Hiking

10 Best Snowshoes for Winter Hiking in 2023

January 13, 2023

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For winter snowshoeing on climbing trails and within the backcountry, you need a winter climbing snowshoe that’s sturdy, with aggressive crampons for traction and a safe binding system that locks your boots to the snowshoes. If you’re taken with getting off the grid and snowshoeing by backcountry terrain, these are the ten finest snowshoes we suggest. For extra data, see our purchasing recommendation beneath.

1. MSR Lightning Ascent Snowshoes

The MSR Lightning Ascents revolutionized snowshoeing once they had been first launched and MSR has continued to refine them since. They function a singular 360 diploma toothed crampon that’s constructed into the body for traction whenever you’re strolling uphill, downhill, or side-hilling throughout a slope. A flip-up heel bar makes it simpler to climb hills, whereas the four-strap binding lays flat, and makes them straightforward to pack or strap to a backpack. A ladies’s mannequin is offered. Read the SectionHiker Review.

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REI | MSR

2. Atlas Helium MTN Snowshoes

The Atlas Helium MTN is a light-weight, tear-drop-shaped snowshoe that has a wrap-around binding, aggressive traction, and a heel bar that makes it simpler to climb hills. A Boa binding locks the entrance of your winter boots in place and whereas a rear strap retains them correctly positioned. A spring-loaded suspension system lets your foot rotate naturally with slope adjustments for max effectivity. An aggressive toe crampon and twin side-traction rails present wonderful traction on snow and ice. But the perfect function of those snowshoes is the burden, which is surprisingly low for such a full-featured snowshoe.

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REI

3. Tubbs Flex ALP Snowshoes

The Tubbs Flex ALP has a simplified binding that’s straightforward to make use of, snug, and appropriate with all types of shoes. The Flex Alp has carbon metal toe crampons that maximize traction whereas lengthy, toothed aspect rails (much like the MSR Evo Ascent and Atlas Serrate) present enhanced grip on arduous snow and icy situations. The plastic decking supplies good flotation and has some flex to it which helps with steadiness when climbing throughout blended surfaces and side-hilling. A heel bar is included. A ladies’s Flex ALP can also be obtainable.

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Backcountry| Amazon

4. TSL Symbioz Elite Snowshoes

The TSL Symbioz Elite is a favourite with mountain hikers as a result of it has a versatile plastic footbed that adapts to diversified terrain and a snug ratchet-style binding that remembers your boot dimension for simple on and off. They have a big horizontal entrance crampon, good for digging into slopes, with eight very aggressive stainless-steel cleats, diagonally oriented down the perimeters to forestall aspect slipping. This snowshoe is finest for climbing steep and icy terrain. A heel bar is included. Unisex. Read our Symbioz Elite Review.

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REI | Backcountry | Amazon

5. MSR Evo Ascent Snowshoes

MSR’s Evo Ascent Snowshoes are made with a tough plastic body as a substitute of the versatile decking utilized by many snowshoes. This makes them further powerful and sturdy, and supreme for off-trail backcountry use. They use a strap-based, lay-flat binding that makes them straightforward to strap to the skin of a backpack and gained’t freeze up. There are two lengthy crampon rails alongside the perimeters of the Evo Ascent that present wonderful traction, along with a metal crampon below your foot, and rear braking bars. A heel bar can also be included for hill climbing. Unisex. Read our Evo Ascent Review.

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MSR | Amazon

6. Tubbs Mountaineer Snowshoes

Tubbs Mountaineer Snowshoes have a teardrop design that gives wonderful flotation, together with an aggressive entrance crampon, and specifically designed heel crampons which can be angled to assist with braking down steep slopes. They have a ratchet-strap managed step-in binding system w/ a rear heel strap to carry your boots in place. The Mountaineers are additionally obtainable in a really giant 36″ dimension, appropriate for bigger people, or if it is advisable carry heavy masses and want extra floatation in deep powder. A heel bar is included. A ladies’s mannequin is offered.

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REI | Backcountry | Amazon

7. Atlas Montane Snowshoes

The Atlas Montane Snowshoe is a backcountry snowshoe with aggressive toe, heel, and aspect rail crampons with a heel bar to alleviate calf stress on hill and mountain climbs. The Montane has a easy pull strap binding with an easy-to-adjust rear strap and is effectively padded for elevated consolation. This snowshoe can also be obtainable in very giant sizes for bigger people or individuals who want to hold heavy backpacks or want extra flotation in deep and powdery snow. A ladies’s mannequin can also be obtainable.

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REI | Backcountry

8. MSR Revo Explore Snowshoes

The MSR Revo Explore Snowshoe has a ratchet-strap type binding system that makes them straightforward to make use of with all forms of footwear (contact MSR for longer alternative entrance straps to accommodate very giant boots). They have an aggressive toe crampon, a toothed crossbar member, and a serrated body that gives wonderful traction on snow and ice. Plastic decking retains them light-weight, whereas a heel bar can also be included to cut back calf fatigue when climbing slopes. A ladies’s mannequin is offered. Read our Revo Explore Review.

