Yet another snowshoe question

@ Boyan. I have no experience with Alaskan snow.  For the California Sierra Nevada snow which is coming each year in less and less quantity,  I only need tails for my MSRs when there is a 3 or 4 or 5 of feet of fresh power.  You say you never sink below your calves so sounds like you have enough flotation with your current snow shoe. Just look for equivalent flotation (surface area) in the replacement.

I cannot speak to the MSR Lightnings with metal frames. Lot of folks swear by them. (Did you see the recent thread here at BPL about snow shoes?

I do like my MSR Evo Ascents and have found the crampons work great for the situations you describe. In fact if you want to side step down into stream beds, I would argue you need a smaller shoes with good crampons. The Evo Ascents although plastic, take a lot of abuse.w

MSR’s newer crampons have moved away from the three straps on the Evo Ascents for “ease of use.”  I have found the three straps work just fine for everything from plastic mountaineering boots, to Sorels Pac boots, to TNF Liftie boots, to soft mesh hiking boots. And then the straps or buckles break, MSR sells replacements.

All the REIs in the San Francisco Bay are renting snow shoes.  March is right around the corner. I suggest you rent the Ascent Evos and Lightnings and decide what you like. Come March 15, Cascade Designs/MSR will have all their snow shoes on sale for 40% off and you can buy want you like. PS the ascent lifters MSR has on their snow shoes are AFAIK not for technical climbing with plastic boots. They are for when you are in the mood to walk straight upslope through deep powder.

Northern Lites Backcountry snow shoe? I have a pair.. Simple to put on and off, fits any boot size. Has never frozen up on me. Very lightweight. Only downside, they are not Overly extremely aggressive crampons. I just picked up a pair of MSR Lightning Ascents for when I need those aggressive crampons, but man they are heavy compared to my Northern Lites.

A little off topic–Dirtbag, where did you find MSR Lightning Ascents?  I have not been able to find any.

@Bruce – thank you for the detailed response.  Alas the Evo Ascents are only 22 inches, well outside my fully loaded weight envelope of 230-240 lbs.  Extrapolating from the Lightning specs, when I add tails to bring them to 28 inches I should be more or less OK, which may be good enough.  Would prefer to buy 25 inch shoes with 5 inch tails but there is nothing with the 3-strap bindings that MSR offers.  My local REI only has the Ascents for rent, so I can’t fully test whether the paragon binding will accommodate my Baffins.  Don’t think there will be any meaningful end of season sales this year, most MSR, Tubbs, and Atlas snowshoes are OOS everywhere.

@Dirtbag, took a look at the Northern Lites.  No televator, minimal traction, and a webbing strap that looks to be prone to freezing when wet.  Will pass for the moment

@Stephen, REI has the Lightning Ascent 22″ in stock.  OpticsPlanet has both the 22 and 25″ in stock.  Campsaver allows you to place a preorder, but when I have done this in the past they just cancel it after a month or so.

I searched multiple times a day every day.. again and again.. just kept obsessing over it.. Enwild.com. I checked every site i knew of. Every web search and just kept looking back every day.. I wanted Cobalt Blue Lightning Ascent 30. No one had them.. finally, Weird… after 8 or 9 days and many hours I checked back on Enwild.com and it said they had in Stock. So i ordered them. 3 days later I had them at my door. Someone else asked about them and for shits n giggles I checked back on the site and Sold out. I did see 1 or 2 sites that had 30 in black.. but who knows now? I think Campsaver.com had limited in stock last week..

Fyi.. i just checked my REI site. They have limited inventory of 30 inch black lightning Ascent. …

If possible, can someone who owns a Lightning Ascent with the new Paragon binding do a quick test whether a snowboard type boot (or anything else bulky like that) will fit i the front honeycomb mesh?  MSR sells long straps for the heel but I am worried that the toe box will not even fit in.

Edit: MSR has 30″ cobalt blue in stock (men’s version), just ordered a pair so I can test the bindings with my boots.

Lucky you!! The 30 cobalt blue is what I just picked up 2 weeks ago. They are nice!!! I use a size 11 Salmon Tundra boot and there is plenty of room.. not sure about the boot you mentioned though.. but obviously, soon enough you will see. Good luck hopefully it works for you!

The Salomon Toundra is pretty compact in comparison to the Baffins. The Toundra used to be my main colder weather boot until the seams fell apart on me during a late fall backpacking trip in the Yukon.  After I filed my original report with pics numerous other people have highlighted this as a serious issue for these boots.  I have switched to the Oboz Bridger 10 inch as a result, but took out their original insoles and replaced them with felt ones to improve to bottom insulation

https://www.salomon.com/en-us/shop/product/toundra-pro-climasalomon-waterproof-ld8639.html

I believe, like sleeping bags, you need more than one arrow in your quiver if you’re doing serious miles in snow shoes.

In deep powder, you need surface area.  It will still suck and take lots of work to make progress, but you want as much floatation as you can get.  Getting weight off your body and on to a 2-pound Expedition sled 

may help by shifting weight off your already over-loaded snowshoes.

In denser snow, smaller snowshoes are much easier to use.  But also test it without any snowshoes.  There are definitely times that everyone else is in snowshoes, but only going in an inch, and I find it easier to just use my boots and sink in 3 inches in exchange for so much less weight and bulk on my feet.

+1 on the sled, but I don’t think homeboy is carrying a 60+ lb Ansel Adams large format camera on his treks for photos. LOL

I would personally look for one of the older pairs of Lightning Ascents with the non-webbing strap. I used mine with snowboarding boots and they seemed like they had plenty of boot space. The snowshoe tail extensions for them a little weird, but they work.

Ultimately, in deep snow, usually nothing beats skis.  Maybe look into a pair of Black Diamond Glidelite 147 skis or larger dedicated backcountry skis. You get better float from larger surface area and they glide into each step a bit better, even in the deep stuff. They only suck to snowshoes when things get too steep or tight in the trees. The Glidelite skis I have been using all winter this year have MASSIVE straps that can take just about any boat-anchor of a boot.

The sled pulk idea is fantastic.. except you are NOT climbing mountains with that.. definitely not here in Northern New York..

Ansel Adams I am not, nor is it likely that I can make a living with photography :-)  The backpack is on the order of 25 lbs worst case, closer to 15 lbs most of the time.

The Lightning Ascents arrived today. The toe box of the Baffin Snow Monsters will fit in the red honeycomb mesh with room to spare but I need to swap out the heel straps for longer ones.

Overall impressive but man does that red honeycomb mesh look flimsy, and the decking feels like it is ready to get punctured. Given how well regarded these are I assume it is not a problem. Now I have to decide whether to keep the 30s or replace them with 25s with 5 inch tails which feels like a more versatile kit.

“Now I have to decide whether to keep the 30s or replace them with 25s with 5 inch tails which feels like a more versatile kit.”

That’s a tough call. Probably depends on how often you are in deep snow vs. crusty or thin snow. I personally always regretted going smaller with snowshoes. I weigh a bit less than you and find even size 30 snowshoes to sink pretty far in deep soft snow. If the snow is super hard and crusty, then maybe just slap on some crampons instead? If I was your weight in the Olympic Mountains in WA where I live, I would be using 30 sized snowshoes WITH extensions in deeper snow, and then just crampons or microspikes if the snow is rock solid and iced over.