I like your idea of paracord bindings. People think they need to use lampwick, but that's wrong. That's more a name for the technique of tying the bindings. The natives originally used bark rope to make these, and the people who adopted them often used lamp wick because it was strong and flexible and available literally everywhere. If they were invented today, no doubt they would be called "paracord bindings". I made my first pair out of a nylon tie down strap. They worked well enough, but they weren't flexible enough and they were hard to tie and to keep tied. They would work loose as you walked, and I would have to re tie them several times. Paracord would have been a better idea. I was fixated on the idea of a strap, but in retrospect, any cord would work as well. The straps don't end up flat where they cross over your toe anyway, so it's not like it spreads the pressure out (they can be a bit uncomfortable where your toe is pressed in, if you have soft shoes on. But only a little bit). I eventually went and bought some 1" lampwick, which works much better. Much easier to tie, and it wraps much better. That's all you need, you don't need to buy "lampwick bindings", there is no such thing. You'll just get two pieces of lamp wick. I also would warn people that these do not work very well in rough terrain. The shoes will flop about and try to fall off your toes. Sidehills are difficult to (on the other hand, the flexibility can be useful at other times). they seem to work better with smaller boots and shoes than with big boots. Of course, they may be no worse than other traditional bindings, all I can compare them too is my modern Tubbs. Which I must admit work better for most things, as much as I hate to admit it. My old bear paws do seem to work better in really deep, soft snow, or on crust, where the surface area comes into play. But the modern shoes have better traction and are more nimble and stay on your feet better on hills and buried logs, things like that. Though I think they could have made the bindings easier to use.
Several sources sell them "ready made", just google "lampwick bindings". Or you can just go on Amazon or whereever and order a 16 foot roll of lampwick. They call it that because that's what it is, it's wick for kerosene lamps. Any size will work, 1/2", 3/4" or 1", but seems most people lean towards 3/4". Get a 16' roll, or two 7ft rolls (that's what I ordered). The only difference between that and buying "lampwick bindings" is that the "bindings" cost more because the person selling them wants to make a profit, and they often will put beeswax or something on the ends to stop them from fraying. Hardly worth the extra cost, since you can do that yourself, with beeswax, superglue, rubber cement, candle wax, fray stop llquid....anything that will hold the ends together. And that's pretty much a luxury anyway, just to make it look better. Other problem is that since they are sold "ready cut", they won't fit abnormally sized boots. You might end up with a shorter binding than you want. Safer to get extra and cut it down to the size you need (leaving some extra in case you need to change to larger footwear). And if you end up with one that is bigger than you need, you'll either need to cut it down to size, making all the fancy beeswaxs ends worthless, or live with extra wick flopping around. The whole point of these was that they were a cheap and easy way for people to make strong, effective bindings out of materials they had lying around the cabin, since lampwick would have been in everyone's supply closet back in the day. So it seems silly to me to see people selling "lampwick bindings" and charging a premium for what is literally a piece of cheap woven lamp wick, because they know that you can sell "snowshoe bindings" for more than you can sell a roll of lamp wick. Of course if you can afford it and want to support entrepreneurs like this man, who make a living off this stuff, feel free. Like he says, you can pretty much make these out of any kind of cord or strap that is flexible and strong enough. Lamp wick just happens to be the cheapest, lightest, strongest item they found. It's almost certain that if they were invented today, they would be called "paracord bindings", since paracord is the modern equivalent: strong, cheap, available everywhere, in most people's inventories. And like he points out, paracord works fine. So you don't even need lampwick. It's really just a name for a technique of making bindings out of simple materials. Though there is no reason at all NOT to use lampwick, and it's traditional.
In snow like that I would wear my pant legs over my boots to prevent snow and moisture entering my boots. I find a carhartt overall or insulated work pant worn over rubber boots works great. You should try it.
I found that gaiters work great too. I'd never heard of them until I found a cheap pair in a store. They cover the shoes/boots and lower pants legs, keeping snow and wet out and off your pants legs, sort of like half-snowpants. They also keep mud and thorns away from your pants, and prevent seeds and chaff from falling inside your shoes in the summer and spring. A lot of them are pretty pricey (seems like anything 'outdoorsy" sells for a hefty premium), but you can find cheap basic ones like the ones I got, which work fine for me. as for this guy, he doesn't really need to worry about it unless he's going out to wade in deep snow. If he's just walking around the yard in less than a foot, which he probably is, there is no fear of snow going over high boots like that, and he will keep his cuffs dry by keeping them up out of the snow. And provided he wears his snowshoes all the time, he should be fine in deeper snow too, since on the main advantages of snowshoes is that keep your shoes from plunging into deep snow. They will get snowy, but I find my feet stay much warmer and drier with snowshoes, since the majority of the snow is packed down and you only get the little bit of overspill around your actual feet. Unless you fall off the showshoes, which does happen, especially with these bindinds on broken ground.
