Sure, you can spend your Winter and Spring Snowshoe excursions traversing well packed trails and gently rolling terrain. But there are times when the trail turns icy and vertical and you aren’t ready to turn back and head for home.
Your ambitious snowshoe itinerary might fall to pieces without durable, dependable gear like the MSR Lightning Ascent snowshoes. Ready to withstand the frequent use and abuse of backcountry adventure while providing plenty of support for tricky terrain, these are tough snowshoes for tough conditions.
Above and Beyond and Back Again…
If you want to stay on the trail and follow everyone else, then perhaps any old snowshoe would be good enough. However, if you want to kick up your heels and head for the peak, well my friend, that’s what the Lightning Ascent was designed to do. MSR Engineer’s outfitted the Lightning Ascent with the latest generation of proprietary winter travel technology to help you get from A to B without any icy obstacles holding you back.
Whether your snowshoe excursions ramp up at the first sign of snow, or in late winter and early spring when rocks can be as prevalent as deep snow packs, you need a snowshoe as durable as it is capable. That’s one of the reasons MSR’s engineers designed the Lightning Ascent with their 360° Traction™ frame.
Made from a single, vertical blade of aerospace-grade aluminum, the frame features aggressive teeth integrated into the frame for unsurpassed traction. Imagine snowshoeing on the toothy jaws of a Great White and you’ll understand the power of 360° Traction™. Add in steel crampons underfoot and you’ve got a shoe that not only grips well, but provides stability and confidence with every step up the mountain.
During our testing of the Lightning Ascent, every uphill climb was a fervent reminder of our favorite feature, MSR’s Ergo™ Televators. While our colleagues burned out their calves on steep inclines, these heel lifters engaged with a simple flick of the pole and kept legs fresh while also increasing traction. It doesn’t hurt that these snowshoes are the lightest in their class either. After all, when you’re done with your climb you want to celebrate, not worry about the condition of your Achilles.
Whether you prefer to snowshoe in winter boots, or going light and fast with waterproof hiking shoes, the bindings fit a variety of boots, open wide for easy access, and feature 3 easily adjustable silicon instep straps and a heel strap for a secure fit.
When deciding on a pair of snowshoes, you should always consider the region you’ll be putting them to use. That being said, the Lightning Ascent is ready for any terrain, in any territory. We put these snowshoes through the paces in the Sierra Mountains where we often suffer from Sierra Cement – a wetter, heavier snow. For those who live in powder havens like the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, you can pick up Lightning Flotation Tails to add buoyancy when walking in deep powder snow or carrying heavy loads. Without tails, the recommended load for a pair of Lightning Ascent 25’s is 120 – 210 lbs., with 5 in. tails that allowance bumps up to a recommended 120 – 270 lbs.
The Critique…
MSR’s Dual-component PosiLock™ AT bindings offer an incredibly secure and comfortable attachment. That being said, one critique our team had of the binding system is that at times the silicone straps will find their way free from the strap clips. As such, we’d love to see MSR offer a second set of strap clips so the user can further secure the lashes and prevent the excess length from bouncing around.
Secondly, when you walk into your local retailer and see these snowshoes listed at $269, you could easily quibble with the price. That being said, the old adage is true: you get what you pay for. In the Lightning Ascent you’ll be hard pressed to find snowshoes that offer better traction, performance and comfort. If your winter ambitions include tackling that mountain range you’ve been eyeing from your office window, you can’t go wrong with the Lightning Ascent.
Bottom Line…
The Lightning Ascent from MSR is a snowshoe with plenty of gumption to get you up the mountain and back again… and again… and again.
*Gumption Gear Review received the product sample featured in this review from Cascade Designs. The item featured was provided solely in exchange for testing the products and providing our honest views and opinions. We received no other form of compensation for this or any related review.