Patent ID: 7497034

Claim:
A binding for a snowshoe, comprising: a body or base member, for securing to a snowshoe, a pair of toe stops at a front of the base member, a pair of straps, each having a first, front end secured to a respective one of the toe stops, the two straps each extending back and toward the opposite side, crossing each other over a position where a user's shoe can be located, a pair of low friction strap loops on opposite lateral sides of the binding, each strap passing through one of the loops and changing direction, two buckles, each engaged with a second end of each of the straps such that the straps pass through the buckles and strap tails extend outwardly from the buckles, the two buckles being oriented in essentially opposite directions and connected back-to-back to each other and not anchored to the base member, and an elongated tongue with a guide means toward a forward end of the tongue and through which the straps pass near their first ends, and the two buckles being secured to the tongue toward a rearward end of the tongue, whereby drawing the tail ends of the two straps outwardly, essentially in opposite directions from each other, will draw the binding into engagement with a user's shoe, with the tongue providing stability for the buckles as the straps are drawn tight and also providing positional consistency for the straps and buckles.