Kids' snowshoes, sized by published load rather than by age

Weight, not age

Snowshoes work by spreading weight over a bigger area so you sink less. That is the whole mechanism, and it means the correct size is a function of how much weight is going on top of them - the child plus their clothing plus a pack if they carry one.

Every maker prints an age on the box because ages sell. Every maker also publishes a load limit, and that is the number to use. MSR publishes 80 lb for the Tyker and 125 lb for the Shift; Tubbs publishes weight bands per size on the Snowglow.

A child over the limit sinks through, which is exhausting and ends the walk. A child well under it is carrying more snowshoe than they need, which is also exhausting. The snowshoe sizing guide covers the adult version of the same arithmetic.

The three, compared

The picks

MSR Tyker

The pick for a child of roughly four to eight. A published 80 lb load limit, 930 g a pair - which is light enough that a tired child can still lift their feet - and a binding published to work on most footwear rather than a specific boot.

The interesting design decision is the traction. MSR publishes molded traction bars rather than full steel underfoot, with steel crampons at the toe. That is a deliberate safety choice on a snowshoe a child will regularly step on with their own other foot, and it is the right call for this age even though it looks like a downgrade on a spec sheet.

The limitation is the ceiling. At 80 lb a child outgrows it around eight, and there is no adjustment past it.

MSR Shift Youth

The pick if the child is already close to 80 lb, and the better buy for a household that wants one pair to last. A published 125 lb load limit carries a child from roughly eight years old to the point where they can use adult snowshoes.

It publishes the same steel traction bars and crampons as MSR’s adult Evo, which means it grips on hard and steep snow rather than only on packed trail, and a footwear range of US 1 to 7 that survives several boot sizes.

It costs $45 more than the Tyker and is 215 g heavier a pair, which a small child notices and an older one does not. No televator bar is published, so long sustained climbs are harder work than on an adult snowshoe with one.

Tubbs Snowglow Youth

Marked as the skip above, with an obvious exception. LEDs in the deck that flash with every stride are, on paper, a gimmick. In practice they are sometimes the only reason a six-year-old keeps walking, and a walk that happens beats a better snowshoe that stays in the car.

It is also the cheapest here by $25, publishes four sizes with weight bands rather than one size with an age, and uses a QuickLock buckle that a child can operate themselves - a genuinely underrated feature when the alternative is a parent kneeling in snow adjusting four straps.

The traction is the limit. Molded rails and no published steel crampon means packed trails only.

Do children need poles?

Not usually, and often they are worse off with them - a small child with poles has two more things to drop and two more things to trip over. Snowshoeing without poles is perfectly normal.

If they do want poles, adjustable ones with proper snow baskets are the version that works. The snowshoeing poles page explains why the basket is the specification that matters, and the ski pole roundup covers the junior pole with eight published lengths.

What goes on their feet

A snowshoe binding fits around a boot, so the boot comes first. A waterproof snow boot with a published temperature rating is what you want - not a ski boot, which is rigid in exactly the wrong direction, and not a sneaker, which is wet within minutes.

The kids snow boot roundup covers the two that publish a temperature rating, and the winter boots guide covers the adult equivalent.

Then thin socks, one pair. The instinct to add a second pair inside a boot makes feet colder rather than warmer by squeezing out the air that does the insulating. The kids sock roundup explains the mechanism.

Why this is the best value in winter sports

A pair of kids’ snowshoes costs between $60 and $130 and needs no lift ticket, no lesson and no resort. A single family day of skiing costs more than any snowshoe on this page.

It is also the activity with the shortest learning curve in this whole category: if a child can walk, they can snowshoe, and there is no version of it that involves going faster than they meant to. The adult snowshoe roundup covers the grown-up pairs and the traction page covers the cheaper option for packed trails, which for a first try may be all you need.