My best friend has some difficulty walking, but she really wanted to go out on the beach yesterday. As we struggled across fifty yards of dry sand, I wondered, why has no one devised beach-spoons to make the sand less difficult?
What I am picturing would resemble smooth plastic snowshoes 18~24" long by, say, 10" wide, to help distribute the weight of the walking person more broadly "so they are not sinking into soft sand every step).
Is there a practical reason that this kind of thing does not exist?
Yea, even in snow, the snow has to be pretty deep to make walking around with snowshoes less trouble then they’re worth. In sand I think they’d add more difficulty in having to lift the extra weight on each foot then they’d save you in extra stability.
When I walked in snowshoes (just the once), I tripped all the time. I was constantly catching the front edge of the shoe on snow or other obstacles. I’m sure that people get better with practice, but I sure wouldn’t consider it worthwhile. Frankly, I’d just as soon walk without them, or bring a shovel so I can create my own path as I go.
Besides, the pleasure of walking barefoot on the sand is one of the primary reasons I go to the beach at all. Take away that and I’d be happier at a swimming pool.
Once you get across the dry sand, there’s wet sand and it’s easier to walk.
People that can’t get across that go to a different beach, or go to the water park or something.
…so it’s sort of a niche product.
But try snowshoes, see what you think. Or you could pull someone in a sled if they were ok with it.
Weird - I walk the beach/dunes several times a week - and snowshoe in winter. I’m unsure exactly what the problem with sand is - or how any “solution” would be an improvement.
Sure, walking in dry sand is a bit of an effort. If I’m walking a distance in it, I simply wear my hiking boots and socks. No problem.
Unsure how these “spoons” would work well. How are they affixed to your feet? If straps, how do you keep the sand from getting between the straps and your bare skin? I also imagine you’d need a careful gait to avoid flipping sand everywhere - or getting it between the sole of your foot and the spoon.
While snowshoes are somewhat awkward to walk in, they offer a significant advantage over sinking two or three feet down into the snow. It’s questionable if a similar product would provide much advantage over sinking two or three inches down into the sand.
Add in the nature of sand to find its way into everything as mentioned above, which is not a problem with snow when one is wearing proper footwear, and the “sandshoes” end up causing more problems than they solve.
I doubt a sled would be feasible. Smooth surfaces like sleds, skis, and sleigh runners glide over snow pretty well, but would be subject to noticeably more friction on sand.