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REI | Backcountry

9. Northern Lites Backcountry Snowshoes

Northern Lites Backcountry Snowshoes are 30″ ultralight snowshoes that solely weigh 43 oz per pair. They’re lighter weight and fewer fatiguing to hold as a result of they’re made with lighter weight aluminum framing, they’ve aluminum crampons, and plastic decking. They have easy bindings with three plastic straps and one heel strap which can be appropriate with all forms of footwear. The Backcountry mannequin is optimized to be used in deep powder for customers as much as 250lbs in weight, together with gear. We don’t suggest them for climbing mountains as a result of they don’t have a heel bar. Read our Northern Lites Gear Review. Unisex.

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Garage Grown Gear

10. Crescent Moon Gold 10

Crescent Moon’s Backcountry Snowshoes even have a excessive flotation teardrop design. Loaded with traction, the Gold 10 has 4 crampons below the toe, forefoot, and heel, in addition to aspect crampons for traversing sloped terrain. They have a step-in binding system tightened on prime with a single strap w/ a ratchet-style rear strap to lock your boot in place. Sizing runs giant, becoming males’s boot sizes 10-15, together with large-volume boots like snowboard or hardshell tele boots. For smaller sizes, see the Crescent Moon All-terrain Snowshoes. A heel bar is included.

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Crescent Moon

How to Buy Winter Snowshoes

Winter climbing snowshoes serve two key capabilities: they supply traction on icy trails and when climbing steep terrain, and so they present flotation over snow, so that you don’t sink or posthole, which might be fairly exhausting. While the entire winter climbing snowshoes listed above fulfill each of those necessities, some excel within the traction division, just like the MSR Lightning Ascents, MSR Evo Ascents, Tubbs Flex VRTs, and TSL Symbioz Elites, whereas others emphasize flotation, just like the Tubbs Mountaineers and the Northern Lites.

As a rule of thumb, tear-drop formed snowshoes with artificial riveted decks have a tendency to emphasise flotation, whereas rectangular-shaped snowshoes are extra traction-focused. If you’re going to be climbing ice-covered mountains predominantly, you’ll most likely need a snowshoe that emphasizes traction, whereas snowshoes that concentrate on flotation, will likely be a greater match for areas the place deep, powdery snow is the norm.

Snowshoes are bulky and can be difficult to pack — Snowshoes are cumbersome and might be tough to pack

If you’re attempting to decide on between totally different snowshoes, there are 4 key properties that ought to information your decision-making:

Packability
Weight
Bindings
Sizing

Packability

Most winter hikers carry a number of traction gadgets and swap between them through the day. If you’re climbing a packed path, you may begin out in naked boots, relying in your boot treads for traction as a result of the much less weight you could have in your ft, the slower you’ll fatigue. If you encounter slick or icy terrain you may swap to microspikes, after which snowshoes, in the event you encounter recent snow that hasn’t been packed down or is blended up with slush.

In order to have these traction aids whenever you want them, it is advisable carry them. While microspikes are fairly straightforward to pack, snowshoes aren’t as a result of they’re massive and ponderous. The bulk comes from their size, width, and thickness, which is primarily a operate of the type of binding they use. Lay flat bindings like the straightforward straps on the MSR Lightning Ascent and the MSR Evo Ascent are the best snowshoes to connect or carry in a backpack, whereas snowshoes with Boa binding methods are typically the bulkiest and most tough to pack.

Weight

Weight can also be a key issue when selecting which snowshoe to purchase. Most snowshoes weigh 4 to 5 kilos, and so they’re most likely going to be the heaviest factor in your backpack, after water. That weight provides up through the course of a day, no matter whether or not it’s in your backpack or in your ft.

Bindings

We’ve already thought-about the packability of snowshoe bindings, however there are different components you must take into account when making a variety, reminiscent of consolation, safety, ease of use whereas sporting gloves, whether or not the binding can freeze and change into inoperative, and the way straightforward it’s to restore if it does break. For instance, some individuals fear that Boa closure methods can freeze up in the event that they get moist and can stop to function till they are often defrosted. It’s a legitimate concern. One of their benefits, nevertheless, is that they’re straightforward to make use of whereas sporting gloves and supply a safe grip that’s unlikely to come back undone as soon as set. Contrast that to the flat straps used on MSR snowshoes. They’ll by no means freeze up, they’re straightforward to interchange if torn or misplaced, however they are often arduous to connect when sporting gloves, and so they are inclined to pop open a couple of times throughout a hike.

Sizing

Snowshoes are available in all kinds of sizes. These are decided by the entire weight you need to carry (body weight + pack weight) and the quantity of flotation you require. Men’s sizes are normally bigger than ladies’s sizes, as a result of males are taller and heavier, whereas ladies’s snowshoes are typically narrower than males’s as a result of their gait isn’t as extensive.

If you’re shopping for a snowshoe that’s extra traction oriented, you may generally drop a dimension beneath the producer’s advisable sizing, particularly in the event you’re climbing in an space that doesn’t get numerous snow otherwise you’re climbing on trails which have been damaged out by different hikers. Sizing is straight correlated to gear weight and it is a tactic you should utilize to lighten your load. If flotation is a precedence, you may generally purchase tails, that are add-on snowshoe extensions that make them longer and enhance their floor space. This is one other approach to minimize down on the burden of a snowshoe as a result of you may deliver your tails whenever you want extra flotation, however carry a lighter weight snowshoe in much less difficult situations.

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