Home » FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions
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1. General Questions
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2. Snowshoes
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3. Paddleboards

1. General Questions

Where is Northern Lites Located?

We are located in Englewood, Colorado, about 20 minutes south of Denver, Colorado.

How Many Employees does Northern Lites Have.

We have 4 employees, including the owners.

How Much Does Shipping Cost?

We offer free ground shipping for any order over $50. If you need it faster, we offer 2-day shipping for an extra charge shown upon checkout.

Do you have a physical store?

Although it's not a "store" our shop in Englewood can sell you our products in-person via Credit Card or PayPal. We're happy to give you a quick tour of our facility if you're interested!

Our address is: 3065 S. Umatilla St., Englewood, CO, 80110.

Watch out, the company dog Violet is typically around but she wouldn't hurt a fly!

2. Snowshoes

What is the right size snowshoe?

The primary function of a larger snowshoe is to give you more flotation to stay on top of the snow. 

  1. When selecting a snowshoe, evaluate your total weight, including the gear and clothing you will typically wear. Base your calculation on your fully clothed weight plus a daypack and water. 
  2. Next, consider the snow conditions you are most likely to encounter—whether deep, untracked powder or groomed trails and established routes. 
  3. Assess whether you are operating at high altitudes or in northern regions with deep, light snow, which would necessitate a larger snowshoe, or in lower elevations or coastal areas with wetter, more consolidated snow, where a smaller snowshoe would be more appropriate.

The goal is to select the smallest snowshoe that meets your needs for most scenarios to enhance your agility and efficiency. 

 

Luckly, Northern Lites are all incredibly lightweight and nimble, so much that our 30" and 33" snowshoes weigh less than other brands 25" and even 20" snowshoes! 

 

Don't believe us? Check out our report on actual weights of popular snowshoe models here: How Light are Northern Lites?

Where are Northern Lites Snowshoes Made?

All of our snowshoes are made in our Englewood, Colorado shop using American components from suppliers we know and trust, by our employees that we know and trust.

 

We try to keep our components as local as possible when we can for two reasons: we love supporting small businesses, and keeping manufacturing local helps cut carbon emissions used during transportation:


Our snowshoe decks and suspension straps cutter is close enough to drive a forklift to at 0.25 miles away in Englewood. 


Our frames are powder-coated 5 miles away in Golden, Colorado.


Our foot plates on the Spin Bindings come 5 miles away in Littleton, Colorado.  


Most of our rivets and other hardware come from a local shop 8 miles away.


Our packaging comes from Aurora, Colorado. 

Why are Northern Lites Snowshoes the Lightest In The World?

The simple answer is that no other snowshoes offer the lightweight performance and durability that you will notice immediately with Northern Lites. Fancy features and artsy shapes do little when you are miles from your destination and your snowshoes feel like a torture device.

 

If you are new to the sport, do some research so as not to be disappointed. Use your favorite search engine and type in snowshoe reviews, or Northern Lites reviews. You will learn from folks who have used all the brands. You will quickly see our customers are more passionate, and snowshoeing on Northern Lites is a whole new sport!

How Can I Tell The Right From The Left With My Snowshoes?

Spin Bindings: The spin dial (the object you use to tighten the binding around your foot) is meant to go on the outside of your foot.

 

Tru Trak Bindings: The metal goes to the outside of your foot. So if the metal buckles are on the right side, that's the right snowshoe. If they are on the left side, that's the left snowshoe.

 

Speed Lace Bindings: It doesn't matter much with these bindings, but common practice is for the excess heel strap to turn back towards the inside of your foot. 

3. Paddleboards

When did Northern Lites get into paddleboarding?

We love the outdoors, and unfortunately snow goes away sometime in April where we are located in Colorado.

 

Many of our lakes and ponds don't allow motors, so we often fished from our stand up paddleboards.

 

After losing fishing rods, cell phones, beverages and more we invented the SUP Angler brand which specializes in the one-of-a-kind Universal Paddleboard Accessory Mount.

 

Shortly after, we noticed most dedicated fishing paddleboards were insanely expensive. So, we decided to come up with our own highly customizable SUP Angler Fishing Paddleboard.

Where are SUP Angler Mounting Kits made?

All of our Mounting Kits are made in our Englewood, Colorado shop. 

 

We try to keep our components as local as possible when we can for two reasons: we love supporting small businesses, and keeping manufacturing local helps cut carbon emissions used during transportation:

  • The main HDPE board that everything is fastened to is made in Boulder, Colorado. 
  • All hardware comes from a few different fastener manufactures located in Colorado. 
  • Packaging comes from Aurora, Colorado.  
  • We're trying to get injection molding to take place within Colorado but haven't found a match yet.

Where are SUP Angler Paddleboards made?

We tried our best to source them from the United States or Canada, but our goal was getting people out on the water without needing to take out a small loan.

 

We found that much like shoes and clothes, inflatable paddleboards are 99.9% made overseas, which is where ours is from in China.

 

Some components are from the United States, such as mounting kits sold with the paddleboards.