snow and ice. One of the required innovations that was requisite to save lives in such regions was the snowshoe.

Inspiration for early versions of snowshoes was taken from animals from the local surroundings whose feet were adapted to the conditions for over-land travel. A snowshoe rabbit’s hind feet were motivation for a pair of distinct styles of snowshoe.

As a way of categorizing things the snowshoe can be broken down into 5 basic categories: bearpaw, Yukon, beavertail, Ojibwa and Western. This doesn’t count the innumerable separate sizes or overlaps in local names which can blur the lines between the various types.

Materials used to make snowshoes resulted in wood-framed or the more up to date metal-frame. Early models were webbed with animal hide and were made to look like animal tracks such as those made by the bobcat or lynx. Some were also made to be similar to bear tracks, although bears left much deeper tracks than those made with snowshoes.

For over-land travel through soft, deep snow, there was nothing that could beat a well made pair of snowshoes.