MSR Lightning Trail Snowshoes Review 2017/01/18
Hiking through crisp glistening powder, forging your own path through
the unbroken blanket of white ahead. A never ending delight when
walking in full on winter conditions. For me it’s a happy mix of
nerves and sheer delight. The former produced by the knowledge of
never exactly knowing what is lying beneath your feat! I was making
use of the excellent MSR Lightning Trail Snowshoes. Read our full
review.
Introduction
When you are on solo trips its more important than ever to have reliable
kit. The MSR Lightning Trail Snowshoes proved to be a trusty
companion out on expedition. You become rather attached to your
snowshoes on trips like these as you simply spend so much time in them
and the MSR Lightning Trail Snowshoes proved to be more than adequate on
rolling and semi steep rocky terrain.
Design
The MSR Lightning Trail Snowshoes are well put together with strong
bindings and clasps with solid connections between frame and pivot
points. When the powder begins it's easy to put your boots in the
bindings. On each snowshoe there is a section that is clearly labelled
to indicate where your boots go. More importantly where the ball of your
foot should be placed. If you mess this up the snowshoe feels
disconnected from you and affects the way you walk and feel the terrain
especially on steeper ground however its very easy with the MSR
Lightning Trail Snowshoes to get your feet in the right position. The
instructions are on the snowshoes themselves guide you into the correct
placement each time.
Putting them On
Immediately under the ball of the foot is a double toothed crampon
attachment that protrudes just enough from the base of the snowshoe to
allow you to gain much needed traction when moving upwards on steep
ground but shallow enough to not get in the way on completely flat
terrain. This works so well on the varying environments I use them on
such as rolling terrain and easy steep ground with a rocky component.
Finding the perfect Snowshoe
It is worth mentioning that MSR do indeed make other snowshoes that are
intended for different environments. I will state that the MSR Lightning
Trails are most suited to rolling terrain. I did find sections of steep
ground where a simple adjustment of technique and the MSR Lightning
Trail worked just fine. If your trip is nothing but steep or more
challenging terrain, then consult the MSR website to find the most
appropriate model.
Use
The bindings on the MSR Lightning Trail Snowshoes use a three way buckle
design which completely secures the boot in place. The buckles and
straps seem very strong and do not come loose even during extended
periods of use. They are also very easy to adjust and to secure your
boot. The frame which surrounds the entire shoe also acts as a grip to
give the user more traction. It stands up well to scrapes and knocks. My
pair did receive some bumps and sometimes the sound of metal over
stone was painful to hear but not so much of an issue for the Lightning
Trail which seemed to take it all in its stride.
Conclusion
One issue with these snowshoes is that when you are traveling with them
they have to go outside of your pack. Consequently this can be a little
daunting as they look pretty intense to the un aware passer by so
perhaps be ready to cover them with some material for going through
transports hubs. At 1.5kg per pair they just an extra weight you have to
contend with. There is an option to adjust the floatation of the tail.
This is something I didn’t really mess around with but the choice is
there if you need it, it lets you play
with the manoeuvrability of the snowshoe. I am a size 13 (EU
Size 48) and so the MSR Lightning Trail model I went for was size 25.
Highly Recommended
