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With their Mountain Series of snowshoes, Kahtoola has come up with a two-part snowshoe system to cover a wide range of backcountry winter use. Incorporating a stand-alone trail crampon that works along with the snowshoe itself, the Mountain 28 eliminates the need to carry a separate traction device for conditions that call for grip, not float. I put it to the test over a two-week period to see how it performs for winter hiking.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Introduction
- Specifications
- Design and Features
- Performance & Assessment
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Companion forum thread to:
Kahtoola MTN 28 Snowshoe Review
You said, "The snowshoes I wore were conventional shoes with a crampon only under the ball of my foot. While traversing, the back of one shoe slid out and I tore my meniscus…" It appears that the snowshoe part is the only part with teeth under the heel of the boot, so that when using the boot crampon without the snowshoe part, you end up with "a crampon only under the ball of my foot." Does this pose the danger of having the back of a boot slide out while traversing, and tearing a miniscus?
Is the listed 35.8 oz for the pair or for one shoe? If it is for the pair that's lighter than a Northern Lites Elite, and only a couple or three oz heavier than the Racer. The Yowie's tend to be a hair heavier, too. Am I missing even lighter models?
Robert, you are correct. The crampon portion just has the teeth at the front of the foot. But you are not as likely to slide out with just your boots as you would with a long snowshoe.
Dean, it is the measured weight each. (deck and crampon) So total is 4.4 lb
Atlas has attatched toothed aluminum strips along the parallel sides of a tubular aluminum framed snowshoe and dubbed it the "Aspect".
The result is MSR Lightning-style lateral traction edges. As they say, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." and in this case Atlas must have seen how well the Lightning Ascent 'shoes sold because they also added a snap-up heel lift ala Lightning Ascent 'shoes. And THEN they painted them orange, just like the Ascents!
I'll stick with my grippy Lightning Ascent 'shoes for now, especially after sliding over 50 ft. down a steep hill in 2009 and injuring my shoulder against a tree while using my older Atlas 'shoes.
P.S. I really like the removable binding/crampon of the MTN 28 'shoe. Great for early summer snowfield crossings. Grippier and likely no heavier than a pair of Microspikes.
Thanks for the review Ray. I've been interested in these and appreciate your evaluation.
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