Snowshoes on Heel/Toe Welt

Hey MP!

Do any snowshoes out there clip on to a full shank boot heel/toe welt? I am thinking about cutting up and repurposing some old crampons in place of regular snowshoe bindings.

I do a lot of slushy lake crossings with snowshoes and mountaineering boots for ice climbing approaches. Would be nice to just clip snowshoes on rather than messing around with straps... Always too loose and fall off, or too tight and I get cold feet.

Thoughts?

Did you ever manage to do this? I'm wanting to do the same

Here's something that might help. 

https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/121931602/verts-and-bgt-ascent-plates

https://www.mountainproject.com/forum/topic/118315665/folding-collapsible-snowshoes

You can get bar stock that is about same dimensions of older “rail” style crampons for a few bucks at any hardware store.    Bend it into a “U” shape, add a bolt across the top of the U at the pivot point you want and this bolt serves as attachment point to nearly any snowshoe type 

I used tubing to cover the bolt threads and then hose clamps to attach to snowshoe.  The tube serves as a “bearing” to allow the rig to rotate.  

Drill holes in the rail per your size boots to allow attaching std crampon heel and toe bails of your choice.    Easy peasy for like less than $10 and an hour of time.  

FWIW, many snowshoe manufacturers now offer models with BOA binding systems.  I was on a winter ridge climb recently with some folks sporting those, and they were definitely lighter and less bulky than an equivalent deck with the ol’ strap systems.  They are not cheap, though.