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"not without flaws in earlier version" - Review of MSR Lightning Ascent

Rating for this product: 3 By jhbeckman (5) on January 2, 2008
I bought my Lightning Ascents a bit over a year ago. At that time, the binding used two straps over the top of your boot; they have upgraded it (as you can see) this year to three straps over the top of the boot. And that may solve what I found to be the key problem: my boot drifted in the binding. Overall, I agree with the other reviewers about its traction, light weight, the value of the ascent bar, and its generally strong performance. But the foot drift was an annoying problem. I think MSR probably changed the binding in response to the problem I and others encountered. I have used the same three-strap binding on other MSRs (the Denali Ascent), and it has been very satisfactory. So, while I would rate my two-strap Lightning Ascents at three stars, my guess is that the three-strap model would deserve four or five stars.
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