Snowshoe Harness, for what it's worth

[maple flats]

I've tried about 6-8 different snowshoe harness. I'm done trying more. As I mentioned before, I finally found what I now use but did not give the name before, because I forgot what they were called. I checked and found the name: they are called Marc's Snowshoe Harness. I ordered them from Marc Deschene in Maine. It's been a few years since and I do not recall the price, but it was not cheap, buy they were worth every penny. I have 3 pair of them for 3 of my traditional long type shoes, the modern bear paw type come with a good binding. I use Marc's on 3 pr. of magnesium military surplus type shoes I bought for $36.99 on clearance thru the Sportsman's Guide years ago. They are a Michigan or Yukon style shoe.

[Daveg]

Get the type of straps that can be adjusted with gloves on. MSR has them19796. Also, if a lot of hills will be encountered, there are brands with a heel lift that mimics the foot position on flat ground, making going uphill more comfortable.

[Ultimatetreehugger]

I just got a pair of msr shoes. they are great!

[ADK_XJ]

Agree that a bad set of bindings will ruin any snowshoeing experience real quick. Havlick is a brand of shoes that used to be made not far from here in the Southern Adirondacks and they use a very similar binding to Marc’s except there is an additional slider fitting on the back of the heel. IMO it’s the best I’ve used.

I believe Havlick is now either defunct or no longer producing in any volume, so I buy any of their shoes I find used. Currently have 3 sets, a small set for the kids and my brother and father each have a pair.

Can never have enough snowshoes!

[maple flats]

That's for sure, I have 8 pair, but only 2 feet. 3 pair are the modern magnesium frame bear paw basic shape, the other 5 are the original Michigan or Yukon style. Only 3 of those have Marc's bindings. I once spend about 40 minutes getting my leg and foot out of a tough spot with a pair of the rubber bindings that look like they were made out of a heavy inner tube. We had about 3' of snow and I was working along a hill side. I then crossed a steep ravine, but about half way back up my snowshoe tipped sideways and my foot slid off the show and went down about 2 feet. I almost was going to cut the binding but I finally managed to get up. The rest of my crew was about 800-900' in the other direction and cell service does not work in the spot I was. After that I looked up the Marc's binding and since have never had a problem. This year I never needed to use them, the deepest (so far) has only been about 10".

[Someclown]

GVSnowshoes asymmetrical-bindings
I find these snowshoe bindings to be the best I've ever had. I have used various different types which didn't lock your foot/boot in place causing the shoe to twist, turn, slip, and slide on ice and make for an unpleasant experience. These bindings have ratcheting straps with quick release and lock any size boot in and keep the shoe tracking straight and tight and are very easy to put on and take off.They also have ice claws on the bottom for those winters with a lot of ice pack. Outdoor winter activities have to be made simple and enjoyable for anyone to appreciate because it's not the best of seasons, and these bindings do that for my needs as I do a lot of trail breaking/brushing using snowshoes.They can be mounted on virtually any type of snowshoe from what I can tell as they mount on my home made aluminum framed shoes and dont add any weight.
Just my 2 cents