Energy Cost of Walking in Four Types of Snowshoes

Abstract

Four Marines walked on snow at 4 km/h with four types of snowshoes. Grade of the terrain was about 2.4% and the Marines walked once downhill and once uphill with each snowshoe. Expired respiratory gases (for energy cost measures) and heart rates were collected continuously. The Pride and Military Standard models had a lower energy cost than the Montana model and tended to have a lower cost than the British model. Correlations between snowshoe mass/surface area ratios and energy cost were 0.81 and 0.72 on the uphill and downhill portions of the course, respectively. Data suggested several design characteristics may be favorable from an energy cost perspective: 1) a foot hinge-and-binding system that allows the snowshoe to be dragged across the snow, 2) an upturned front that pushes snow away and allows a more horizontal displacement of the snowshoe during locomotion, and 3) a lower mass to surface area ratio.