MSR Lightning Ascent Snowshoes

Hello, I'm thinking some fellow members have had similar issues as I am having. One Crampon on my snowshoe has completely broken off and the other is cracked. These are 10 year old snowshoes that have seen a lot of miles and I'm not faulting the product it's just a case of metal fatigue. The crampon and binding is one unit that would be easily replaceable if I could just purchase the parts. I have written MSR customer support twice and have not received a response. Love the product, the decks are in good shape, just need to change out the binding and crampon component. Anyone have any ideas on this? Thanks.

When I bought my pair years ago, i bought them at LL Beans (before they changed their guarantee). I figured if MSR didnt want to deal with them Beans would.

I believe several members got them to send them a different model rather than a repair/replace them in kind.

Really like the shoes, not looking for a different model, just wondering if anyone has a lead on how to get MSR parts for the lightning ascent snowshoe.

FYI
I had a failure of my MSR Whisperlite stove. MSR did not respond for several months. I had even forgotten about it. When they did respond, they would not replace the part. Just no. Evo snow shoes still good though. About 15 yr.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/275144030320
I don’t know if this helps,but you can check.

From my experience you're not likely to have much luck with MSR. I'd suggest contacting REI, LLBean, or even EMS. I found some extra parts there a few years ago when I busted a binding. By the way, the new bindings with the mesh straps that go over the front of your boots are terrific!

FIWI, a few years ago, I was able to get a replacement binder assembly from MSR, but I did have to pay for it. Not sure what has changed....

Hi guys. A neighbor of mine had a similar issue and asked me to post the following. Hope it helps.

"I also have an older MSR Lightning Ascent snowshoe with a broken binding -- the metal piece under the foot broke. I tried using the contact link on their website three times, but received no reply. I found a phone number on the web, and called MSR today. The fellow with whom I spoke seemed very helpful and gave me info about sending in the bindings for repair (replacing the metal piece).He told me the turnaround time would be 8 to 12 weeks. He said it would cost $20 per binding. He acknowledged that they are way behind in answering email inquiries etc. The phone number is 800 531 9531."

I stopped using the Lighting Ascents in part due to the weak crampons (went to Tubbs Flex Alps and haven't looked back), but I was able to use the crampons from the corresponding MSR plastic snowshoes of the time (Evo I think), as they were the same size.

MSR had great customer service like forever. That changed when they sold to Cascade. Now just another outdoors company sad to say.

Peakbagr said:

MSR had great customer service like forever. That changed when they sold to Cascade. Now just another outdoors company sad to say.

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Glad to see you mention that. I've only been hiking for about 10 years and always wondered why MSR is discussed as a top brand yet they seem to have a lot of complaints about a wide range of their products. Always avoided them for most things. I've had several of their canister stoves and been happy with them. Always gone with Tubbs snowshoes because of all the complaints I'd seen about their snowshoes.

rocket21 said:

I stopped using the Lighting Ascents in part due to the weak crampons (went to Tubbs Flex Alps and haven't looked back), but I was able to use the crampons from the corresponding MSR plastic snowshoes of the time (Evo I think), as they were the same size.

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They did an overhaul on their crampons a season or 2 before the Paragon release.

MSRs tradition is let the users do the final field testing. It happened with the injection molded series (now Denalis). They made incremental changes every year based on the last seasons failures. Same with the Lighting series. If folks remember the Denali type shoes went off market about the time the Lightning issues ramped up, the Mountaineer in NY had stocked up on bunch of the end of the Denalis and had a good winter selling NOS Denalis. MSR figured it out and put the Denalis back in production the next season.

NHClimber thanks for that #. I was actually able to reach someone very knowledgeable about the product. He explained with the current supply chain issues they just don't have the parts available and will not be able to sell/ship me the replacement binding and attached crampon component for these snowshoes. He asked me to call back in May and is hoping that the situation will have improved by then.

Peakbagr said:

MSR had great customer service like forever. That changed when they sold to Cascade. Now just another outdoors company sad to say.

Click to expand...

Having worked in the Outdoor industry for over 35 years and also involved with product buying, sales and product repping I can tell you it is a dog eat dog industry. The buyout of MSR by Cascade Designs now over 20 years ago was a bump in the road. MSR back in the late 80's and 90's was an excellent company to deal with. The buyout from Cascade designs in 2001 initially changed things. Some for the better and some not. During that time since many changes have not only occured with the parent company Cascade Designs but also with MSR. There have been hiccups along the way but overall IMO both are still reputable companies. The Outdoor industry is always in a constant state of flux and the buyouts are constantly happening. Some work out better than others.

I never liked the Ascents much. Hacked mine and went over to team Tubbs, never looked back.

peakbagger said:

MSRs tradition is let the users do the final field testing.

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Kind of. In my case, they put a user with frequent issues related to current product development on their testing team to evaluate the production prototypes the year before they were released to the public. I was on the team for the current crampons, bindings, and trekking pole locking mechanisms.

I just used to go look through the Ragged Mountain rentals for sale in the spring. Ragged always used to sell off their rentals at the spring tent sale and weak points from the last season were quite frequently very noticeable.

Not sure how long you have been on VFTT but the Lightning issues by members who rushed out to get the latest and greatest when they came out occupied a couple of long threads. Sad to say I think a lot of those folks have gone elsewhere and the activity level of the current active membership is lower.

In 2019 I mailed my 30-inch Lighting back to MSR for repair. Emailed them with pictures of the broken retainer (the metal piece riveted to the snowshoe frame that the binding attaches to). Emailed on Jan 14th and heard back on the 16th. They replaced one retainer and both crampons that had cracks starting within warranty. The other retainer broke last year and I fabricated my own instead of mailing them back for repair.

I also learned from MSR that, "The Adirondacks are were snowshoes go to die." They indicated that a large number of warranty repairs were from New England and New York.

The email I received from MSR:

Thank you for reaching out to MSR!

We have a five year warranty with our snowshoes and three year limited warranty with all other products. We can repair broken retainers in house at our repair shop in Seattle, WA. We cannot send out the item because we need to perform the work to bring the snowshoe up to spec.

If your snowshoes are less than 5 years old, there will be no charge, if they fall outside of that range, the total retainer replacement fee for both snowshoes is $30. You will need to pay for shipping here, we will ship the item back to you at our expense.

IMO that is reasonable approach, they sure are not making money on it.