The MSR Evo Ascent is a bomber snowshoe that excels in mountainous terrain each on path and off. Its unibody plastic decking makes it extraordinarily rugged with aggressive crampons for buy on snow, ice, and rock. It has a snowshoe binding that’s appropriate with any type of footwear and folds flat when strapped to the perimeters of a backpack, making them very straightforward to hold in case your pack has aspect compression straps. A rear heel bar can be included to cut back calf fatigue when climbing hills, whereas elective 6″ tails will be added to the rear in case you want extra flotation for heavier hundreds or snowshoeing in deeper powder.
Specs at a look
- Gender: Unisex
- Weight: 3 lbs 15 oz per pair
- Size: 22″
- Sizing: Suits boots as much as measurement 15 (US) Males’s
- Decking: Plastic unibody
- Binding: MSR TriFit
- Heel Bars: Sure
I’ve been utilizing MSR Evo Ascent Snowshoes for climbing mountains in winter, each on path and off, for nicely over 10 years. Whereas I’ve additionally used most of MSR’s different snowshoes, together with the top-of-the-line MSR Lightning Ascent, I choose the Evo Ascent as a result of it’s so sturdy, packable, and an incredible climber, notably in situations the place traction is extra vital than flotation, comparable to these in New Hampshire and Maine. Whereas it snows right here, the mountain maritime local weather produces wetter, crustier snow and ice and far much less powder than the drier situations out west. Whereas the Evo Ascents are solely out there in a 22″ size, they nonetheless work fairly nicely for big people and heavier hundreds as much as 225-250lbs in such situations, regardless of MSR’s weight suggestions that are extra tuned to West Coast situations.
Evo Ascent TriFit Binding
The Evo Ascent makes use of MSR’s traditional TriFit binding with three high straps and one heel strap to carry your footwear in place. The straps are perforated and held in place by a pin at one finish whereas the slack is held in place by plastic clips that stop the ends from flapping annoyingly or coming undone. The benefit of this fashion of binding is that’s it appropriate with all forms of footwear, sizes as much as 15M (US) and you may fine-tune the match if components of your foot are delicate to downward strain.
The newest Evo Ascent mannequin has been barely overhauled to make the TriFit binding simpler to make use of and guarantee right foot positioning. The TriFit binding now comes with softer, extra malleable straps which have extra stretch and pop open much less ceaselessly than in earlier fashions. That may be a very welcome change and it could be price upgrading an older pair of Evo Ascents to reap the benefits of it. The brand new foot plate on the backside of the binding additionally signifies the place the ball of your foot must be positioned once you placed on the snowshoes in order that your boots are usually not too ahead or too far again. It is a very helpful function, notably for brand spanking new customers.
One of many key benefits of the TriFit binding is that it folds flat when the Evo Ascent snowshoes are strapped to the surface of a backpack making them a lot simpler to hold. Strive that with a snowshoe with a cumbersome Boa binding just like the Tubbs Flex VRT and also you’ll shortly see the benefit of a decrease profile binding if you have to carry snowshoes on a long-ass hike since you don’t know what snow situations will likely be like en path to your vacation spot.
Traction
The Evo Ascent has two forms of traction: an aggressive entrance crampon that penetrates packed snow and ice and lengthy aspect rails that present lateral stability when transmitting sideways throughout slopes. A rear heel bar, or “televator” will also be raised so it rests underneath your heel to alleviate calf pressure. Doing so helps enhance the chunk of the entrance crampon when climbing slopes by transferring extra of your physique weight ahead. The result’s much more snug when climbing steep slopes than snowshoes that should not have this function and are supposed to be used in flatter terrain.
Braking fins are additionally molded to the underside of the decking that dig into the snow and assist stop sliding or fishtailing when descending slippery slopes. In very icy situations the place the body brakes can’t chunk into the floor, it’s finest to lean ahead on the entrance crampon to get a deeper chunk or to angle the snowshoes throughout the slope in order that the serrated aspect rails can present extra traction.
Decking
The Evo Ascent snowshoes have plastic unibody decking that’s fairly stiff and sturdy with built-in fins that act like brakes when descending slopes. The unibody decking is available in very helpful when mountain climbing off-trail as a result of there isn’t a method for a tree department to get caught between the decking and body, which will be a problem within the MSR Lightning Ascent and related snowshoes in case you attempt to hike off-trail utilizing them. Being inflexible, the unibody decking can be nice for rock-hopping throughout streams or throughout combined rock and ice as a result of the snowshoe deck gained’t buckle beneath you when it has to span open area.
Comparable Winter Mountain climbing Snowshoes
Suggestion
MSR’s Evo Ascent Snowshoes are rugged snowshoes that excel in difficult winter situations and mountainous terrain, each on path and off. Totally featured they’ve aggressive crampons, heel bars for climbing, and a extremely sturdy unibody decking that may face up to large abuse and carry on ticking. Now simpler to make use of than ever, they’re an excellent funding that can present years of use with little upkeep. Maybe better of all is their value, which is considerably lower than most different mountaineering-class snowshoes with out skimping on options, ease of use, or sturdiness.
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Disclosure: The writer owns these snowshoes.