I like your idea of paracord bindings. People think they need to use lampwick, but that's wrong. That's more a name for the technique of tying the bindings. The natives originally used bark rope to make these, and the people who adopted them often used lamp wick because it was strong and flexible and available literally everywhere. If they were invented today, no doubt they would be called "paracord bindings". I made my first pair out of a nylon tie down strap. They worked well enough, but they weren't flexible enough and they were hard to tie and to keep tied. They would work loose as you walked, and I would have to re tie them several times. Paracord would have been a better idea. I was fixated on the idea of a strap, but in retrospect, any cord would work as well. The straps don't end up flat where they cross over your toe anyway, so it's not like it spreads the pressure out (they can be a bit uncomfortable where your toe is pressed in, if you have soft shoes on. But only a little bit). I eventually went and bought some 1" lampwick, which works much better. Much easier to tie, and it wraps much better. That's all you need, you don't need to buy "lampwick bindings", there is no such thing. You'll just get two pieces of lamp wick. I also would warn people that these do not work very well in rough terrain. The shoes will flop about and try to fall off your toes. Sidehills are difficult to (on the other hand, the flexibility can be useful at other times). they seem to work better with smaller boots and shoes than with big boots. Of course, they may be no worse than other traditional bindings, all I can compare them too is my modern Tubbs. Which I must admit work better for most things, as much as I hate to admit it. My old bear paws do seem to work better in really deep, soft snow, or on crust, where the surface area comes into play. But the modern shoes have better traction and are more nimble and stay on your feet better on hills and buried logs, things like that. Though I think they could have made the bindings easier to use.
where can I buy this lamp wick straps. I need some for my snow shoes
Several sources sell them "ready made", just google "lampwick bindings". Or you can just go on Amazon or whereever and order a 16 foot roll of lampwick. They call it that because that's what it is, it's wick for kerosene lamps. Any size will work, 1/2", 3/4" or 1", but seems most people lean towards 3/4". Get a 16' roll, or two 7ft rolls (that's what I ordered). The only difference between that and buying "lampwick bindings" is that the "bindings" cost more because the person selling them wants to make a profit, and they often will put beeswax or something on the ends to stop them from fraying. Hardly worth the extra cost, since you can do that yourself, with beeswax, superglue, rubber cement, candle wax, fray stop llquid....anything that will hold the ends together. And that's pretty much a luxury anyway, just to make it look better. Other problem is that since they are sold "ready cut", they won't fit abnormally sized boots. You might end up with a shorter binding than you want. Safer to get extra and cut it down to the size you need (leaving some extra in case you need to change to larger footwear). And if you end up with one that is bigger than you need, you'll either need to cut it down to size, making all the fancy beeswaxs ends worthless, or live with extra wick flopping around. The whole point of these was that they were a cheap and easy way for people to make strong, effective bindings out of materials they had lying around the cabin, since lampwick would have been in everyone's supply closet back in the day. So it seems silly to me to see people selling "lampwick bindings" and charging a premium for what is literally a piece of cheap woven lamp wick, because they know that you can sell "snowshoe bindings" for more than you can sell a roll of lamp wick. Of course if you can afford it and want to support entrepreneurs like this man, who make a living off this stuff, feel free. Like he says, you can pretty much make these out of any kind of cord or strap that is flexible and strong enough. Lamp wick just happens to be the cheapest, lightest, strongest item they found. It's almost certain that if they were invented today, they would be called "paracord bindings", since paracord is the modern equivalent: strong, cheap, available everywhere, in most people's inventories. And like he points out, paracord works fine. So you don't even need lampwick. It's really just a name for a technique of making bindings out of simple materials. Though there is no reason at all NOT to use lampwick, and it's traditional.
Thank you
In snow like that I would wear my pant legs over my boots to prevent snow and moisture entering my boots. I find a carhartt overall or insulated work pant worn over rubber boots works great. You should try it.
I found that gaiters work great too. I'd never heard of them until I found a cheap pair in a store. They cover the shoes/boots and lower pants legs, keeping snow and wet out and off your pants legs, sort of like half-snowpants. They also keep mud and thorns away from your pants, and prevent seeds and chaff from falling inside your shoes in the summer and spring. A lot of them are pretty pricey (seems like anything 'outdoorsy" sells for a hefty premium), but you can find cheap basic ones like the ones I got, which work fine for me. as for this guy, he doesn't really need to worry about it unless he's going out to wade in deep snow. If he's just walking around the yard in less than a foot, which he probably is, there is no fear of snow going over high boots like that, and he will keep his cuffs dry by keeping them up out of the snow. And provided he wears his snowshoes all the time, he should be fine in deeper snow too, since on the main advantages of snowshoes is that keep your shoes from plunging into deep snow. They will get snowy, but I find my feet stay much warmer and drier with snowshoes, since the majority of the snow is packed down and you only get the little bit of overspill around your actual feet. Unless you fall off the showshoes, which does happen, especially with these bindinds on broken ground.