As roads and other transport links improved with the great technological advances of the industrial revolution, the use of snowshoes waned. However, a huge upsurge in their popularity occurred in the late 1800s when several local hiking clubs were formed across North America. Clubs organized 
races and long-distance hikes and the most serious competitors even jumped hurdles. This became a very competitive sport, particularly in French Canada, with a fierce rivalry developing between Native American and European competitors. Popularity of the sport decreased in the early 20th century, however, an upsurge occurred in the 1950s when new materials were introduced including webbing from steel cable, coated with nylon. The introduction of aluminum snowshoes occurred around the same time as many other materials such as Lexan, the trade name for polycarbonate. Traditional wooden snowshoe makers experimented with man-made materials such as substituting rawhide for the manufacturing of lacings with nylon coated neoprene. The big attraction of the modern showshoe in the 1950s was the lack of maintenance required. Wooden snowshoes were subjected to shrinking and swelling, depending on the weather conditions.
The raw materials used in the manufacturing process have changed greatly over the years. Traditional wooden shoes were made with hard woods such as ash. The webbing was typically made from the hide of moose, deer or caribou. During the late 19th and early 20th century, manufacturers switched to cowhide due to its prevalence and relative affordability. Some snowshoe-makers imported buffalo hide for extra strong webbing. Even after new materials grew popular, many manufacturers continued to use wooden frames but switched to neoprene for the webbing.