Plywood Snow Shoes

A couple of winters ago we had an abnormal amount of snow here in Massachusetts. I needed snow shoes in a hurry to get to the back yard of my wife's mother's house to clear the snow from the flat roof on the back of the house that was leaking from ice dams. Couldn't find any snow shoes in stores so I checked the internet for homemade ideas. The quickest and simplest were made from plywood. I found sites that recommended sizes based on body weight. The trickiest part were the bindings but I found plans for making bindings that you could put on and take off without having to take off my gloves to tie them. They did work but were kind of rudimentary. I volunteered to make a pair for my niece who recently bought a cabin up in snow country. From additional reading I know that my design needs improvement, e.g. holes in front of the toes to allow the foot to pivot, maybe cleats on the bottom for better traction, additional holes in the plywood to decrease the weight. I've seen designs that use pvc pipe, etc. But, I would like to stick with the plywood. There are lots or articles on the subject but they each have their own perspective. I'm hoping that there is info that gives the basics such as best size and shape, best position for the foot, etc. Anybody have any thoughts on this?