Evaluation

Overall I think that the overall product was a success even though there were a few difficulties I had to overcome. I found that when I started to make the product it was going to be a lot harder then I originally imagined as I have mentioned above.One thing that I may have changed if I had more time is the base of the snowshoe, I would have probably attempted to make my own base maybe out of wood, in retrospect I think the tyre was a good idea because looking at my apocalyptic situation there would have not of been the materials available to create snowshoes out of wood that is also why I thought it was a good idea to use a tyre as it could of been found off a bicycle. 

i am very pleased with the way it has turned out except for the fact that some of the rivets have started to pop out due to the tension put on them from the leather laces.

my idea

My idea for this project is to create snowshoes which are used in weather conditions such as snow. They allow you to be able to walk in deep snow without sinking. I decided to go ahead with this idea because if a situation like that were to occur then the likes of finding food and shelter and other such things would be impossible as travelling in the snow would not be possible. This is were my idea came from as I thought with these snowshoes would enable people to travel in order to survive to find necessities.

My Brief

My apocalyptic situation is that an ice age has occurred and effected and destroyed civilisation. The whole world has been completed covered in ice and snow, river banks have burst causing cities to become flooded which then meant that they would freeze over. the little that have survived have little means in order to survive, food has become scarce, travelling has become obviously a problems as the weather conditions make it impossible.  

issues during making

The making of the snowshoes was a lot harder to do then I originally thought as I came upon a lot of problems and issues that I had to overcome.  

• ·         At first before burning the holes in the tyre I tried putting the rivets straight into it but found  out that this wouldn't work as the rubber was just too thick, so instead I turned to burning the holes which took a great deal of time.
• ·         As I was lacing up the tyre and pulling it in to make it slightly narrower, the tension that was being put on the rivets started to cause some of them to pop off.
• ·         I also found that I could not pull in and narrow the tyre as much as I wanted, I think this was due to the fact that the leather laces weren't strong enough 

How it was made 

The first thing I had to do was create holes all around the rim of the tyre in order to lattice the area inside the tyre up. This would create a support for the person who would wear them.

Once I created the holes around the tyre which I created by heating up a thick nail burnt through the tyre creating a hole.

 I thought it would be a good idea to put a rivet in each hole, which I thought would give it more of a  finish but more importantly I thought that it would be able to withhold the tension a lot more than if there were not rivets as I thought the rubber may tear under the tension.

I decided to use black leather boot laces to lace up the inside of the tyre this was because i thought they would be able to withhold the tension put on them as they are quite strong and would not give way.

As I was lacing up it up I attempted to pull the tyre in slightly as to create more of an oval shape rather than a circular as like original snow shoes past and present.

After I laced up the inside of the tyre and pulled it together I had to create some sort of fixation on which you could attach a boot. 

I decided to use elastic as the adjustable straps so that it would give more movement when you walk. As you can see I created three straps, one at the back which slips over the ankle of the wearer’s boot, another before the heel which fits around the middle and one which holds the boot in place at the front. The two straps at the front I made adjustable so the wearer could adjust them according to the size and the shape of the boot.

Snowshoe process

Materials 
I have looked for different materials and objects that might be available or might be found during an ice age.

I thought of using a tyre of a bicycle or a tennis racket as the base for the shoe because after researching about snow shoes I found out that the base needs a large surface area in order to be able to walk in the snow, and these are the objects I thought would be good to use.

I have decided to go ahead and use the tyre as it a shape that is normally used unlike the tennis racket which is a very common shape.

apocalypse situations

I have been researching different apocalypse situations as a starting point to my research:

1. A flooded planet- our planet has been completely flooded, land is now a useless commodity and only creatures are able to adapt to the new surroundings, the human population had dropped drastically..
2. The Infertility Problem- humans can no longer procreate leading to the future of our species to be unknown.Meaning that there are no children on earth and eventually leading to the end of the human race.
3. Zombie Apocalypse-  incurable virus spreads throughout the planet which transforms humans into flesh eating zombies slowly wiping out civilisation. 
4. Robots- robots are created to help humans with their everyday tasks such as: cooking food, cleaning, shopping etc. These robots are controlled by a central hub known as artificial intelligence which is programmed by humans. The artificial intelligence evolves to break any rules or logic set. this can cause all robots to wipe out the human race. 
5. ice age- due to global warming and climatic changes to the earth's atmostphere a series of extreme weather conditions such as floods, storms, earthquakes, tidal waves and freezing conditions in which humans have to survive and adapt.  

