This is the Huron Snowshoe Kit from the team at the Northern Toboggan Co. It’s a self-contained kit that allows you to make a pair of traditional snowshoes at home, perhaps a perfect indoor wintertime activity.
Each pair comes with a steam-bent frame made from traditional White Ash wood with an upturned toe and large surface area, you then lace them and finish them at home. They work great as snowshoes, but they can also make a great wall feature.
This is the Huron Snowshoe Kit from the team at the Northern Toboggan Co. It’s a self-contained kit that allows you to make a pair of traditional snowshoes at home, perhaps a perfect indoor winter activity.
History Speedrun: The Northern Toboggan Co
The Northern Toboggan Co. was founded by the craftsman John Harren back in 1995 in Warroad, Minnesota. He learned that many of the traditional sled makers in the northern regions were beginning to retire, and that there was no one to take their place.
Due to these retirements, many communities had been left without traditional wooden sleds and other snow equipment that they had relied on for centuries. Sure, new technologies had largely taken their place, but there’s something to be said for sleds that don’t need gas to work, just a little bit of human (or animal) power.
Harren met one of these traditional sled and toboggan makers and worked under him for a time, learning the trade. He was already a carpenter, so it all came quickly to him, and he soon set up on his own to carry on the tradition.
He’s been building a variety of toboggans, sleds, snowshoes, and other gear now for 30+ years and counting, and he’s often joined in the workshop by his two adults sons who grew up working with wood.
The Build-Your-Own Huron Snowshoe Kit
The Build-Your-Own Huron Snowshoe Kit comes with everything you need to build a pair of fully-functional traditional snowshoes at home, including the steam-bent White Ash wood frames and the material used for lacing them, and of course, it comes with detailed instructions too.
The Build-Your-Own Huron Snowshoe Kit comes with everything you need to build a pair of fully-functional traditional snowshoes at home, including the steam-bent White Ash wood frames and the material used for lacing them, and of course, it comes with detailed instructions too.
Once complete, you can (if you like) choose what bindings you want to use. The options are Modified H bindings, Super A bindings, or traditional leather snowshoe bindings. These do cost a bit extra, but some don’t need them as they build the snowshoes to put them up on the wall as a display piece.
If you’d like to order your own kit you can visit the store page on the Northern Toboggan Co. here, and they offer free shipping to the lower 48 states as well as international shipping when required.
Images courtesy of the Northern Toboggan Co.
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