The handcrafted Bear Paw looks like it belongs over a fireplace. The frame is bent white ash laced with rawhide, just as Tubbs has been building them for almost 100 years. Because the open lacing doesn’t provide the flotation of a solid deck, the Bear Paw is larger by 30 inches-and at 4 pounds, 13 ounces, it’s the heaviest shoe we tested. The binding hinge has free rotation, so the shoes drag on the ground as you walk. They don’t provide the downhill traction of modern shoes, and you’ll have to give them an annual coat of polyurethane.
