Costco Snowshoes any good?

[Yes 1000]

I saw Costco is carrying some snowshoes set complete with poles. Any idea if they are any good?

[drowning in spam]

yukoncharlies.com

[John West]

I bought what looks to be the same snowshoes/poles from there last year. Not a bad deal if you ask me. I don't do a ton of snowshoeing, but they worked fine for what I needed them for, and not too heavy either.
My only concern would be durability, but they held up last season on a trip with me + a 30lb pack.

[Yes 1000]

Is Yukon Charlie a good brand? I'm thinking should I buy it or not. Early this summer I got a pair of Carbon trekking poles from Costco and now one of the pole is defective.

[Brian Austin]

I believe they are the same thing my brother bought 2 years ago(not positive). If they haven't changed their product, its just a super simple standard (SMALL) snow shoe. Don't expect much flotation on super soft stuff, their crampon is a joke, so don't expect to climb all that steep slopes in semi icy conditions either and the poles both broke after a whopping 30minutes of usage as their baskets both fell off and stripped out. Somehow I would have to think that they fixed said poles by now… Of course this is Costco…

For beginners they are fine. Won't ruin your day. Don't need the poles, but can be handy sometimes for crossing creeks.

[Yes 1000]

I think I will stay away from them and buy some other brand.

[W I S N E R !]

I'm guessing you don't snowshoe much (yet) if you're asking about these…
I have a cheap pair of Yukon Charlies I bought off the forums here for $20. They work for me. I'm certainly glad I didn't spend $100 or more on a fancier pair because I don't go that often…and when I do, mine work well enough.

While having "MSR Lightning Ascent EVOs" makes me sound like a pretty badAss adventurer, I'll wait until the day I actually do a lot of serious snowshoeing to buy serious snowshoes. $200 is a lot of money for a garage wall decoration.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

I bought this package for my son-in-law about 3 years ago and they are holding up well.

The quality of the poles was my main concern but so far they are fine.

[Brian Austin]

I think I was a bit harsh in their criticism. They are a standard introductory snowshoe, but their poles that come with it are junk in all aspects. I wore out my old 30" tubs I bought for $40 and upgraded to MSR lightning as I enjoy snowshoeing a lot. I typically walk in cascades "concrete" snow, so don't need much flotation, but the several times I went east to much drier snow with my new smaller snowshoes, I really missed my 30" Tubbs for flotation and have subsequently made tails that clip on instead of paying an unseemly amount for a simply tail from MSR.

I would certainly NOT pay over $100 for any snowshoe. 1) you have no idea if you will like it, and 2) you can always generally find/buy 2nd hand perfect mint shape TOp of the Line Snowshoes for 1/2 or less price.

[Yes 1000]

Brian, thanks.

I think I will stay clear of Costco snowshoes and wait for some deals to show up on quality gear.

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