CC SNOWSHOES (CARBON FIBER/CUBEN FIBER)
About 2 years ago I purchased the lightest snowshoes on the market. They have served me very well...but...there were several aspects of them that I didn't like. I wanted a lighter snowshoe that offered exceptional grip and a larger surface area for the deep snow we get up here. So I started working on my own.
The CC Snowshoes are made from the lightest and strongest materials available on the market. There is no snowshoe in the world that offers this low a weight for it's size. That's right, you are looking at the world's lightest snowshoes! The frame is an assembly of carbon fiber tubes bonded into elbows which serve as the floatation deck support. Ultra aggressive toe and heel crampons are used for superior uphill performance. The toe crampon actually has 2 tubes welded to the ends where the carbon fiber tubes run through. The logic behind this design characteristic is that the users weight will be supported by the crampon itself and not the carbon tubes. This will help eliminate the abuse the carbon tubes see aswell as add rigidity to the frame. A hefty cuben fiber is used as the floatation deck and wrapped around the carbon fiber frame and bolted together using aluminum fasteners backed by rubber washers. The binding consists of another piece of cuben fiber with various tri-glides, ladderlocks, and nylon straps attached to it. Only the front of the binding is bolted through to the deck and crampon to allow the foot to pivot while walking.
You're probably wondering if it's strong enough, right? Don't worry, I did extensive analysis on all aspects of the design. The toe and heel crampon were subjected to loads in access of 240 lbs to simulate a hiker with a large pack. The rear crampon has a safety factor of 2.7 while the toe crampon yielded a safety factor of 7.2. Basically, I could reduce the strength of both these parts to shave even more weight off. The cuben fiber used for the floatation deck is NOT the same one you see me use on the tarps and other products. I ordered one of the strongest versions they have available and it has a tensile strength of 730 psi. The carbon tubes were designed specifically for this application and custom made for these snowshoes. They have a protective coating to help with any impacts they may see.
The concept of how these snowshoes work is simple. The sturdy design of the crampon is used to take the users loading on the snowshoe. Therefore, the frame and decking can be very lightweight as the remainder of the weight is spread out over a larger surface. If you look at the snowshoe, you will see that both the toe and heel crampon teeth extend beyound the carbon fiber frame by quite a bit. The teeth of the crampon will contact the ground before the remainder of the snowshoe. These teeth will absorb the impact and the users weight will be placed on the crampons instead of the carbon frame. This design aspect, along with the fact that the carbon tubes on the side run through the crampon greatly reduces the need for an overdesigned frame. In the event where you encounter dry and fluffy powder snow, the crampons will not work as intended, however, with such a soft surface, there is no concern of damage to the carbon frame.
Description: Carbon fiber tube frame, heavy duty (4 oz/yd^2) cuben fiber floatation deck, held together with hard anodized aluminum fasteners, agressive toe and heel crampons made from Aluminum 6061-T6 that is waterjet cut, formed and welded. The binding is made from the same heavy duty carbon fiber with various buckles and nylon straps to hold the foot firmly in place. At 9 inches wide and 32 inches long, they offer 288 square inches of surface area.
Weight: 15.2 oz (431 grams) per snowshoe. 30.4 oz per pair.
Notes: We don't have any snow up here right now so I'm going to have to wait before any testing takes place. At this very moment, I am not seriously looking to bring these to market as I have other products in development that require attention.
