Snowshoes... your experiences?

[Tortuga]

I've got a fair amount of all of the snowshoes mentioned thus far. My schoolhouse still issues NATO's to the students and instructors have been using Denali's or Lightnings for a number of years. Here's some thoughts about them:
NATO's are awesome for heavyweights and afford much float. If you want to tune them up, cut off the tail after the last weld and bolt on some angle aluminum teeth on the bottom for crampons. The bindings can be a pain, but there are a couple of tricks, one of which is to have a loop of 550 cord on the toe strap that you feed the ankle strap into...locally it's called a mystery loop. It helps some with keeping the bindings tight and happy. I can take pics of some of the mods next week during a class. Another mod some have done is bolt on the bindings from broken denali's. Solid rig.

The Denali family of shoes are a lot of give and take. The older bindings and straps are prone to breakage, newer gen straps are MUCH better. They offer less float than NATO, even with the longer tails attached. They are noisy, but some don't mind. Another positive note, they pack well on a ruck for just in case occasions. Traction is also a high point.

The lightnings are a nice rig. Über traction, quiet, and a fair amount of float. I've used them with two different binding systems with great luck. They also pack well on a ruck.

If you commonly go through lots do deep powder, I'd stick with mod'ed NATOs or Atlas Trailbazer 36". If you can find a pair of wood framed bear paws or trappers, those would be good too.

[Jack-O]

I'm going out again tomorrow after a decent snow yesterday. the GI magnesiums seem to be working ok and I have the bindings figured out I guess as they have not been giving much grief.

I also found that snowshoes are going on sale now for end of season so I ordered a pair of the Ascent 30's at $100 discount. pretty excited to compare them side by side. Might have to do one shoe on one foot and the other on the other.

Tortuga,
I'd like to see some of the nato shoe mods. I think I get what your saying and think that would work great. Why cut the tail tho?

Oh, almost forgot... Heres a place where shoes are on discount right now... http://www.orssnowshoesdirect.com/

[Tortuga]

Tortuga,
I'd like to see some of the nato shoe mods. I think I get what your saying and think that would work great. Why cut the tail tho?
http://www.orssnowshoesdirect.com/

I'll take some picks of the various mods next weekend while we have a class going. The reason for cutting the tail is to make them a little more compact with no noticable loss in tracking and those leftover chunks of leftover magnesium are awesome to shave for firestarter! They seem to work much better than mag blocks. I don't know if it has to do with the long grain or what.

Yup, that's the one good thing about a mild winter...end of the season discounts. You may want to see if you can find a deal on the detachable tails. I find they help a lot when you're humping 50# of ruck around a mountain.

[Jack-O]

yeah they got the tails on sale too, but I was gonna hold off to see if I needed them. was looking at around 210-245# loaded weight.

Was kinda concerned that the tails on the 30's might throw the balance a bit forward?

[Tortuga]

Here's some pics I grabbed this past class:

**Note the "mystery loop". A 550 cord loop on the toe strap that you feed the ankle strap through. Holds the whole thing together better.**
Also note the aluminum crampons bolted to the bottom.


**Here's a set of bindings off of some broken MSR Denalis. Cuts down on the lateral movement and great crampon traction.**

[Jack-O]

wow, those are pretty slick. I would have put the crampons more to the outside of the shoe myself.

[M4Fundi]

I have the latest greatest MSR with heal lifter and all. My friends that are serious snow shoers tell me that there is no one perfect version, but you match the correct shoe to fit the snow and you plus load weight. I often wish I had some huge Tubb or Atlas tube style in soft pillowy deep snow, but I really use them to get into ice climbing areas and the MSR with the aggressive toothed frame and heel lifters are really ideal for my purposes. If I were going camping and pulling a sled and carrying a bigger pack (or kid as my friend does on his back) I would get the Atlas or Tubbs largest size I could.

[Tortuga]

wow, those are pretty slick. I would have put the crampons more to the outside of the shoe myself.

You're limited by the pivot points of the bindings.
I'm sure it's possible, but then you're adding more material which is weight and keeping away from KISS principles.

[faster200]

I have a set of first gen MSR Denali's (worked for REI and did product testing for several companies in a previous life). I prefer them for day trips and light over nights in all conditions except super deep powder. The extensions you can add are ok, and I have never had them fail, but just never warmed up to them. I prefer the bindings on the MSR's over the Tubbs or Redfeather but like others have said, it is personal. Never had them come loose or fail.

I am digging those GI snowshoes. Might have to find a pair to play around with.

[Jack-O]

well, as the sales were happening and I found the super shoes I was looking for I purchased the MSR Lightning Ascent 30's and the 5" extention tails to meet my load requirements and then some. got the shoes on sale for $100 off retail a month ago. Yaaay!

FINALLY got some decent snow today. about 6-8" in the valley so I headed for the hills in search of some virgin snow exceeding 2' deep. found a nice patch and strapped on the new shoes and headed up the hill. first thing I noticed is that it felt like I was spiderman with those things. the crampon design really gripped well. the bindings are easy enough to use with gloves and held firmly allowing great yawing of the shoe to make corners and turns. went up thru a patch of snow then down and switched shoes to the .mil's. I thne went up the same hill in a different track in the same snow to see how they compared.

result. New spidey shoes held like glue and were easier to maneuver and felt more secure in up and down hill. I felt that the .mil's had slightly better floatation as the bearing surface is all under the foot. however in deep snow the .mil shoe sunk to almost the same depth and in heavy wet snow they MSR's were easier to pull back out and shed snow.

so on flat ground the .mil doesnt give up anything to the MSR shoe. the indian design is still sound and works great. The MSR shoe really grips well tho and as far as floatation goes, compared side by side it has almost the same with the tails as the .mil shoe. for hilly territory and areas where maneuvering and grip is a primary concern the MSR wins hands down.

SO... Bang for the buck category. I paid $250 for the MSR shoes and $39 for the .mil shoes. IF one were to bolt some cramp-on teeth to the .mil shoe it might side hill better. I dont feel that a person who just wants to go romp around a field or flat ground would see any advantage to the MSR shoe over the .mil shoe, so I'm gonna give it to the .mil here. it's a great design and THE shoe to beat.

I dont feel like I lost out on the MSR at all tho. I did gain awesome traction and the ability to maneuver and the bindings are very secure and maybe even a bit of overkill. if you broke one of the straps you wouldnt even notice it as long as the three left are moved to the optimum positions. You would actually have to break at least THREE straps per pair before it got to be noticeable, but you could still limp back just fine. It's a great shoe but I recommend getting the 30" regardless of what weight you are, and the 5" tails will be a benefit for you if you go in any powder.