Modern and traditional snowshoes

I have research different types of snowshoes modern and traditional and have found many different designs, shapes and sizes.

plastic snowshoe

swiss snowshoes

inflatable snowshoes 

leather snowshoes

inflatable snowshoe

History of Snowshoes

It is believed that the snowshoes were invented in northern Asia about 4000 to 6000 years ago but there is no concrete evidence that this was true as the materials they would have used would not have lasted long.

It is found to be mainly the Native Americans that mastered the making of the snowshoes. They made hundreds of different shapes and varieties, suitable for many different terrains. For the Native Americans snowshoes were essential for hunting and gathering materials during the winter. They used a variety of different material in making the snowshoes such as: hard wood of the white ash, hide of the caribou or moose and also their intestines or tendons.  

After looking at the materials the Native Americans used it just comes to show that they used anything that they could find that would be durable and strong enough. This has given be inspiration as to how the variety of things you can use to create such an item, and how versatile certain materials can be.

I have also found that there have been many different designs of snowshoes over the years; this may have been due to new materials on offer but mainly due to the snow conditions and how best different designs suited certain conditions. Here is a photo of the range of designs the tribes used and created themselves:

Snowshoes

What is a Snowshoe?


A snowshoe is an item of footwear that has been adapted for people to walk on snow. They distribute weight so that the walker does not sink into soft snow, and enable people to travel through landscapes that are usually impossible with only ordinary footwear. Snowshoes of the twenty-first century are most often made of lightweight metal and other manmade materials.

Ice Age

I decided to research into the ice age to see what cause it and how it come about happening. 

 

An ice age is when the earth sees a dramatic drop in temperature and atmosphere, these then results in large sheets of ice and snow forming across all the land and also causes rivers and seas to freeze over.

There can be many causes of an ice age such as: atmospheric composition , changes in the earth’s orbit around the sun, the motion of tectonic plates,  the orbital dynamics of the Earth-Moon system. These entire situations could have a part to play in the cause of an ice age. 

Here is an image to show what happens to the world when an ice age occurs, the ice and snow starts to take over the whole world creating devastation to civilisation. 

After researching about ice ages and how it affects the world, I have become inspired and have been thinking of initial ideas, if I was to use this as my main situation. 

After watching the films alive and the day after tomorrow and how people survived I have looked into one particular situation that I have found survivors and people struggle with which is travelling around in the snow and ice.  I have done some initial research into footwear used in the snow. 

Initial Ideas

I have watched many of the films listed on our brief sheet such as, Loguns Run, 2012, Alive, i Robot, 28 Days Later, Terminator 2, Children Of Men and The Day After Tomorrow. I have also been researching into post apocalyptic situations and how people survive. 

Some initial ideas I came up with while researching on post apocalyptic situations was:

·         Creating a menu- when there is a natural disaster and all means of food have been destroyed or disappeared, survivors have to find means of food and use what ever is available. My idea was to create a menu of food with what was available and on offer.

·         Creating a piece of warm clothing- after watching the films and researching I have found that warm clothing is essential in surviving and if the world had been destroyed by some disaster. I thought of creating an item on clothing from things that are left and are likely to be found after a disaster, such as knitting a blanket or cloak that would keep them warm or clothing made out of card or paper. I would also look into thermal materials, what would keep you warm and for a long period of time .

   I have become inspired by mainly two films: the day after tomorrow and alive. This is mainly because I have seen how difficult snowy and icy conditions are to survive in, and one aspect I became interested in was how difficult it was for survivors to travel in the snow when it comes to footwear.