Patent ID: 8171658

Claim:
A snowshoe, comprising: a molded snowshoe body, having an open area in a forward portion of the body, a boot binding connected to the snowshoe body so as to allow pitch pivoting of the snowshoe body relative to the boot binding so that a forward end of the boot binding can swing down into the open area during part of the user's gait, the snowshoe body having a stiff portion extending at least through a longitudinally central section of the snowshoe, and a tail section extending back from the central section, the tail section being more flexible than the central section such that the tail section is more bendable in pitch than the central section, whereby, when a user walks with the snowshoe and contacts the terrain with the rear end of the tail section, then lowers the user's heel in the binding downward against the snowshoe body and exerts force from the heel downward onto the snowshoe body, the tail section will bend upward relative to the central section thus accommodating the user's gait in the manner of a shorter-tail snowshoe and improving the comfort and ease of walking with the snowshoe.