Recommendations?

GV's
When I use them, (only a handful of times per year), I need good crampons, easy-on/off. No additional maintenance. When I hit my spot, I take them off and sit on them.
I have plenty of wooden shoes, and I leave them on the wall for decoration.

What are the conditions you will be useing them in and Mainly what are the snow conditions......There is nothing like the old designs for most cross country travel.....For hilly and mountain shoeing the new designs are the way to go ..... The bigger the shoe the greater the floatation.......

Atlas Snowshoes...

Cabelas Alaskan Guide

These are the ones I use, I like them alot.

snow shoes for what condition? Just as there are no regular shoes that perform well in all situations, there are no snow shoes that perform equally well in all situations.

I was considering getting some snowshoes but got som short broad skiis instead. Figured that the skiis are easier to move long distases with, and that the broad short ones gives me the manuvrebility in the forest and in deep snow I need. I really like them, annd have used them for winterhunting in deep snow several times.

I have some pullover boots that I use on the outside of the skiingshoes when I take them off.

But skiis might not fit your purpose, and if you can get skiis like this in the states, I have no idea. I have a some touring skiis that I use the same shoes for. very convinent.



Johan

quote:

For hilly and mountain shoeing the new designs are the way to go ..... The bigger the shoe the greater the floatation.......

Thanks to all for the input. The conditions above would describe the conditions I would encounter. Snow condition varies greatly in Colorado. And snow conditions can vary within a few feet. You can be walking on top of the snow where the sun has hit it and it refroze and then a few feet further on hit snow that's been in the shade and is still powdery. I've found myself suddenly almost armpit deep on more than one occasion.

I was thinking about the MSR Lightning Ascents because they have the heel bails for ascent. You can also put on flotation paddles on them. But they are expensive for the number of times per year that I'd use them!

Maybe I'll find a less expensive alternative or maybe a set of used shoes.

Who has used the military surplus type? They are like a traditional beaver tail but made out of aluminum and aircraft cable. They are definately bombproof, I don't have experience with them however.

the chef

The old beaver tail model is not so great for rough terrain, plus they put my legs an unnatural distance apart.

I like the MSR best because you can go up very steep stuff:

For the money I have found the surplus U.S. Military snowshoe's that are made of magnesium frames and coated wire rope webbing to be the best, they are rugged, lightweight and tough to beat the prices. I have used all kinds and find the military ones are actually something our government got right.

I use Sherpa Big Foot shoes. They are not cheap, but IMHO they are the very best for all winter use. I have been using the same pair since 1991.

quote:

Sherpa snowshoes are the snowshoe choice of professionals. The frames are lightweight gold anodized aircraft aluminum that never splits or cracks. The tear resistant lacing and neoprene cloth stay flexible to -80oF

I heard they have been bought out by another company though, that does not have as good a rep for customer service. Apparently another company named Arctic Trekker has started making shoes based on the same basic design with as good or better quality.

My GF and a few buddies all use the MSR plastic shoes. They all love them and they do work surprisingly well.




Cheers,
Canuck

The price is right on the old style US military magnesium shoes, but they wouldn't be suitable for my application. The long tails make turning more difficult and these aren't good for steep terrain.

Military Magneseum Snowshoes

I almost bought some MSR Lightning Ascents from REI for under $200, but REI doesn't currently have the 25" mens' in stock.

To order them directly from MSR the price is $260.

With the ability to add flotation tails, they seem to be pretty good "all around" shoes.

But kind of pricey for as much as I'll probably use them!

Here's a video on the MSR Lighning Ascent.

I see in internet this cheap snow shoes today.
What do you thing about this (u$ 70)
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/cb/cb.asp?a=313143
Regards.
Hector

My wife and I used the MSR as pictured in 500 Grains post last week in Idaho.

They have great traction in icy packed snow. In the soft stuff we did sink down several inches but we were able to walk forward without too much trouble.

In deep powder, the longer ones would be better.

That is where the MSR snowshoes come in, because they have a tail extension that can be added when fresh powder arrives.

I like the Sherpas as well. Have had mine for years. Climbed in the mountains, walked in the flats and woods pulling a sled with gear. Great for snow machine back up too.

I use MSR, but there are several really good ones out there. Most of the newer synthetics are very easy to use as compared to the older, but very useful wood shoes. If you are new to shoeing, the learning curve will be significantly reduced by using the newer styles. As 500 mentioned, the extensions are a nice way to increase float.

I'm a Boundary waters area packer, so I don't deal with elevation some of you do, but there is plenty of ice, uneven/unbroken trail and variable snow conditions and I have yet to have a problem with the MSR shoes.

Checkout backpacker magazine's editor's choice awards. They usually have really good insight and suggestions.