NIMBOSTRATUS,
The trail and off-track Snowshoe
This snowshoe is the culmination of 5 months of collaboration between myself and Louis Garneau Sports Inc.
This model was designed as my final project of my Industrial Design course at the Cegep de Sainte-Foy in Quebec City.
Fully designed from the ground up as a quiet and comfortable alternative to the classic snowshoe model that every enthusiast is accustomed to.
Ideation
Since I was a returning student at that point, I inherited the documents from a previous student. From that point, I only could go forward with the conception.
Preliminary conception:
In the beginning, I decided to focus on only one main attribute for each preliminary concept as a way of maybe coming up with efficient and unusual concepts or ideas
This was a very good idea in the end since I ended up with very unusual, yet interesting concepts:
For the first on the left, appropriately called the ''Discret'' (discrete in french)
This concept had the main focus of being as quiet during use as it could. So I had to find very special ways of conceiving the shape and better foot stirrups.
The first concept key points are as follow:
- The heel plate is on straps, independent from the whole decking to negate the effect I call the ''drum'' effect where the heel would hit the plate and resonate like a... drum! This was very discernible so this aspect is greatly reduced with the straps.
- The construction is a aluminum frame with a polypropylene decking, a perfect construction to reduce noise as much as possible.
For the second in the center, appropriately called the ''Élancé'' (Sleek in french)
This concept had the main focus of being as light as it could. So I had to find ways of conceiving the shape and lighter parts.
The second concept key points are as follow:
- The whole body of the snowshoe is made out of injected plastic for a light yet robust construction. No split parts either for the frame or the bridging! All in one!
- The cleats are minimal and optimized as much as possible for the best adherence in the small shape
For the third on the right, appropriately called the ''Joker'' (Same in French and English... Obviously)
This concept had the main focus of being as innovative as it could. This is the point where imagination runs wild and creates maybe weird, maybe interesting or maybe even amazing ideas.
The third concept key points are as follow:
- A full aluminum construction, and that is not said lightly. The whole frame, decking and cleats are a singular part that would have been laser cut and the bent in the right shape
- A lack of other materials meant the concept was easier to source and after the shaping process, assembly is minimal and easy.
In the end
The first concept was the chosen one by my client, but with the heel riser from the second concept was chosen to be added to the other model.
Tests
For the final step, we needed to perform at least 4 tests, half must be done with actual users. During these tests, quite a few things were unearthed:
As a first: it was discovered that noise was quite the issue at the pivot point and the heel during normal use;
Following this in second: The weight distribution on the reference model was quite poor and needed to be addressed;
And as a last major point: a critical point of failure was discovered in the reference model (a production model) hybrid pivot, that would cause premature failure of the product. This was both reported and modified in the final design
Pre-Final Concept
This form was supposed to become the final concept, but after a quick client meeting, a few issues were observed and also a few other modifications were requested to better push the product above the rest.
To give a better picture, here was a few issues mentioned:
- Too few fasteners for the bed
- The front straps on the stirrup will be transitioned to the sides to facilitate adjustment and lower production costs
- The straps under the heel plate needs simplification.
Final Concept
The actual got a lot more things right, and now we had an actual functional product:
This is the apex of my concept: a stable and comfortable snowshoe that is a all-rounder with a simple mechanism for restraining the boot to the user foot.
The heel is not forgotten too! Feature in this creation is a two-stage adjustment to climb slopes of varying inclines in comfort, while also reducing the necessary effort to climb.
The concept is also easily scalable in 8x25 inch sizing, 9x30 or even higher sizing depending on demand.
The only parts that would need adjustment are the frame, bed and the number of fasteners for the bed.
Disclaimers:
1. The use of BOA© fit system, fasteners and binders are not approved by BOA©, this is only a concept
2. This is only a concept, developed in conjunction with the Cegep of Ste-foy, myself, and Louis Garneau Sports ©, the product may or may not be developed, may not look like this or might not even exist after this point.
3. All files are the property of Louis Garneau Sports ©, copyright applies here, reproduction and re-use is therefore not authorized unless consent was given by the company
