The Evo’s were able to withstand the ice, rocks, and steep terrain of this trail. MSR gives the following chart for determining flotation needs based on weight: I weigh approximately 150 lbs, and was probably carrying 10-20 lbs of additional gear in my pack.
Flotation:Īs I mentioned above, the trail we took was mostly packed snow with ice. I felt that I had much better traction, and was not slipping while in my microspikes. I ended up taking off the snowshoes while hiking down the mountain and put on my microspikes instead. My friend had a pair of the MSR Lightning Ascents which have a metal traction bars with teeth, and had no problem navigating through these icy sections. The horizontal traction bars on these shoes are made of plastic, and were not ideal for this situation. When hiking down the mountain, there were a few spots where there was hard, slick ice that caused my snowshoes to skate. The path on the bottom of the image that heads off to the left is the part where I slid.Ī steep area of Whiteface Mountain covered by ice and snow. However, on my third try, I really tried to slam and dig the crampon into the ice and made it up. Underneath the snow was a thick layer of ice that was very solid, and the pivot crampons on the front of the binding had trouble digging in. The first two attempts I made to climb up the ice failed, and I slid down. It probably would have made more sense to use microspikes or crampons during this small part of the trail, but I figured this would be a good test for these snowshoes. On our way up the mountain, there was a small, steep segment of ice that was covered in a couple inches of snow. However, there were a few times where traction became an issue. Overall, these snowshoes performed well on snowy and icy terrain. On the MSR Lightning Ascents, the heel bar moved smoothly, and was significantly easier to lower. Towards the end of the hike, I discovered that the bar went down easier with a quick, forceful snap, such as hitting it with the handle of a trekking pole. If I stopped and pressed very hard on the heel bar, it would not move. Although it was easy to grip the small pull tab to raise the bar, I struggled getting the bar back down. The bar works great, and is very useful, but I wasn’t happy with how difficult it seemed to get the bar to collapse after raising it. The Televator™ bar was one of my major complaints that I had about the design of these snowshoes. This is not a negative of these snowshoes, but rather a reminder to pay attention to which boot you are strapping into if you are moving quickly to minimize your breaks to reduce heat loss. This made it more difficult for me to get the straps to secure tightly, and one of my snowshoes ended up falling off because of this. On our way back down the mountain, we decided to quickly strap back into our snowshoes, and I had accidentally put the wrong snowshoe on the wrong foot. There is a right and a left snowshoe, which is something you will want to be aware of. Adjusting the binding straps with gloves on was very easy, and the strap locks worked well to secure hanging straps. The PosiLock™ AT Binding System worked well. For the most part, conditions were icy with packed snow. *It is worth noting that I did not use the flotation tails on this trip.
Last week we decided to test this claim by taking a pair with us on a hike up Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid, NY. Whiteface Mountain is the fifth-highest mountain in New York, and one of the High Peaks of the Adirondack Mountains – we couldn’t think of a better place to put theses snowshoes through the paces… quite literally! MSR’s Evo Ascent 22 snowshoes are marketed as an all-terrain snowshoe that work great on a variety of snow conditions.
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