MSR Lightning Ascents, R.I.P.

[hikingmaineac]

Cracked decking

My wife stepped on the upward-bending "toe" of my MSR Denali Ascent and the deck cracked and broke - rendering the shoe useless. Thankfully, it happened while we were standing next to our car AFTER our hike of Mt. Washington was said and done this past Saturday.

I spoke with a rep. at Cascade Designs and they said that if I send them back, they will ship me out a new pair ASAP - free of charge.

Here are some photos of the damage:

 

[mirabela]

I know this is an old thread, but --

Add my name to the list of people who have experienced the characteristic binding failure on the Lightning Ascents . In my case the crampon sheared at the usual site of the failed rivet, and a second time about an inch and a half further back, where a rivet in the decking comes in contact with the crampon.

This happened on very steep ground at about 4,200' on a bushwhack down the east side of Santanoni, on 7' of snow over man-eating spruce traps. It was a pretty aggravating spot to incur a snowshoe failure. Fortunately I was able to gimp down on it, but it did interfere with my maneuvering significantly.

edit/update -- MSR warranty service agreed to switch in the Evo Ascent bindings as a replacement, but I'm wishing now I'd bought the shoes at REI (I didn't) so I could just return them and try a better-engineered product.

In the meantime I'll fall back on my mid-90's era Atlas 'shoes, pretty well beaten down and not without their issues, but built durably and with nothing that is not field-reparable.

 

[Ed'n Lauky]

The first strap shears off on the little toe side because it repetitively hits the inner side of the rail. If you need a new gray strap, let me know. I have several spares "harvested" from the Lightnings.

They all seem to brake there. Both of mine have. I just moved the strap up a notch and have gone through another winter that way. I was just talking to someone on the trail about that very thing. He maintained that after the first break they don't seem to break again. I'd be interested in hearing from anyone with a contrary experience.

I still have room to move it up another notch if need be.

 

[Tom Rankin]

I just developed a new system for my Denali Evo Ascent's.

I purchased a new set and plan on carrying a spare snow shoe with me.

You may laugh, but one well known dearly departed member of this board does exactly this!

 

[ADKdremn]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Paradox
I just developed a new system for my Denali Evo Ascent's.

I purchased a new set and plan on carrying a spare snow shoe with me.

You may laugh, but one well known dearly departed member of this board does exactly this

Just last weekend at the Adirondak Loj I saw a solo hiker head down the trail, wearing snowshoes, with another set strapped to his pack. I couldn't tell if it was a set or just one single shoe.

 

[TMax]

Topofgothics had both of the front claws on his Lightening Ascents snap on the same hike up Sawteeth. But here's the quote of the year when he called MSR customer service;

MSR: "You know what we call the Adirondacks?"
Topofgothics: "No, but do tell..."
MSR: "The black hole of snowshoes!"

Turns out the Dacks chews up more than it's fair share of MSR's!

 

[Maddy]

Topofgothics had both of the front claws on his Lightening Ascents snap on the same hike up Sawteeth. But here's the quote of the year when he called MSR customer service;

MSR: "You know what we call the Adirondacks?"
Topofgothics: "No, but do tell..."
MSR: "The black hole of snowshoes!"

Turns out the Dacks chews up more than it's fair share of MSR's![/

They aren't having much fun with Sam either, the hiker doing the All in One Trek. http://www.theinitiativesite.com/
They have certainly accommodated him and promptly replaced the broken ones. EMS and now MSR direct. He has a few good pics on his site.

 

[Chip]

Don't you think, at some point, MSR will address the issues or is repair and replace their business model ? It seems to me they risk losing market share.

Or...

Are MSR's just more popular and more abused here in the northeast and we hear about failures more often ?

 

[MadRiver]

Don't you think, at some point, MSR will address the issues or is repair and replace their business model ? It seems to me they risk losing market share.

Or...

Are MSR's just more popular and more abused here in the northeast and we hear about failures more often ?

I'm on my second pair of MSR Ascents after both front claws snapped going up Cannon. MSR replaced them with no questions asked. I do have to admit, however, that I beat the crap out of them doing the winter 48's, so they do not own me an apology. R.I.P. my first pair, you served me well!

 

[Ed'n Lauky]

Don't you think, at some point, MSR will address the issues or is repair and replace their business model ? It seems to me they risk losing market share.

Or...

Are MSR's just more popular and more abused here in the northeast and we hear about failures more often ?

I met someone on the trail the other day who was wearing a pair of "Lightnings."
I mentioned what I had heard about them breaking and he said the most recent batch of "Lightnings" had been reinforced at the pivot point where they frequently break.

 

[Ed'n Lauky]

They all seem to brake there. Both of mine have. I just moved the strap up a notch and have gone through another winter that way. I was just talking to someone on the trail about that very thing. He maintained that after the first break they don't seem to break again. I'd be interested in hearing from anyone with a contrary experience.

I still have room to move it up another notch if need be.

You can forget my previous quote. I've had both front straps break again. I can see how if any part of the strap protrudes from the clip by even a small amount it hits the frame as it passes through. This is most certainly the reason for the breakage. I suspect also that the straps lose a bit of flex with time which would make them even more susceptible to breakage. My last experiment has been to trim the ends of the front strap with scissors right even with the clip. It is no longer possible for the strap to touch the frame and only time will tell but I don't think there is enough tension on the strap to force it to pull through. I really think this will take care of the problem but as I said only time will tell.

 

[Lefty E]

Went to Ragged Mt. in N Conway Saturday and saw some "rivets" put into the MSRs new bindings, which might help solve the problem..however they only come in a repair kit with only 2 rivets and other stuff..about 15 bucks..but looking at the way the rivets held the loose flapping bindings that would do the trick...maybe the rivets can be located at the hardware stores...

 

[Raven]

The more I've read in this thread, the better (luckier?) I feel about my now eleven year old MSR Denali Classics. Bought them in 2000 and used ever since on maybe 35-40 mountains, mostly in the Whites. Still being used about once or twice a month this winter.

My point: Coming off the summit of Lafayette in 2003, part of the metal near where the pivot attaches to the decking (the small vertical part below the right turn) sheared and broke. I continued on with one shoe fine and was below the steepest part of the slope. MSR repaired the shoe; I paid for it.

This has been the only repair ever needed. (fingers crossed)

With the mixed rock, snow, and ice so common in the northeast, I'm not suprised they break.

 

[marty]

My MSR Lightning Ascents are still going strong in their 5th year with no signs of wear, other than some minor deck fraying.

Due to all the horror stories about the LAs, I bought a pair of Evo Ascents this year and split time between them and my old LAs. Unfortunately, I busted a strap on my Evo Ascents in their fourth hike. I think their new straps royally suck . They are tough to secure on those little metal pegs and as previously stated, I busted one after 4 hikes.

Thankfully MSR Customer Service, in their typical fashion, mailed me new straps the day after my email to them

Marty

 

[JoeCedar]

Marty, you ought to mount and hang those Lightnings proudly on the wall--they're one of a kind and a real collectors item.