Abstract: A snowshoe rear cleat assembly comprised, in a first embodiment, of a rigid substrate for mounting a rear cleat beneath, the rigid substrate underlapping a conventional rubberized snowshoe decking. The rigid substrate and rubberized decking together function to comprise the entire decking of a snowshoe. This underlapping design serves to cause the rear cleat to protrude a greater distance below the snowshoe frame, thereby allowing the cleat to penetrate a greater depth into snow, for better traction. Additionally, a heel strike plate is designed to prevent slippage of a snowshoer's footwear, and to serve to self-clean the bottoms of the snowshoer's footwear of snow and ice. In an alternate embodiment of the rear cleat assembly, the rigid substrate comprises the entire snowshoe decking and the rear cleat attaches underneath the rigid substrate.

Abstract: A combination snowshoe and binding, wherein the binding cooperates upon the snowshoe, for evenly distributing a user's weight thereupon. The binding includes an outboard half and an inboard half, the outboard half being horizontally movable upon the inboard half, in a slidable manner. The outboard half remains loosely coupled upon a pivoting member and moves freely in a horizontal direction, to accommodate the foot widths of a variety of users. The inboard half remains stationary, while in use, but can loosened, and adjusted in a horizontal direction. By moving the inboard half to a desired adjustment position, a proper positioning for evenly distributing a user's weight upon the snowshoe can be achieved. The snowshoe further includes an asymmetric frame member for allowing a user to walk with a normal stride upon a snowy surface.