A lament on snowshoes (Atlas 1225's)

Two years ago I bought a pair of Atlas 1225's because I had gotten fed up with the lack of downhill slide on the MSR's I was using. Don't get me wrong, the MSR's are great going up, but I like to basically "ski" back down the trail....its one of the things I enjoy most about winter hiking.

I had a good experience with my Atlas 1033's, which I still use when conditions warrant it. They are my go-to 'shoe when I am off trail for work. They were made when Atlas snowshoes were still made in the US, I believe. The tail of the shoe is welded, as opposed to the plastic insert that joins the aluminum frame on current models. Despite the obvious change in design, I decided to go with a brand I had good experience with.

Anyway, after two years, the 1225's are junk! The heel lift broke on the left shoe during the first winter, and the decking is shredded on the right shoe after two. I have never had a snowshoe show this kind of wear, so I am at a loss....I didn't just start walking differently !?

Here are the pics:

shredded decking


close-up


intact heel-lifter attachment


busted heel-lifter attachment


I'll call Atlas on Monday, but I wondered if anyone else has had similar experience...

Yikes. I'm a die-hard Atlas fan and my 1230s are 3 years old and still going strong. Used them on Camel's Hump today.

Can't explain the heel lift but it looks like you might have spent too much time on rocky terrain, causing the shredding on the bottom. That's the one thing with Atlas ... you have to watch the rub because once they start to fray, there's no reversing it.

The thing is, the shredding is on the TOP. It looks as though I am dragging the rear traction points on the left shoe over the front of the right shoe, causing the abrasion.....its just that I don't ever have this problem with any other shoe....

Oh wow, I guess I didn't inspect your photos close enough. I just went and looked at mine and I have a little bit of the same type of thing on the metal frame part of the instep in the same area ... but it doesn't extend far enough down to cause any shredding. Like you said, it must be from bottom claw part of one foot rubbing on the top of the other.

Good luck Jason. I have a pair of Atlas 1230's with severe wear at the front inside locations where the decking goes around the frame. Evidently, the 'shoes hit each other there quite often. They were originally purchased at EMS. In a call to Atlas, they suggested I return them to EMS to subsequently be returned to Atlas for repair or replacement.

After approximately eight weeks I called EMS (they didn't call me) and I was informed they had been received from Atlas several weeks earlier and an offer of a 10% discount from list price on a new pair was offered. I don't know where the discount offer was from (EMS or Atlas).

I'm now using MSR's.

I'm not sure if it is one, the other, or both; but somebody considers customers disposable.

Again, good luck.

Apparently, there are some advantages to taking a wider stance.

I get a good glissade going on my MSRs but it takes practice and a steep slope.

Unfortunate

Shame that you had to experience that customer service nightmare. I'm not gonna mention any names but another New England based retailer , would not have put a customer thru all of that. Their founder built his business on customer satisfaction. They stand behind everything they sell whether or not their name brands a product.

brushhog said:

Shame that you had to experience that customer service nightmare. I'm not gonna mention any names but another New England based retailer , would not have put a customer thru all of that. Their founder built his business on customer satisfaction. They stand behind everything they sell whether or not their name brands a product.

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Sorry to hear about your customer service experience. When I had problems with my lightning ascents (decking was ripping), I sent them back to MSR and they sent me a completely new pair.

That's why I decided to purchase one of their stoves as a replacement for my whisperlite instead of going with a competitor. I know they'll take care of me when I need to.

Fish

hikingfish said:

Sorry to hear about your customer service experience. When I had problems with my lightning ascents (decking was ripping), I sent them back to MSR and they sent me a completely new pair.
Fish

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MSR sent me a new pair of Denali Ascents when the plastic decking cracked.

I haven't had those kinds of problems. I have had a pair of Tubb's snowshoes for years, which drive me crazy for other reasons. They seem badly designed, to be honest. There's nothing to block the front of the boot, just a strap across the laces area. The effect of this is that you have to tighten that strap extremely tight to prevent the boot from sliding forward. I have tightened it so tight that it hurts, and after 1/2 hour my boot still would slide forward, and eventually the sole of the boot would begin clipping the plastic "pad" of the front of the shoeshoe.

My brother has a pair of Coleman snowshoes that cost about 1/2 the price. They have a much better strap system that actually blocks the front of the boot from sliding forward and it has regular straps rather than the plastic locking mechanisms that my Tubb's shoes have (which get stiff in cold air). He never has any problem with his boot sliding where he doesn't want it to go. I'm thinking about getting rid of my Tubb's and getting the Coleman.

I had an idea that I'm surprised nobody has done yet. They should design the kind of snowshoes that have crampons and a rotatable foot axis, and make it so that you can undo a clamp or whatever to allow you to take the snowshoe off while still leaving the crampons attached to the foot. No more need to bring separate crampons and snowshoes!

Technetium said:

I haven't had those kinds of problems. I have had a pair of Tubb's snowshoes for years, which drive me crazy for other reasons. They seem badly designed, to be honest. There's nothing to block the front of the boot, just a strap across the laces area. The effect of this is that you have to tighten that strap extremely tight to prevent the boot from sliding forward. I have tightened it so tight that it hurts, and after 1/2 hour my boot still would slide forward, and eventually the sole of the boot would begin clipping the plastic "pad" of the front of the shoeshoe.

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Would this be the "Bear Claw" binding? I have those and b*t*h constantly about them.

cooperhill said:

Would this be the "Bear Claw" binding? I have those and b*t*h constantly about them.

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I'm not sure what the binding is called. The snowshoes are about 7 or 8 years old. I looked at the Tubbs website and none of the shoes have that binding anymore, so apparently I wasn't the only one who had a problem with it.

EDIT: This is a kid's snowshoe, but the binding is pretty similar to what mine has... As you can see, the force which keeps the boot from sliding forward is entirely based on the tightness of that strap. Bad design, and I'm glad to see they aren't using it anymore on the adult shoes.

http://www.gear.com/p/tubbs-snowshoes-kids-flex-jr-snowshoes