You will love these

By John Ranked #506 - Backcountry Snowboarding April 8, 2010

I bought these new last fall and then put 330 miles on them over this past winter in NH.

Reasons why I loved my shoes:

1) Durability - Traction rails and straps held up all winter, as well as the plastic framing. They are scuffed up and I saw a little bit of rust on the rails, but overall great wear. The small strap tabs used to hold the extra strapping in place are breakable. The ultimate verdict is that I will be using these for a 2nd season and I am placing odds they can last another 300 miles or so.

2)Traction - The most illuminating moment the whole winter was when I passed a group of 10(all in crampons) up a very steep trail on Mt. Osceola. I summitted, broke trail through 2' drifts another 1.4 miles to another peak, doubled back, and found the same group still ascending the original steep section! With the heel riser bars and superior traction and flotation you do not need to switch foot gear as often...

Minor flaws IMO are - Heel riser bars almost unusable if ascending on a "sidehill" type trail. Because your ankles will be tilted with big toe higher than pinkie, it really wears out your ankle on that bar.

Another small flaw is that the rubber straps loosen up with friction(heat) and on downhills this means your boot might get caught in the front of the snowshoe, which tripped me up quite a bit. Over long hikes you typically have to restrap your boots once.

View Details: MSR Denali Ascent Snowshoe

Helpful Votes: 0 Yes